Shogun 2: Total War First Look

It's been one of my basic assumptions here at IGN that there is no such thing as the "perfect" game. No matter how ambitious a designer's ideas might be, they will eventually encounter the limitations imposed by time, money or technology. While the results of working within these limitations can often be sublime, there's not a designer in this industry that hasn't wished for just a little bit more of whatever it would take to make their game better. Some of you might see that way of thinking as a reason to despair but I see it as a fundamental expression of hope and limitless potential for the PC development environment. It is, in my opinion, a fundamental belief for any fan of PC games.

It's also a worthwhile motivation for Creative Assembly to apply ten years of experience and growth to the father of its celebrated strategy series, Shogun: Total War. IGN recently visited Creative Assembly's studio and were able to speak with principal members of the design team about their vision for the new title and its place in the evolution of the franchise.

Like its processor, the new game picks up in 16th century Japan during the aftermath of the Onin War. The battles between rival Shoguns have devastated the country and left the capital of Kyoto in ruins. Competing warlords in control of small pockets of power are each striving to obtain the blessing of the central emperor and legitimize their rule of the entire land. The player takes on the role of one of eight of these warlords, each with a unique starting position and different political and military strengths. Some may be located on remote islands that are rich in resources but far from opportunities. Others might be in the thick of the action immediately and able to use unique samurai units to carve out a more secure portion.

As a setting, feudal Japan satisfies all the Total War requirements. It's a period with lots of competitors who all have an equal chance of coming out on top. It's a period of rapid political and technological change, thanks in no small part to the Dutch and Portuguese bringing gunpowder to the island. Finally, the samurai who dominate this period offer a perfect blend of the best parts of fantasy and reality.

After the excesses of Empire, Shogun 2 is taking a Zen approach. Though the word "accessible" is often code for "plain," in the case of Shogun 2, it's clear that the designers want to maintain a tighter focus on the core elements and not give in to feature creep. The unit roster is a great example of this. Rather than massive roster of units found in Empire, Shogun sticks with just 30-40 basic units (20 or so per faction), each of which has a clear and obvious purpose. This should give the player a chance to focus more on tactics than on the slight variations between similar unit types. If you need to keep an enemy at bay, for instance, you'll know to call on your Ashigaru spearman. To help add a bit of variety, units will upgrade over time.

The scale is also different in terms of the presentation of the story. Empire was a game about a global war. Shogun 2 is about eight warring fiefdoms. So if Shogun 2 won't have the epic geographic scale of Empire, it will have to compensate by emphasizing character and story. During its time in Europe (through Medieval, Rome and Empire), Total War has gradually shed some of the narrative that provided context for the battles and campaigns. Shogun 2 will focus directly on the daimyo, or clan leaders, like Takeda Shingun or Chosokabe Motochika. Instead of being the impersonal force guiding the destiny of your faction, you'll actually play as a person who has to negotiate the treacheries and loyalties of family politics, which can sometimes be as deadly a battlefield as any you can find. Your generals will also be more important this time around, not just due to the return of their pre-battle speeches, but also because you can choose which upgrades they get as they develop. It makes it much easier to get attached to them than the sometimes random characters you've recruited in previous Total War games.

One particularly novel development is the introduction of hero units. These are warriors who have perfected a fighting art and can carve their way through enemy armies without much trouble at all. Based on mythologized historical figures like the warrior monk Benkei, hero units are a nearly unstoppable force on the battlefield, capable of holding bridge crossings against entire armies, or smashing through a battle line to engage the enemy general. You can counter heroes with the right tactics, such as filling them full of arrows, or by having your own hero units engage them in duels. The development team may even consider letting players use political manipulation to sway heroes away from each other.