There’s a limited number of ways to play, but even within that there’s lots of room for various approaches and strategies.
#TOTAL WAR SHOGUN 2 FACTIONS SERIES#
Unlike series like Europa or Crusader Kings, there weren’t millions of potential cogs playing out at once. Its economy, too, involves enough complexity to remain interesting but strips away the more superfluous parts of the previous games. It added a patchwork diplomacy system, where you find yourself making agreements with countless minor factions in a more transparent and understandable way than in either Empire or Napoleon: Total War. On the strategic level, Shogun 2 was a huge leap from its predecessors. Streamlined yet complex strategyīut Total War games are about more than just grand battles. Put simply, it perfectly captures a somewhat romantic ideal of what it was like in feudal Japan. More than just making the combat better though, these fluid duels embody the ideal of Japanese samurai and bushidō. In a series used to brutal warfare, capturing that fluidity of classic samurai combat is a massive test which the developers passed admirably. It means the clashing of two units amounts to thousands of engrossing one vs one duels that are amazing to watch. Without delving too much into the technicality of it all, the game came with an improved Warscape engine that made for almost beautiful combat between warriors. To somewhat justify that sad fact, then: just what is it about this game that keeps it so fresh, even a decade after its first release in 2011? Fluid samurai battles Given my easily distracted nature, this could be the single individual past-time I’ve dedicated the most of my time to over the last decade. A perfect mixture of fascinating mechanics, beautiful combat and engrossing historical realism makes it a game I literally cannot stop playing. But in my mind Shogun 2: Total War is unrivalled. An ungodly amount of time to dedicate to any one game, especially one that is a decade old and has countless follow-ups.