Saturday, March 17, 2012
Unknown
Naval blazing
Longer cold snaps aren't the only new feature the humble Total War grunt has to worry about. Now the poor fools who do all the heavy trigger-pulling and sword-slashing can be slain between battles by naval bombardment. Select a friendly fleet on the campaign map and range circle appears. Any army within this zone o'-death may be pummeled without risk. You won't devastate targets, but hounding an invasion force as it trudges down a long coastal road could become the difference between victory and defeat in a later battle. Mark this moment. In Fall of the Samurai, Total War navies finally go from being mere amusing distractions to indispensable strategic tools. That bombardment ability can also he used to clobber cities, neutralize coastal batteries (a new budable structure) and turn the tide in normal ground battles.
Longer cold snaps aren't the only new feature the humble Total War grunt has to worry about. Now the poor fools who do all the heavy trigger-pulling and sword-slashing can be slain between battles by naval bombardment. Select a friendly fleet on the campaign map and range circle appears. Any army within this zone o'-death may be pummeled without risk. You won't devastate targets, but hounding an invasion force as it trudges down a long coastal road could become the difference between victory and defeat in a later battle. Mark this moment. In Fall of the Samurai, Total War navies finally go from being mere amusing distractions to indispensable strategic tools. That bombardment ability can also he used to clobber cities, neutralize coastal batteries (a new budable structure) and turn the tide in normal ground battles.
Secret servants
Unsurprisingly, given the 300 year period hift, most of the cast of spies and rabblerousers don't come direct from Shogun 2. Working alongside familiar Shinobi (ninjas) and Geisha are two faction-specific secret policemen the Ishen Shishi (Imperialist) and Shinsengumi (Shogunate) and the massively useful Foreign Veteran. Remember the nasty Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai? That's the kind of calculating, conscience-free mere you get when you employ a foreign veteran. With one of these embedded in an army, your troops will move, reload and gain experience faster. With only a day to play the surprisingly polished alpha build, I didn't have time to hoof through the full quarter-century long campaign, but I did via an existing save file get a tantalizing sneak peek at late game politics and a riny compositions. Rather than gleefully dissolving all your carefully cultivated alliances and forcing you into a grueling multifront struggle for survival, Realm Divide in Fall of the Samurai involves making a difficult choice. If you fancy it, you can leave the Shogunate and Imperialist factions to fight amongst themselves and go it alone as an independent republic. Alternatively you can accept the responsibilities and regalia of Shogtmate or Imperial "Vanguard" (the choice will depend on your current allegiance). By the time of Realm Divide, your troops will be doing most of their slaying with Western designed rifles and artillery pieces. rather than cold steel and arrows.
Unsurprisingly, given the 300 year period hift, most of the cast of spies and rabblerousers don't come direct from Shogun 2. Working alongside familiar Shinobi (ninjas) and Geisha are two faction-specific secret policemen the Ishen Shishi (Imperialist) and Shinsengumi (Shogunate) and the massively useful Foreign Veteran. Remember the nasty Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai? That's the kind of calculating, conscience-free mere you get when you employ a foreign veteran. With one of these embedded in an army, your troops will move, reload and gain experience faster. With only a day to play the surprisingly polished alpha build, I didn't have time to hoof through the full quarter-century long campaign, but I did via an existing save file get a tantalizing sneak peek at late game politics and a riny compositions. Rather than gleefully dissolving all your carefully cultivated alliances and forcing you into a grueling multifront struggle for survival, Realm Divide in Fall of the Samurai involves making a difficult choice. If you fancy it, you can leave the Shogunate and Imperialist factions to fight amongst themselves and go it alone as an independent republic. Alternatively you can accept the responsibilities and regalia of Shogtmate or Imperial "Vanguard" (the choice will depend on your current allegiance). By the time of Realm Divide, your troops will be doing most of their slaying with Western designed rifles and artillery pieces. rather than cold steel and arrows.
Shipping forecast
Improvements in naval leadership sound even more substantial. Lead Campaign Designer Janos Gaspar described how computer controlled admirals now have a much more sophisticated understanding of geography and, thanks to a new taskforce system, are much better at setting up fleets and dealing with several tasks simultaneously. Expect to see enemy ships sagely switching from blockades to bombardments, and dashing off to help with troop transportation when the need arises. Away from battlefields and brine, Creative Assembly has actually been lobotomizing their AI. Apparently, in the current build, silicon powers are far too efficient at managing their economies and will routinely outproduce most players by 30 to 35 percent. In the unlikely event Fall of Samurai's reworked AT fails to stretch you, then a couple of series additions will allow for some self imposed challenge stiffening. Winning every engagement with a mix of inspired tactics and encyclopedic knowledge of unit stats? Try Battle Realism Mode's restricted camera, absent min imap, and limited enemy intel. Alternatively, make life hard for yourself by handing over a few units to the AI. Not only is it now possible to participate in 40 vs. 40 unit scraps thanks to an altered approach to reinforcements, but packets of troops can be passed to the Al together with simple "attack" or "defend" instructions. Is this the first step on the road to multitier Take Command style armies and plausible battlefield subordinates? Probably not, but it's an intriguing development. Oh, and if you want to know why Fall of the Samurai looks, feels and plays the way it does, a good place to start is the book list on www.stephenturnbull.com. An evening with Japanese film When The Last Sword Is Dream should also prove illuminating.
