The series started with Shogun Total War (2000), which was a revolutionary game for it's time, both in gameplay, and graphics. In the campaign, the player assumes total turn based control of every aspect of a medieval Japanese clan, from building up their cities and castles, to diplomatic negotiations, to training and commanding armies. The campaign takes place on a 2D map of Japan, and all aspects of the game are oversized. Armies are made up of individual types of units, which comes in groups of around 60 (normal settings, cavalry, and different infantry units have smaller or greater numbers of men). When two armies engage on the campaign map, the player turns into the commander of the army (he is not physically incarnated). This is when the RTS engages, and the player is forced to do the best they can to win.
When the battle ends (for good or bad), the player returns to the campaign map. You win the campaign by controlling regions. To control a region, you must own the capital, which is the sole city/castle of that region. If you lay siege to a city/castle and are victorious, you are given control of that region, and can build up that city, improve that regions roads or agriculture, or train troops from the population. Certain troops require certain buildings, for instance to train Samurai you must have built a dojo. Cool features of the game include the non martial aspects, which include using spies to gather information, using assassins to kill enemy generals/agents, using diplomats to secure alliances against your enemies, bribing your enemy (a quick way to get a new army, general, or city), and using your navy to transport your troops, blockade trade routs, and win (non playable) naval battles. The graphics were none to shabby, and the game had little glitches for the systems of the time. One expansion was released, Mongol Invasion, which took place during the Mongol invasions of Japan. A multiplayer existed, which pitched players against each other in RTS battles. Overall a great game for the time. However is is so outdated, most systems have trouble handling it now.The next title in the series was Medieval Total War (2002)
. Set in medieval Europe, Medieval Total War is the same concept as Shogun, and has nearly all the same features. The player takes control of a Medieval European state (England, France, Wales, Russia etc...), and performs the same tasks as in Shogun Total War. Two new feature was added, with Historical Battles. These allow the player to command armies in famous historical battles like the Battle of Sterling Bridge, and Religious difference, which introduced the new agents of Priests, Bishops, and Cardinals. When a new religion arrives in an area, and begins to convert people, the citizens start to become unhappy, and settlements could rebel. The graphics were improved slightly, and the game picked up the multiplayer of Shogun. One add-on was released, Medieval Total War Viking Invasion, which added a viking faction, and some smaller factions in the english isles. The map was centered around a very detailed England and Scandinavia. The game was well received, and isn't as glitchy on new systems, as Shogun.The next game in the Total War series was Rome Total War (2004). With the biggest campaign so far in the series, Rome Total War stretched from England to The Middle East, and from Scandinavia to Saharan Africa. A new campaign map feature was 3D. Now the campaign map is displayed with 3D cities, agents, and geography. A new mercenary system was added, which allowed the player to buy military units in an area, and different units changed in different areas. The game allowed the player to take control of one of three Roman families, or other factions (Gaul, Germany, Carthage, Parthia) that existed in the times of the late Roman Republic/Early Roman Empire. The features were roughly the same, but graphics were improved tremendously. Multiplayer, Religion and Historical Battles return, along with two expansions, Barbarian Invasion, and Alexander. Barbarian Invasion utilized the same map as Rome, but took place at the fall of the Roman Empire. The Empire itself is broken into East, and West, and new factions include the Franks, the Saxons, the Celts, the Huns, the Vandals, and many others. Alexander allowed the player to step into the shoes of Alexander the Great, and the campaign map was centered on Greece, Egypt, Persia, the Saudi peninsula, and a tiny bit of India/Pakistan. Both add-ons were well received, and Rome Total War, in my opinion has one of the best soundtracks in the history of video games.
The following title in the series was Medieval 2 Total War (2006), the revised version of Medieval Total War. Medieval 2 brought absolutely no new features, but improved the graphics immeasurably, and included all of the previous features (including multiplayer), and included another fantastic soundtrack. Medieval 2 had different (and more) factions than Medieval, an each was far more individualized. Medieval 2 was the first Total War title to have individualized soldiers in a unit, instead of every soldier in a unit looking the same. Soldiers might have different shield patterns, clothing patterns, hair color, or facial features. Besides that, the graphics themselves were greatly improved, and new kill animations were added.
