English
Gamereactor
reviews
Total War: Shogun 2

Total War: Shogun 2

Japan's got a rich history that Creative Assembly are attempting to dip into for the second time. But can they be as successful as they were back in 2000?

Subscribe to our newsletter here!

* Required field
HQ

See, games can help you learn. Don't listen to anyone who says that they can't. Total War: Shogun 2 is one such game, where after only a few hours you'll be a master of Japanese geography and you'll know the different between your no-dachi and your yari samurai. All because of a game.

Creative Assembly made the surprising decision to go back in time and revive Shogun: Total War. Everyone was expecting a second Rome: TW game, which was probably the most popular in the series. The curve ball thrown, the public's curiosity piqued, it's now time for them to prove they could deliver yet again.

And, of course, they have. Shogun 2 is a masterly strategic work, just like pretty much all the Total War games, but this one has taken the tactical cake, added some layers of visual icing and even popped a cherry representing better AI on the top for good measure. More on that particular fruit later, but for now, let's overview.

For the uninitiated, Shogun 2 is a grand strategy title split into two very distinct elements. The first is a campaign map where you'll manage a burgeoning empire, moving armies around, dealing with peasant revolts and expanding your cities with new buildings and improved trade networks.

This is an ad:

The other half of the game is the battle map, where your armies go about impaling each other with spears and slicing major limbs off with swords. It's like a tabletop war game, up to 20 units on each side duking it out for supremacy. The combination of the two elements of the game means the pace of the game is constantly changing, from serene traditional Japanese music calming you as you decide what to build in your capital to the fearsome battle cry of your samurai as they close in for the kill on the battle map.

Total War: Shogun 2
Total War: Shogun 2Total War: Shogun 2

In that sense, Shogun 2's not innovated really. It's what any player of a previous Total War game would expect, but as always with long-running series like this, the devil's in the detail. For a start, just making the setting Japan in the 16th century instantly adds whole new concepts and ideas you wouldn't find anywhere else, even just purely from an aesthetic point of view.

This is an ad:

The art team on Shogun 2 have really gone to town on trying to create a Japanese feel to the interface. Where before it was generally function over flavour, now it's the other way round, with everything designed to feel authentically oriental. Generally, it works, making Shogun 2 even more unique than it would have been had they just gone with a traditional look. However, in certain sections, it can be slightly difficult to glean the information you want just at a glance. For instance, in the naval battles, the unit cards are all nice and ornate, but the ships all look very similar, meaning you'll have to mouse over them to tell just which one you're selecting. Unit groupings could have been made more distinct, too.

That's a minor gripe, of course. Over time and with experience, it'll not be so much of an issue. Starting off in the more extensive tutorial section helps get you used to it, as well. Users both new and old will benefit from having a glance at the training missions, featuring as they do both basic information and a run over of some of the new concepts introduced in the game. And if you ever feel like you're not fully clued up, there's an extensive encyclopaedia to flick through should you need extra info.

One of the first things you'll notice is the new levelling up system for your generals and characters. A successful general will soon advance up the traditional star track, with one star meaning a rookie and six meaning he's a most experienced campaigner. Whereas before attributes and traits were doled out at random by the game, now you get to choose what he's good at and what bonuses he can get on the field of battle, via the means of a tech tree.

Total War: Shogun 2

Each level allows a character - either a general, a ninja, a monk/missionary (depending on your religion), a metsuke (sort of a policeman-stroke-counter espionage agent) or a geisha - to improve his or her abilities. Generally these come in two forms. For simplicity's sake, we'll continue using the general as the example, as each type of character has their own unique set of skills to upgrade. The general then can choose to assign points to either the strategist or the warrior tree, as well as perhaps mixing and matching to create a rounded but not specialised commander.

Research is conducted in this way too, though it's uniquely Japanese again in approach. Instead of technology, you learn to master 'arts', so to gain bonuses for your sword units, you'd go for Sword Mastery. There are two research trees to explore, encompassing military concepts and empire management ones, the latter giving you something as simple as a boost to your tax income or the ability to build a mountain hideout from which you can hire elite ninja units capable to assassinating even the highest ranked enemy general in the land.

