Like many who have been following the series since the beginning, I'll always have fond memories of the original Shogun: Total War. At the time, it's simple dual-structure was ground breaking, and whether it was the true strategic mindset it evoked, or the simple sound of the pieces sliding across the board like it was a game of chess, Shogun 'one' will always remain a classic in PC gaming. Now, ten years later, Creative Assembly have gone back to where it all began. Not only is Shogun 2 shaping up to be an excellent re-make, it's also looking like it could be the best game of the series yet.
 

Again, CA have used the engine to try and really get the details down...

If we're being honest for a second, Creative Assembly have had a bit of a rough patch recently. As good as Empire was, it wasn't without its problems - although I stand by my score for the game. Still, a slightly rushed product, some miscommunication, followed by a new product barely a year later... the community was less than thrilled. Speaking to the Lead Designer Jamie Ferguson, even he admitted that perhaps they'd over-reached themselves with everything they tried to do with Empire, and the fact that they pretty much stopped support when Napoleon came around didn't help matters. Again, these were both very good games, but the path travelled these past couple of years has been rocky.

With Shogun 2 however, Creative Assembly has more than made up for past errors. Sengoku-era Japan (the same era that the original was set in) was a very isolated country. So, whilst this has meant that CA haven't been able to do the same scope that they've done in the past, they have been able to delve deep. Deep into Japanese Culture, deep into the mechanics of the game, and deep into the experience as a whole. The result is astounding.

The single player campaign will feel familiar and yet brand new at the same time. On the one level you have the major factions, and then minor factions, Ronin etc... and as the player you must choose someone to play as and then fight to become Shogun of Japan. Below that however, Creative Assembly have really gone all out to make the experience as immersive as possible. The main way they've done this is with added RPG-like elements.
 

Where's Tom Cruise when you need him?

On a basic level, CA have allowed your main character, the Daimyo, to have a customised look - instantly making him more personalised and easier to relate with. Beyond that though, whether it's your family members, your Daimyo, Generals, Agents... a lot of special units have their own skill trees. As they level up and gain experience, you get to spend points to customize them further, and specialise their use. Generals can be tailored for specific situations, Agents can become masters of assassination or espionage... even standard army units that gain veterancy can unlock skills that make them better at what they do. This enhanced level of customization, whilst possibly adding to the amount of micro-management you'll need to do, really helps tailor the experience to how you want to play it.

Everything else seems to have remained relatively the same, just enhanced. CA have dropped things like scripted campaigns from this game in favour of including mechanics that allow you to tell your own story. A few historical battles have been included, a feature Ferguson admitted they had a soft spot for. Naval Battles are a bit of an odd one - they've been simplified, but that's more to do with the subject matter than any inherent problems with the Empire/Napoleon system. Naval warfare in 16th Century Japan was mainly around the coast line, and involved boarding actions over broadsides. Might be more engaging for people who didn't want to have to deal with the nuances that the Age of Sail involved.

And then of course there's the new multiplayer system, with a lot of new features and plenty to get excited about. The online campaign introduced in Napoleon has been enhanced to allow for a true co-operative mode - two players against the AI. Shared field of view, unit sharing... whilst there's only so much they can do at this point ,they have improved things and done all they can to make this a more meaningful mode.

Then of course there's the skirmish battles - in previous Total War titles, these have been pretty faceless, all you'd do is really pick your army and then fight. Now there's a lot more context, and the whole system has been made very engaging and dynamic The RPG-esque elements from the single player have been carried through to multiplayer, and even a simplified version of the campaign map has been included to help give meaning to the online skirmish battles. Clan support has also been added, and players have to work their way up through the levels and 'unlock' more powerful units. Armies are also semi-persistent, so losses are carried over if you end up fighting more than one battle in a row.
 

If three's a crowd, what the hell is this?

It's fitting that Total War: Shogun 2, (as it is now called -all very redundant if you ask me) is proving to be the best game yet when the original paved the way for the entire series. Not only has the original concept benefitted from the ten years of experience the studio has acquired, but you can tell that this is the game Creative Assembly has originally wanted with Empire. Everything it seems, from the engine, to the mechanics seems to have been perfected. The only thing we couldn't test out was how smart the AI is - something CA have traditionally struggled with. Still, if you weren't excited already - BE EXCITED. Total War: Shogun 2 is due out on PC on March 15th 2011.

Most Anticipated Feature: Where to begin? The Multiplayer, since it's so new, has to be one of the most interesting elements we're looking forward to playing.