Total War: Fall of the Samurai - New Weapons, New Units And Shogun 2 Compatability

We recently visited Creative Assembly’s studio in the heart of West Sussex to go hands-on with the upcoming stand-alone Shogun 2 expansion, Fall of the Samurai, and to find out exactly why the Total War series has remained in Japan for the second year running.

You can read our interview with Fall of the Samurai’s developers for more insight, but we’ve laid out our impressions and more on the game’s considerable new features below.

Shogun vs. Imperials – Tradition vs. Technology

Fall of the Samurai is set during the end of the Shogunate - 300 years after Shogun 2: Total War’s endgame - which sees the arrival of three new factions on Japanese soil, the British, Americans and French.

With them comes the onset of modern technology (gunpowder weapons, vehicles) and ideas (capitalism) which helps forge a brand new backdrop on top of which Fall of the Samurai plays out; an epic battle between tradition vs. modernity with the old school Shogunate clinging to power while the Imperialists attempt to overthrow it. Even the background music will become more western as time rolls on.

New Map, Units, Weapons and Technology

Yes, the latest Shogun 2 expansion is still set in Japan, but that’s not even the half of it - with the new foreign factions come the latest 19th century inventions; pistol and rifle-bearing cavalry rub shoulders with rapid-fire Gatling guns and cannons available in your tech tree along the line as the sword and spear age comes to an end, and the firearm era comes to Japan. There are pros and cons to the new technology though.

With gold at the centre of all your endeavours (even farms are now income-producing assets) the most powerful weapons are also, naturally, the most expensive. During our hands-on we found horse-drawn heavy weapons slow to move and assemble, meaning even low tech, fast moving units have their place. And as usual, if you can use the terrain - such as a deserted town in the historical battle we played – you can overcome the odds.

The new railway network changes everything.

Steampowered Japan

With the arrival of Western technology comes a genuine campaign-changer – a railway line which snakes up the middle of Japan through specific territories, enabling the holder of said areas to improve trade and move units large distances across the map far quicker than usual. Control the railway, and you’ll have a huge asset at your disposal.

A powerful navy can win the war

Modernisation hasn’t just hit Japan – it’s hit the water around Japan too. While Shogun 2 included naval engagements, the ensuing battles were fairly tame. At least they were compared to the gunpowder-fuelled fights in Fall of the Samurai – we played a mission that called on us to defend our destructive ironclad ship while it underwent repairs, and required us to fire volleys of standard, explosive or armour-piercing rounds across long distances.

Brilliantly, it’s now possible to aim and fire your artillery from a new centre-of-the-ship, third-person perspective – ship mobility is suitably sluggish (depending on your vessel), so you’ll probably want your fleet to simply follow your orders, but the rush of firing the killer volley from your ship’s guns in third-person mode is a welcome touch. You’ll also be able to take third-person control of artillery weapons on the battlefield too.

More importantly, increased firepower and range also means your ships can rain-down projectiles on some in-land settlements too, adding additional strategic opportunities.

Explosions are now commonplace n Fall of the Samurai

Fall of the Samurai will improve Shogun 2

With Fall of the Samurai set for backwards compatibility with Shogun 2, Creative Assembly has promised a huge update for last year’s Total War entry - it won’t only make all of the new and old units work together for cross-game multiplayer, but also massively improve the AI in the older game. In addition, both games will also require you to think much faster with improved AI speed in the turn-based part of the campaign map.

Fall of the Samurai is bigger – and better

Following our extensive hands-on with Fall of the Samurai, we’re convinced that there’ll be plenty here for existing fans and newcomers alike to sink their teeth into.

Creative Assembly has taken the time to ensure  that not only does Fall of the Samurai integrate perfectly into Shogun 2, but that it includes all the little tweaks, ideas and a ton of new features that the developer has been saving up. We’re not sure ‘expansion’ will do Fall of the Samurai justice, either - it’s stand alone, yes, but almost all of the changes double as improvements: 40 vs. 40 battles instead of 20 vs. 20, multiple new units, 24 campaign-map turns a year and an estimated 100 hours of gameplay ensure you won’t be finishing it anytime soon.

New ships, such as Ironclads, will take the fight onto water more than ever.