On the battlefield, there are changes aplenty as well, not least that it's now gone back to being melee-focused after the rifles and cannons of Empire and Napoleon. It's here also that perhaps the difference between European and Japanese military culture is most readily apparent. Generals have big wicker baskets on their backs to protect themselves against arrow fire, gangs of battlefield monks will fight to the death and elusive units of near-invisible kisho ninja will flit about the place, appearing from nowhere to strike at a general, or perhaps to seize a heavily defended fortress by scaling the walls and holding the decisive capture point for sixty seconds.

These ninja have a few unique abilities, like using blinding grenades to mask an escape. Every unit at least one ability to use, like a spear wall or an irresistible banzai charge. Generals can mark a position on the battlefield for routing units to rally to, as well as using their Inspire ability on a specific unit to try to bolster their morale and have them hold the line.

Total War: Shogun 2
Total War: Shogun 2

Siege battles have undergone an overhaul too, to represent how different they were in Japanese history. Less of a war of attrition, siege combat is more like a series of smaller battles in one, with big fortresses being built in layers. Capture one and the defenders can fall back to the next, and so on. What this change will do primarily is, hopefully, make siege battles more fun to play online, as they were a real chore before.

Naval battles also return, but in quite a different form. It's almost like fighting a land battle on the sea, with most of the Japanese ships designed purely for boarding operations. This makes sea conflict more intense and, importantly, quicker to be resolved.

The main naval unit is the Bune, which is like a big wooden box on water, packed with sword-wielding maniacs. Lighter ships will harry the bigger ones with flaming arrow fire, while others can lay mines or use explosives up close. There's more variety in terms of what you can do with your navy now, and with the addition of land masses there are more tactical options to employ. A narrow strait between two islands would be the perfect position to lay mines in, preventing the enemy from using it, that sort of thing.

Speaking of tactically outwitting the AI, it'll please veterans to know that the computer opponents have definitely been improved intelligence-wise in Shogun 2, although there do seem to still be the odd brainstorms on occasion. Certainly when besieging a castle, the use of archers to whittle down enemy numbers often just sees them helplessly accept death, never attempting to make a break for it and counter-attack. They'll just move around a bit instead.

Total War: Shogun 2Total War: Shogun 2

However, they are much better at exploiting weaknesses in your battle line this time. It's no longer easy to just set up on a hill and wait for them to march right into the spear line with their general at the front. They'll use arrows more effectively, they'll charge your bows and wheel away from spear walls if they're using horses. If you get light cavalry behind their lines, they'll move spears to intercept and so on. It's not perfect, but it is a lot better than it was.

Of course, going online removes this issue. This is perhaps where the most attention has been lavished in terms of brand new features, specifically the Avatar multiplayer. A semi-persistent system, you create a general who will lead your armies online against human players, where you can unlock new armour by winning battles or gaining Steam achievements.

A simplified campaign map sees you attempting to capture the whole of Japan, moving your army and navy tokens to new territory and searching for a suitable match. It gives a context to your general skirmishes online, especially when you join a Steam group 'clan' and work together to do so. Time will tell whether this is a hit or not, but it's at least better than just having the traditional one-off battles. There's also the return of campaign multiplayer, which hasn't undergone any radical changes.

There's so much more to mention, as always, but time has ruthlessly stabbed us through the chest, bringing this review to an end. Total War: Shogun 2 is yet another tour de force from Creative Assembly, brilliant in nearly every way and packed full of new features to delight the veteran player. All in all, it's another triumph.

Total War: Shogun 2
Total War: Shogun 2Total War: Shogun 2
09 Gamereactor UK
9 / 10
+
Unique visuals, genre-leading tactical and strategic gameplay, improvements across the board.
-
AI sometimes falls over a bit, interface design might be confusing in certain areas.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

Related texts

1
Total War: Shogun 2Score

Total War: Shogun 2

REVIEW. Written by Adrian Raines

"In that sense, Shogun 2's not innovated really. It's what any player of a previous Total War game would expect, but the devil's in the detail."



Loading next content