I do not know how many people have played the Total War franchise of games, but it used to be one of my favourites. Strategy games have always been one of my favourite gaming genres over the years. Trying to fool and outsmart your enemy is a thrill and I still remember the first strategy game I ever finished, the Classic Age of Empires.
The first Total War game I ever played was Rome. I received the game as a birthday gift when I turned 14. This was as the Gold edition was released..
Rome: Total War
You play as one of three powerful Roman families--the Julii, the Bruti, or the Scipii--attempting to increase the size and glory of Rome and shore up your faction's power and influence. As all three factions are Roman, there's literally no difference between them in terms of units and building types, though they do have different responsibilities.
This game was epic. The way in which the world map displayed your empire and the way politics and economy are handled.. This was very new to me. Then the battles started. It was incredible! For the first time, I truly felt like a General leading his troops to victory. Instantly hooked.
A feature of this game that ensured longevity was that the factions you conquered became playable to give a very different tactical perspective.
Medieval 2: Total War
When Medieval released, I was in the row waiting for my copy at release. The impression that Rome left gave me an overwhelming hunger for more. When I loaded up my first game playing as the English, I knew I was in for a hell of a game.
Medieval 2 introduces a few new twists to the established formula of the original game. Settlements come in two flavours now, towns and castles. Another one that stuck with me was the prisoner system. This added depth to the game that was pleasantly welcome.
Oh and:
Empire: Total War
With this title, I was initially struck with terror when I realised that I had to run it on Steam. This was after the Orange Box and I knew it meant updates. At the time, I had only 2 GB capped internet monthly as in South-Africa the price of being connected was crazy. This meant I was only able to play the game 3 months after release as I chewed through my cap to get it updated.
But man was it worth it!
Not just Europe but 3 theatres of war, Trade posts, in-depth politics and colonial troop tactics.. I was stunned. I was lost for words, but most importantly, I was confused! For the first time, the learning curve for the new game was more complicated than expected. It took a while to fully understand the mechanics, but when I finally did.. Best game!
Shogun 2: Total War
Bile slowly started rising in my throat as I realised that my relationship with Creative Assembly was starting to sour. Who the hell has to PAY EXTRA for Blood and Gore?
Oh, the setting was amazing and the tactics and balance was fantastic, but where the hell did this greed come from? I hated that CA was starting with the DLC model but reluctantly I bought the DLC Factions.
Rome 2: Total war
What the hell is this piece of shit? The game was broken on release. The balance was terrible. Content was gutted and the greed just seemed to get too much. I am sad to say I pre-ordered the game, but It was my last ever purchase to the TW franchise..
..But not the last I played.
ATTILLA: Total War
Now this game was what I paid for when I bought Rome 2. A supposed new game with the same engine and theme, but with all the content that was gutted. I absolutely loved this title and still play it.
Total War: WARHAMMER
I will not even justify this trash with a review opinion
Medieval 2 was my first Total War game, and still my favorite :) I quite like the Shogun 2 game as well. Unfortunately I couldn't play Attila, as it made my computer freeze.
Medieval was brilliant, especially when the expansions came out. I could probably agree and say it was my favourite, but Empire gave it a damn good run for its money.
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Why do you think Total War: Warhammer is trash? I love the game, nice change of setting from historic to fantasy. Warhammer fantasy is awesome.
Okay. Let me start..
These are my top 10 reasons. I have many more
BONUS: DLC and stupid idea with game 2 and 3..
I agree with DLC's stupendous money grab. Almost criminal.
All minor issues, with next sequel they will be adding all that fans were missing. I'm just glad that I get to play Total War game with Warhammer theme. Legendary lords are supposed to be tough and resources are not that important, only gold matters in this game.
That is the point.. Why must we wait for a second game to get what we wanted in the first place? Is that not greed?
I do not mean legendary lords unkillable in battle. I mean in the grand scheme. I mean if you beat the same guy into unconsciousness 5 times it is getting ridiculous.
That is another thing that annoys me. In other Total War games, resources were so tied into trade that planning where to conquer next often depended on resources. That is the removal of complexity that I mean.
That would be way to much content for the first game only, it would still be in development, and next two would not be needed at all. Mo money this way. Gaming business is a serious one.
I do not have a problem with releasing different land masses in different games, but they have not even finished the first game yet. Many of the unplayable factions have army books and really intense lore. But also. Where are species like the Skaven and the Halflings? They SHOULD be in this first land-mass.
I feel CA only released this game as a cash grab. If they spent more time perfecting this game before moving on, I would complain less..
You're a bit harsh when you talk about Rome 2 Total War.Yes it was broken when it was released but after it was patched it became a far better game than the original.One of the best games in the whole series.And Warhammer is a great game too but only after it was patched.Just my opinion.
I am not arguing with you opinion, both those games have their merits. I believe that even after Rome 2 was patched and all DLC released, the game just felt so unbalanced. The only time I really enjoyed it was after modding.
I recently played a coop campaign with a friend (2 months ago?) and we were in a battle that I wish I recorded to show you. We shattered the enemy army except for 2 pike battalions. We surrounded them and should have torn them apart, but even my flanking units were being slaughtered. We were playing on the hardest difficulty, but I do not see how difficulty has anything to do with unit stats on the battlefield.
Warhammer was a disappointment for me because of many reasons. I mentioned it in some other comments above. But to clarify, it was not the fantasy aspect that I hated. I was really looking forward to it. I hated that the game was incomplete!
I forgot to mention. The removal of family trees and how they attempted to do the politics was not a good move. Luckily Atilla learned from that.
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