Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Shogun 2: Total War Announced
Steve Butts over at IGN has the first look at Shogun 2: Total War. The next edition of the ambitious strategy series is coming to PC at an unspecified point in the future compliments of franchise creators The Creative Assembly and publisher Sega. It may as well be a remake of the original Shogun: Total War (pictured), as it takes place in the same region in the same epoch, but technology and design have both come a long way in the intervening decade.
The developers haven't let a ton of details – or any screenshots or video of gameplay – out yet, but Shogun 2 already has some high points. Hero units can single-handedly take over the battlefield like KG at the Staples Center. Politics get personal as players take on the role of a powerful daimyo ruling over his fractious family and clan. Naval struggles come to Japan in the form of large, oar-driven ships exchanging blows without regard to the wind. The AI is reportedly modeled after Sun Tzu's writings, which will hopefully make tactical battles more than a race to see which broken piece of tactical logic you can exploit the fastest (Empire: Total War, I'm looking at you). Japan's multi-layered fortresses lend themselves to more complex sieges, which the unit AI will hopefully handle better than Empire's soldiers, who are baffled by everything from fences to breached walls.
I've fallen into and out of love with Total War several times in the last ten years. Maybe Shogun 2 can avoid the crippling technical problems that have ruined the experience for me once the initial spectacle lost its grip on me in the past.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
