Shogun 2: Total War’s standalone expansion will let you play online with existing Shogun 2 players, even if they haven't bought it. Whether you’ve discovered Fall of the Samurai’s trains, gatling guns and cannons or not, you’ll still be able to compete online with swords and muskets.

“One of the things that we made sure of with Fall of the Samurai is that we didn't split the online community”, says James Russell, Lead Designer on the series. Players without Fall of the Samurai can play against people with the expansion. That's really important to us. We want to make sure that people who buy the new game can play against the guys playing Shogun 2.

James stressed that maintaining context during the online battles is still a priority for Creative Assembly.

“Total War - particularly the campaign side - is a very unique, thoughtful, deep experience that we want to maintain. We definitely want to keep Total War as an immersive experience even though we want to create multiplayer battles that you can get in and out of quickly, and have fun if you’ve only got half and hour.”

"We have lots of plans to make multiplayer into a more compelling experience,” continued Jamie.

Shogun 2: Total War was the most multiplayer-focused game in the franchise so far, bringing a co-op campaign and fully-featured online component to the franchise. Yesterday we also chatted to James Russell about how the team juggle historical accuracy with a need for balance and sensible mechanics.

For more on Rise of the Samurai, watch part one of our exclusive interview or read Tim Stone’s in-depth feature in PC Gamer issue 236.

 
"We've got a huge pile of options we'd love to set the game in," says James Russell, Lead Designer of the Total War series. And we can't wait to see them happen. With three games in Steam's top 20 most played, it seems PC Gamers can't get enough of Creative Assembly's franchise. Probably because it's consistently great. Watch the video above for more from the closest thing Creative Assembly have to their own general.

Standalone Shogun 2 expansion, Fall of the Samurai, is due in March. It's going to be noisy, bloody and brutal. We're talking cannons, gatling guns, repeating rifles and spears: all being used against squishy human/horse flesh. The expansion will be set during a time of modernisation that marked Japan's transition into an industrial state 300 years after Shogun 2's campaign.

For more on Shogun 2's latest expansion, check back tomorrow or pick up a copy of PC Gamer 236, where you can read Tim Stone's in-depth feature.

It's a well known fact that samurai warriors contained five times as much blood as ordinary humans. This would allow them to gush pints and pints of gore at the slightest nick of a samurai sword, therefore allowing them to die in the most spectacular fashion. The latest Blood Pack Total War DLC will give Shogun 2 a sticky coating of extra historical accuracy with the addition of decapitation, limb severing, blood spatters and a range of gory new sound effects. It's available now on Steam at the price of 99p / $1.59.

The Hattori clan pack is also available, adding the four extra bits of DLC that Limited Edition buyers got for free on launch day. That includes the historical scenario, the Battle of Nagashino, a special armour set and bonus XP for your avatar. You also get the Hattori clan. They're masters of Iga-ryu ninjutsu, and have the most powerful ninja units of any faction. That's also out on Steam now, and costs £2.99 / $4.99.

Yesterday, The Creative Assembly announced Fall of the Samurai , a massive standalone expansion for Shogun 2, with new factions, and expanded campaign map and devastating new weaponry. Here are a few screenshots of the DLC released today. The first five are from the Blood Pack, the second five are from the Hattori pack.