Musings on...Total War: Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai

Fall of the Samurai is the latest from Creative Assembly, who make the Total War series of strategy.

Click for bigger versions

Well, you may want to read my original Shogun 2 review before we get into this, but the gist of it was encapsulated by the opening sentence 'Shogun 2 isn't my favourite Total War game'. Well, my stance has changed, and I honestly think that Fall of the Samurai may be my favourite. It has the guns from Empire, with the incredible grand map and laser focus of Shogun 2. And it truly is a match made in heaven.

The background for this one is the Boshin War, taking place in Japan in the 1860s between the Imperials and Shogunate over control of the future of Japan. Now, the politics is pretty complicated, but I think that the Shogunate didn't mind technological advance and Western interference, whereas the Imperials didn't, but the Imperials have the more modern army and I have no idea what's going on. Which is a shame, because I feel like it's an area the game could have explored a bit better. Yes, it does seem like when you're fighting the Shogunate factions (you can switch midway through if you want) that they're generally using more melee than gun troops, but the difference is very rarely marked.

The actual change from swords and spears to guns is incredibly well done. As you progress down the technology tree, you gain access to bigger buildings and weapons, eventually securing Iron Clad ships and Gatling guns. The consequence of this, however, is that as your chosen faction becomes more and more modern, the population will become more unhappy. Whilst rarely an actual issue, if you aren't careful you can see a samurai uprising at the wrong time, and whilst not difficult to put down often, it takes time and money. But when you unlock kneel fire, my goodness it's incredible. That may be the largest difference between Fall of the Samurai and Empire. In Empire the guns are all a bit crap and old, and out of 75 shots you'd be lucky to land 10 kills. In FotS, 75 shots will probably equal close to 60 kills. Now double that with kneel fire. That's more than half a unit in one volley. And yes, it does feel pretty cool when you do that to a charging line of Katana infantry.

Using modern weapons on the traditional guys does feel a little like cheating, but in a good way. It shouldn't be balanced that a gun beats a sword. Of course a gun beats a sword. Of course cannons obliterate the wooden defenses of a Japanese castle. That doesn't make it any less awesome, it just makes it a lot more difficult as a Shogunate supporter. But historical accuracy probably isn't what Creative Assembly were aiming for with this one.

Changes from other Total Wars are also marked on the campaign map. Trade is the rule of the day in this game, and without it, especially to the West, you're going to struggle to finance yourself. The longer term impact of this is, of course, your navy is going to massively important. Generally zooming around with one navy at a time doesn't really work, just because of the number of trade routes you're constantly trying to protect. Annoyingly this makes it difficult to use a large navy to support your ground troops. Yes that's right, you can now essentially call in artillery strikes on the enemy, which are mental. I mean, historical accuracy goes right out of the window at this point, but who cares when you're essentially air-striking enemy formations. Other than this addition to the way you have to play the campaign, you'll also notice that ports are more crucial, evidently for the trade, but also your own provincial resources for when the trade isn't there. Some provinces can have railways as well, which let you pleasingly zoom around the map, and if you think of the shape of Japan's main island, this is very useful.


The game still looks fantastic of course, and the graphics used for the gunpowder units are fantastic, with huge plumes of smoke being thrown up every volley. It can even become an actual hindrance during battles, and there's no greater testament than that that the graphics are helping the experience.

So, a thorough recommendation. Yes it's system intensive, but if you enjoyed Shogun 2 or Empire you'll almost certainly enjoy this one. Plus it's already pretty cheap.