Improvements in naval leadership sound even more substantial. Lead Campaign Designer Janos Gaspar described how computer controlled admirals now have a much more sophisticated understanding of geography and, thanks to a new taskforce system, are much better at setting up fleets and dealing with several tasks simultaneously. Expect to see enemy ships sagely switching from blockades to bombardments, and dashing off to help with troop transportation when the need arises. Away from battlefields and brine, Creative Assembly has actually been lobotomizing their AI. Apparently, in the current build, silicon powers are far too efficient at managing their economies and will routinely outproduce most players by 30 to 35 percent. In the unlikely event Fall of Samurai's reworked AT fails to stretch you, then a couple of series additions will allow for some self imposed challenge stiffening. Winning every engagement with a mix of inspired tactics and encyclopedic knowledge of unit stats? Try Battle Realism Mode's restricted camera, absent min imap, and limited enemy intel. Alternatively, make life hard for yourself by handing over a few units to the AI. Not only is it now possible to participate in 40 vs. 40 unit scraps thanks to an altered approach to reinforcements, but packets of troops can be passed to the Al together with simple "attack" or "defend" instructions. Is this the first step on the road to multitier Take Command style armies and plausible battlefield subordinates? Probably not, but it's an intriguing development. Oh, and if you want to know why Fall of the Samurai looks, feels and plays the way it does, a good place to start is the book list on www.stephenturnbull.com. An evening with Japanese film When The Last Sword Is Dream should also prove illuminating.
Stabbing westward
While the game's relationship to The Last Samurai isn't nearly as close as it might first appear, the devs have still taken inspiration over its action sequences. Satsuma Rebellion style revolts will happen now and again, meaning players will find themselves leading expeditions into the back country to suppress armies of disgru tided nobles. The samurai sprinting stirringly through storms of machinegun and rifle fire are far more likely to be foes than friends. As your lands lurch into modernity, so too will the interface, the campaign map and the background music. The sounds of traditional Japan will slowly and subtly give ground to Western instruments and motifs. Screen furniture will assume a more mechanized look. A completely reorganized campaign map, graced by new loftier peaks, will acquire smokestacks and smoggy blemishes. Total War is knocking on the door of the 20th century, and that door is sootcaked and strarme. As historical themes go, it's hard to think of one fresher or more alluring than Boshin War-era Japan. Cynics may point out that the real conflict "only" claimed the lives of 4,000 people, and that it featured more nervous scuffles than full-scale pitched battles, but this would be a tad unfair to the game. As Lead Battle Designer Jamie Ferguson observes: "With all Total War games we start with a factual startpoint then allow for counter-factual history to take place... There's nothing to say that, if either side had decided to get really serious, it couldn't have ended up in a conflict far more bloody than the American Civil War." A conflict far more bloody than the American Civil War? With Total War's unit counts that could be a tall order, but then again, with Gading guns, naval barrages and repeating rifles in our armories for the first time, anything's possible.
While the game's relationship to The Last Samurai isn't nearly as close as it might first appear, the devs have still taken inspiration over its action sequences. Satsuma Rebellion style revolts will happen now and again, meaning players will find themselves leading expeditions into the back country to suppress armies of disgru tided nobles. The samurai sprinting stirringly through storms of machinegun and rifle fire are far more likely to be foes than friends. As your lands lurch into modernity, so too will the interface, the campaign map and the background music. The sounds of traditional Japan will slowly and subtly give ground to Western instruments and motifs. Screen furniture will assume a more mechanized look. A completely reorganized campaign map, graced by new loftier peaks, will acquire smokestacks and smoggy blemishes. Total War is knocking on the door of the 20th century, and that door is sootcaked and strarme. As historical themes go, it's hard to think of one fresher or more alluring than Boshin War-era Japan. Cynics may point out that the real conflict "only" claimed the lives of 4,000 people, and that it featured more nervous scuffles than full-scale pitched battles, but this would be a tad unfair to the game. As Lead Battle Designer Jamie Ferguson observes: "With all Total War games we start with a factual startpoint then allow for counter-factual history to take place... There's nothing to say that, if either side had decided to get really serious, it couldn't have ended up in a conflict far more bloody than the American Civil War." A conflict far more bloody than the American Civil War? With Total War's unit counts that could be a tall order, but then again, with Gading guns, naval barrages and repeating rifles in our armories for the first time, anything's possible.
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Publisher: SEGA Europe
Developer: Creative Assembly
Released: 2012
Source: PC Gamer Magazine, Edition Mar'12*)
Posted in: 
0 comments:
Post a Comment