[Review] Total War: Shogun 2 -- Fall of the Samurai

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game information:

Developers:Creative Assembly
Publishers:SEGA
Release Date:March 22, 2012
Platforms:PC

 

 

In the mid-19th Century, when the American Admiral Perry appeared with his black warships and forced Japan to re-open its trading ports to Western powers, Japan was still essentially a medieval society: closed off from the outside world, with a feudal government , an economy based primarily on subsistence rice farming, and warfare still conducted with swords and bows. In less than fifty years from the day Perry arrived, Japan became the first non-Western country in history to defeat a European country, Russia, in an open war - leveraging on modern weaponry, techniques, naval warships, and a completely revamped and revitalized economy. That transformation, and the success Japan built upon it, represents an achievement that must surely astound posterity forever.

 

Total War: Shogun 2's new standalone expansion, The Fall of the Samurai, attempts to give us a glimpse of how Japan's transformation actually took place - and a chance to rewrite history while we're at it. While the core game is unsurprisingly the same, it's really amazing just how much is changed apart from that basic game engine. It still takes place on a map of Japan, but all of the fiefdoms have changed to reflect the 200-year time period that has passed since the original Shogun 2 campaign. In Fall of the Samurai, you choose to align yourself with one of two the pro-Shogun side or the pro-Emperor side, which more or less equates to the north of Japan versus the south, respectively.

 

And that north vs. south dynamic is an interesting coincidence, as much of Fall of the Samurai's strategic and tactical gameplay mirrors games that are set in the American Civil War. The game's main campaign is set in the Boshin War, a relatively short and bloodless conflict in reality that will be anything but once you get your hands on the reins. The Boshin War was contemporaneous with the American Civil War, and weaponry, troop types, tactics, economic options, and the constant fight to keep foreign powers out of the war all hearken back to the war between the states - although the game never loses its uniquely Japanese flavor.

 

 

There are some differences, strategically, as well, since warships play a predictably greater role in the affairs of an island nation than they would in the U.S., and railroads and other logistical infrastructure are less widespread. The introduction of gun-based warfare completely changes the tactics from the original Shogun 2, as well: artillery (including naval support) is now a genuine force to be reckoned with, and cavalry become much more a mobile infantry force (as you'll often ride them somewhere and then dismount them to fight) than a cadre of mounted knights. Heck, you can even take control of a fort (or ship) 's guns manually and aim them a la Toy Soldiers, although how practical this is while you're controlling your entire army on a battlefield is a question of how good your reflexes (and aim) are. All of these little things build up to a significantly different, but still highly enjoyable, wargaming experience.

 

The jewel in the crown of land battles in the original Shogun 2 campaign (and multiplayer) was fortress assault and defense, but, as most walls can now be blown to smithereens in short order, battles concern themselves more with open-field maneuvers rather than battening down the hatches. Indeed, Fall of the Samurai emphasizes extra-military actions even more than its predecessors, with new units like the Ishin Shishi and Shinsengumi (sort of a Japanese feudal FBI) being used to influence rivals and effectuate diplomatic or economic, rather than military, outcomes . Relations with foreign powers are also important, as you need to keep them from directly interfering in the war (at least on your opponents' side), but also need to keep them happy so they'll sell you technology, materiel, and even send advisors and troops to fight for you. It's a really cool new dynamic that adds a layer of complexity to the insular (literally) world of Japanese warfare.

 

 

The abundance of new features might seem intimidating for newcomers, or those who have gotten set in their ways playing the original Shogun 2, but Fall of the Samurai is absolutely chock full of helpful tool tips, advisors, and even interactive tutorial videos on how to do everything. The GUI hasn't changed, and that's a good thing - Fall of the Samurai remains easy to control and get around in, even for people unfamiliar with Total War games. And, like the original Shogun 2, plenty of the gameplay involves improving logistics, building up towns, researching technology, and many other standard strategy, rather than wargaming elements. This means that even if you're not a hardcore wargamer, there's still plenty for you to love in Fall of the Samurai.

 

Honestly, as a conversion to a new time period, Fall of the Samurai really has only one weakness. It suffers from its predecessor's trouble with AI, and perhaps even to a larger degree. While this is far from the ruination of your gaming experience, it is frustrating when the AI marches off and leaves perfectly serviceable artillery completely open to being overrun by a cavalry charge, or when it sallies forth from cover for no reason only to be cut down by your riflemen when it should've waited for you to pursue. Again, it won't kill your game experience, but it is the only major weakness in an otherwise fantastic strategic experience. Literally everything else is absolutely top-drawer.

 

 

Verdict
Yes, Fall of the Samurai is an expansion, but like any good expansion - even standalone expansion - it doesn't just add things to the original, it changes them. You'll get an experience much more like a Civil War-era wargame with Fall of the Samurai, as opposed to a medieval wargame with the original Shogun 2, and that, in itself, is worth the cost of admission, let alone all the new units, locations, abilities, factions, and bells / whistles.

 

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 / Vista / XP
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Dual Core processor / 2.6 GHz Intel Single Core processor, or AMD equivalent (with SSE2)
Memory: 1GB RAM (XP), 2GB RAM (Vista / Windows7)
Graphics: 256 MB DirectX 9.0c compatible card (shader model 3)
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 32GB free hard disk space
Screen Resolution: 1024x768 minimum