Honsou Gaming

“Shogun 2″ and “The original campaign” are interchangeable in this review.

When I first heard about the new DLC Rise of the Samurai from Total War developers Creative Assembly, I had mixed feelings. I had read “A Brief History of the Samurai” about 6 months ago which is mainly the reason why it peaked my interest in Rise of the Samurai. RotS is set 400 years before the original campaign at a time when the Samurai class came to power, from hired thugs in the beginning to powerful clan warlords and skilled swords for hire. I highly recommend the book by the way, since its great to know a bit of depth behind the clans represented in the game.

The DLC is only E6.99. I normally dislike the concept of a new campaign along another, I would rather see an improvement of just the one. After hearing that the original would get a huge patch and new castle type (which CA did not have to do at all), I was quiet happy to pay for the DLC to try the new campaign and then jump back to the original.

Battles in RotS are more fun then the orgional

Something peculiar happened. The new features and concepts of RotS, the new map (same map, but prettier), new units to replace the original roster, new buildings and “influence” instead of religion, and the entire new atmosphere the game gives has mind blowingly made the new DLC perhaps not just better then the original, but it feels so unique that its a different game from the original as well. I could get bored of RotS and happily play Shogun 2 afterwards. They are so similar yet completely different.

When starting a new campaign, you can only pick between the three main clans. Each clan has two families, bringing the total clan number to six. This is ok, but letting us  play another clan or letting us play some of the minor clans would really go along way to giving RotS longevity. Hopefully the other clans can be unlocked or new DLC will be released for this. Apart from the small number of clans, the three you get were the main players in their day (Minamoto, Taira and the Fujiwara). Each clan gets many more bonuses then the clans in the original campaign, making each clan very powerful and unique in what they do. As Hojo in Shogun 2, you can get away with not turtling and pretty much ignore the benefits of the clans bonus. In RotS, 20% off income for Samurai units is insane not to follow up. Each clans strength is so powerful you are pretty much set to play that way. In my opinion its not a bad thing, since your not choosing a clan based on location with minor stats, but rather your play style.

The new map is beautifully made (hats off the the CA artists!) and gives it a real unique feel. It feels more authentic and old. The second main thing I noticed was the amount of small clans in the game. It does not take long before most of them get taken out, but destroyed clans are constantly re-emerging, and the map is slightly more lively for it. The 3 main clans dominate the map, but the smaller independent clans do make their mark.

Harder battle then you think.

The unit roster is much a tiny bit smaller, but much more fun. Elite samurai and monk units make a huge impact on the battlefield. The default loose formation works very well in making RotS different from Shogun 2. The battles feels more rustic, more authentic and really capture the period well. It feels very different to the original campaign and helps it stand out from it.

Influence replaces religion. All the other minor clans in the campaign hold one of the three main clans influence.  You spread your influence with agents from the marketplace building, and placing them in enemy territory. You can also spread influence by building the new administrative palace at key provinces that have many boarders.  Influence is better then religion in my opinion, since you need to prepare more before taking enemy provinces. Taking a province that holds another major faction in higher regard then yours, it will stop you in your tracks, and will have to wait for so many turns to pacify the rebellious settlement. Its generally more fun trying to spread influence then religion, and it has a better impact on the game, only because most of Shogun 2 shares the same religion. If they could add influence with religion to Shogun 2 in some way along with the new agent and buildings, it would add much more depth to the game.

One important aspect of RotS that struck me was the sounds in battle. Their are new sounds of the battle horns which can be eerie depending on the situation of the battlefield. Their are also shouts from the units which are really cool, and the slight echo they give when your moving around your units when at a distance add something new to the whole battle experience. Between the shouts and the battle horns, they both contribute to making RofS unique. Watching some of players battles of RofS will definitely give you an idea on what im talking about.

I am having a blast on my current campaign and have been trying to find come criticism. The influence feature not being implemented in the original campaign is not really an issue, rather then an opinion. The  campaign feels very streamlined and smaller, but only because of the lack of playable factions. Realm Divide makes a comeback, which makes the games diplomacy void past a certain point of superiority on the map. The fact that you have to plan for the realm Divide means you do not have the freedom to expand how you might like. The first game could be modded to make the RD more realistic, hopefully the same will happen for RofS.

Summary – The content in RotS is surprisingly refreshing. It is atmospheric, fun and different. It was a genuine surprise from CA to pull this off, and has restored faith in them for me. It might sound stupid, but adding some complexity in the new buildings was not what I would be expecting from a company wanting to milk its customers, and the new castle map for Shogun 2, as little or significant you might think that is show they are willing to put in the hours and time to making the game better. I highly recommend RofS, and after many had gave up hope.

Honsou.

I will be streaming this for a good while. You can find my stream at the top of this website.

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