So Thrones of Britannia is slow, but it’s a slowness that reflects how warfare was back then, contingent on so many varying factors.Īlso the new mechanics don’t feel unwieldy the way Attila’s did the entire interface of the game is very streamlined and has a favourable simplicity that harks back to Shogun 2 and Rome. There is also winter attrition, war fervour (which confers negative penalties if you’re losing) and influence, which will decrease due to losses, allowing political opponents to plot betrayal. Armies also require supplies, which only regenerate in friendly territory, meaning your armies can’t indefinitely stay in enemy lands. #TOTAL WAR SAGA THRONES OF BRITANNIA MAP FULL#This does create quite a refreshing experience in terms of battles the AI don’t constantly come at you with full 20 unit stacks and throughout the game you’ll fight battles of varying sizes. Units also require quite a bit of food to maintain, so improving infrastructure is a must if you wish to improve armies. Reflecting the nature of conscription at the time, units don’t start at full health, but instead must replenish over time to reach full strength. You take the role of one of these factions, and through diplomacy and war, unite your people and conquer the British isles. And in Scotland and Ireland, Circenn and Mide look to do much the same. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Gwynedd seeks to unite Wales and push back against their ancient enemies. Following the Saxon victory at Edington, Alfred the Great looks to unite all Saxons under one banner. The year is 878AD the Vikings have settled the lands they previously pillaged, establishing the Kingdoms of Northymbre, East Engle and the Viking sea kingdoms. It adds diversity and exploration to a historical period that could have otherwise been quite easily generic, as I believe Age of Charlemagne was. The idea of faction specific mechanics, which CA cultivated in the Warhammer games, is centre stage in this new title. Many historical fans disliked CA’s focus on the Warhammer games, but it’s an irony, that the quality of this new historical title is quite obviously a direct result. #TOTAL WAR SAGA THRONES OF BRITANNIA MAP SERIES#So I was pretty pleased when CA announced their new series of Total War Saga games episodic titles based around specific periods of history, the first of which being Thrones of Britannia. Exploring an entire historical period as an expansion, jumping forward hundreds of years from the period in which the base game is set, is a recipe for reused content. They can do more with less and the franchise doesn’t have to be limited to expansive wars across continents, as ironic as that sounds.Back when Creative Assembly released Age of Charlemagne as an expansion for Total War: Attila, a campaign dealing with, in part, the kingdoms of Britannia (a period of interest to me), I was skeptical to say the least. From my session, I say Creative Assembly has done a service to its fans, to history, and itself by granting more attention to a specific conflict. This iteration of a twenty-plus-year franchise has potentially broadened the spectrum of possible Total War games. More detail, better replay value, and the setting will go a long way in connecting player to the campaign. Naturally, new and intricate details vary per unit model. For example, the javelins do much more damage in this title than any other I’ve experienced. At their discretion, too, Creative Assembly has reconfigured some traditional units. Though I cannot speak for the nuance in every Total War entry, you’ll note that a Viking shield wall in this game looks and functions as depicted in historical texts. Per usual, units and formations have been built to coincide with how period warfare was conducted. The formula prevails as well as ever, inducing the traditional gravitas that comes with managing armies. And one can never overlook the fun of real-time combat, butter to the bread of Kingdom management.
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