Review by: William Abner

Me and the Total War series – we go way back. We go back to Shogun, the original that put The Creative Assembly on the map over a decade ago. I’ve played every core game in this long running series and most of the expansions from the high point of Medieval Total War with the Viking Invasion to the low point of Empire: Total War.

The frustrations of Empire left me cautious about Shogun 2’s prospects. On the one hand the developer was returning to familiar territory – they knew this game before beginning to design it. This was home turf. This was Shogun and I was hoping that this familiarity would pay off. On the other hand, maybe The Creative Assembly had simply lost its touch? In many ways, this was an incredibly important release for the developer because if this one failed it could start to erode its core fan base.

It turns out that Shogun 2 is the best game The Creative Assembly has released in years. It’s a triumphant return to the era of rival clans, yari ashigaru, ninja assassins, and honor filled katana wielding samurai. It’s a huge, complex design, yet constrained and restricted enough so the AI is able to play its own game. I see myself playing this one for years to come.

What makes Shogun 2 such a joy to play is that the AI, for the most part, knows what it’s doing. This cannot be stressed enough as it was a key reason why Empire Total War struggled as mightily as it did. The AI in Shogun 2, while it may cheat a bit at the higher levels of difficulty, will use the same skills you use, the same tricks, the same unit’s special abilities and will do so in a way that makes sense. You never feel cheated. When I first discovered that another clan’s ninja had sabotaged my stronghold’s gates I was both ticked off (damn ninjas!) and thrilled to see the AI play the same game I was playing. When my bountiful sea trade route was attacked, thus crippling my economy, I was ticked (damn pirates!) but thrilled to see the AI recognize that I was financially cleaning up on the seas with impunity.

The AI shrewdly works diplomacy, knowing when to press your buttons and when to try and beg for a clan’s life either by offering payoffs or even offering to become a vassal clan (basically a puppet state). Attacking a clan will bring its allies into the war – if it suits them. On the other hand if you bring your allies into a fight they very well may conquer territory instead of you, which is great for your ally, but likely not quite what you had in mind. You truly get the sense that you’re playing against a working AI and not a placeholder for you just to steamroll to an easy victory.