Four extensions were developed, Britannia, Crusades, Americas, & Teutonic. In Britannia the map focuses solely on the British Isles, and includes new factions like Ireland, Wales, the Barons Alliance, and Norway, in combination with the original factions of England, and Scotland. Crusades was centered around the Holy Wars in the Holy Land, and included two new factions, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the Principality of Antioch, in Combination with pre-existing factions the Turks, Egypt, Venice, the Byzantine Empire, and the Mongols. Americas' campaign map was set in North, and Central America, and included 5 new factions, the Maya, the Tlaxacalans, the Tarascans, the Apache, and the Chichimec, along with the pre-existing factions Spain, Aztecs, England, and France. Teutonic was centered in the Baltic, and was focused around the Teutonic crusades against the Pagan Lithuanians. Four new factions were introduced, the Teutonic Knights, Novgorod, Lithuania, and Norway, along with the original factions, Denmark, Poland, The Holy Roman Empire, and the Mongols. In Teutonic, a new feature was added were, crusading Nobles would arrive in the Baltic with armies to fight pagans with the Teutonic Knights. The game and expansions were all well received, and Medieval 2 is one of the best strategy games on the market right now.The next game in the series was Empire Total War (2009) which took place in the 1700's, and introduced a slew of new features. To start, Empire introduced better graphics, a new diplomacy system, Naval combat, many unplayable factions, the biggest campaign to date in any Total War, and major changes in the campaign map. To start with, no longer does the player need to train a diplomat, and send him to a foreign country to engage in diplomacy, now, there is button to hit so that the player can open negotiations with any other nation. Naval combat was finally introduced, and is very similar to land based combat, each ship is an individual unit, but contains many men, and natural factors like wind, and ocean swells must be taken into account. Empire introduced The campaign map is huge, and includes Eurasia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Americas, and the South Pacific. No longer is the region capital the sole structure in a region, with Empire, a region could have a capital city, a minor city, a port, and multiple agriculture, mining, and trade sights. The capital is not the center of activity for a region anymore, but control of it still grants control of a region. And combat has taken a new angle with the gunpowder units like line infantry
grenadiers, and dragoons, along with cannon, and new cavalry units. Graphics improved slightly, but these changes were focused mostly on individual soldier detail. Empire was a successful game, and maintained the multiplayer of previous games. An army of unit packs have been released over time, but only one substantial new campaign, which was the Warpath Campaign. This map was focused on North America, and the Europeans fight with the Native Americans over land. The European and American factions stay the same, but new Native American factions are added to the mix. Empire was well received, and laid the foundation for the next Total War game. However, Empire was the start of the only two unpleasant features in the Total War series, high quality computers start becoming necessary to run the games, and Steam is required to run the games, both are highly inconveniencing.The next Total War game was Napoleon Total War (2010), and as the name suggests is centered around the life of French General, and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The game added two new features, & improved upon Empire's graphics. All of the features of Empire return, but the campaign play is based on Napoleon's conquests. The first campaign is Northern Italy, where a young Napoleon is given command of the French army of Italy. Once that campaign is beaten, the Egypt campaign is unlocked, where a slightly older Napoleon has invaded Egypt, and the surrounding Middle East. After that campaign is beaten, the mastery of Europe campaign is unlocked in which Emperor Napoleon is trying to take over Europe. After that campaign is beaten, the Waterloo mini-campaign is unlocked, in which resurgent Emperor Napoleon marches on Waterloo, and destroys the coalition once and for all. If all four Napoleon campaigns are beaten, the Coalition campaigns are unlocked which allows the player to take control of Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, or Austria. Like Empire, Napoleon had a slew of unit packs, but only one campaign add-on the Peninsular Campaign, which pitches France against the combined forces of Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain. France, Spain, and GB are all playable, and new units are introduced. The new features of Napoleon include a multiplayer campaign mode which pitches two people in a campaign game similar but different to the main campaign, and a new campaign feature: attrition. Attrition kills troop when armies march through desert or snow, however to counter this, armies can be restocked with new troops when in friendly territory, automatically. Napoleon has a fantastic soundtrack, and was well received even though some critics though it to be too similar to Empire.
The most recent PC game from Total War was Shogun 2 Total War (2011), which took place in medieval Japan. Shogun 2 was a good mix of the exciting culture, factions, and units of Shogun 1,
the gameplay and features of Napoleon, an award winning soundtrack, and amazing, ground-breaking graphics. Not much needs to be said about Shogun 2's main game because of it's ties to previous games, but it did have many unit pack, and faction expansions, and two campaign add-ons. The two campaign add-ons were Rise of the Samurai, and Fall of the Samurai. Rise of the Samurai takes place at the very beginning of Japan's medieval times, and follows the rise of the Samurai warrior class, and the ascension of the first shogun. Fall of the Samurai takes place at the end of Japan's medieval times, and centers around the decline of the Samurai warrior class, and the Shogun, in response to an import of western ideas, and technology. The game and both expansions were well received, and had amazing graphics, but Shogun 2 was criticized because of the (historically authentic) similarities between the different clans, and it's effect on gameplay diversity.Total War Battles (2012) is an iOS and android Total War game, and the first of the series to be released off PC. Battles is based on Shogun 2, and is strictly an RTS. The graphics are good for a mobile device game, along with the gameplay/story line, however no online multiplayer exists for it. Battles uses Shogun 2's soundtrack, and is an overall fun game. probably worth the five bucks it costs.
The next PC Total War to be released will be Rome 2 Total War (2013). With a campaign map larger that Rome's, a new soundtrack (some of the old music will appear), new factions, the best graphics to date, and a million other undisclosed features, Rome 2 is set to be big. Creative Assembly has yet to release a list of all the new features, but we already know of all the playable factions, the size of armies and cities (bigger than ever), and the existence of named and numbered Legions. Only some footage and screenshots have been released from the siege of Carthage, and Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, but they are impressive, and some impressive numbers have recently been released. The game will feature 183 regions, 117 faction (8 of which are playable) and 500 units.
All of these are impressive numbers, and only expand upon the weight Rome 2 carries.The newest Total War announcement has been Total War Arena, and all we know so far is that famous generals and their armies will be pitted against each other from all across history. We know nothing right now, but that sure does sound good.
Overall, I believe the Total War series is gaming Nirvana, with great gameplay, good historical authenticity, great improvement from game to game, and some fantastic sound tracks .nothing can beat it. My rating:
10/10
For more information check out these picks or the link to a great site. Until next time.
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