Fall of the Samurai is a great big standalone expansion for Total War: Shogun 2 that will pit the samurai classes against imperial forces that threaten the power of the Shogunate. The influx of colonial forces and new technology leads to an internal struggle between pro-imperial forces and traditionalists. The result? WAR! Katanas will meet muskets on the battlefields of Japan.

There will be six new factions to play with, 39 new land units, 10 new naval units, an expanded campaign map, three new agents, port sieges and new technology, including railways. It's available to pre-order now on Steam and the SEGA store for £24.99 / $29.99

Pre-ordering on Steam will grant you the Tsu faction, described as astute strategists and master ninjas. The SEGA store pre-order comes with the Obama faction, who have nothing to do with the incumbent US administration. They're described as an authoritarian people "who are unsurpassed in controlling people and trade."

The official Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai pre-order page also lists a limited edition as "coming soon." That'll contain the Saga faction, who can quickly adopt the fresh technology brought into Japan by Imperial forces. Fall of the Samurai is due out in March.

We didn’t see this coming. Stupid, I know. But when we got our hands on an early build of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I was certain it would be the game of 2011. Skyrim would be great, but it would just be Oblivion with a bit more snow. So now that it’s here, why does it feel like so much more than that?

For so many reasons – but I’ll pick four. The first is that character progression is so much more exciting, an element we’ve talked more about in our selection for RPG of the year.

That’s a fundamental change, but in other places, differences of degree are just as important. The biggest of those is just how much stuff they’ve packed into this world. A ten minute stroll in Oblivion might pass one cave and an Elven ruin – both uncannily similar to the last ones you raided. The same journey in Skyrim can lead you up a rocky mountain path, past the door to a dripping abandoned mine, under a spectacular waterfall, past rebel guards escorting an imperial prisoner, through an icecrusted underground pass, into a steampunk Dwarven ruin, through a battle between an Elder Dragon and the guards of a local village, and ultimately to an ancient Nordic dungeon that ends in a wall of Dragontongue glyphs that grant you the power to breathe jets of ice.



It doesn’t feel like a grudging reaction to a few fan complaints about monotonous dungeons, it feels like Bethesda genuinely understood how to make a richer environment. They went so many extra miles in fleshing this world out with substantial and interesting adventures that Skyrim feels like a different kind of place to Cyrodiil.

Then there’s the landscape. Mountains have a natural drama to them that gently rolling hills never did. Skyrim is the spectacular skyline other games paint on their backgrounds to suggest a wilder, bigger world than they can really give you. This time it’s really there: you can scramble up its twisting paths, tumble down its icy slopes, explore every frosted forest.

It’s so much more than just a fantasy postcard generator: this crinkled country is always hiding the next adventure behind a cloudsmudged summit or a heart-stopping drop. Not being able to see what’s over the next ridge – or where the game world ends – gives Skyrim a sense of limitless promise.



Lastly, it’s just one leap closer to the perfect open world game that the Elder Scrolls series keeps shooting for. When I first heard about Morrowind, I kept thinking there must be something wrong with it. It’s third person, right? Or the combat’s turn based? Or I’m really controlling a party? Or I can’t actually go anywhere? It can’t actually be like an FPS in a gorgeous fantasy world, utterly unrestricted and rich with story. That’s just ridiculous.

But it was, and every time Bethesda jump a bit closer to achieving that dream game, that incredible feeling of freedom hits me again. Every time they give us a new world to explore that way, my brain buzzes at the possibilities. Skyrim makes such huge improvements to the magic, the stealth, the characters and the landscape that they all feel real again, and the immersion is complete.

It won’t stay fresh forever. But when Bethesda release a game that makes Skyrim feel clunky and barren, we’re all in quite a lot of trouble.

Check out our Skyrim review for more.

Highly recommended: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Total War: Shogun 2, League of Legends, Minecraft, Limbo.

We elevate the Total War games beyond simply being good strategy games because we believe they’re story-engines: that not only do they offer deep and difficult decisions about how to paint the map your colour, but they also entertain you with your own genius.

Shogun 2 is a spectacular return to form. Partly, it’s the period: a time in Japanese history when heroes and villains rise and fall. Partly, it’s the technology: there’s little in PC gaming that can match the drama of a full speed cavalry charge. But mostly, it’s because the game creates interesting drama. The time when you had to rush an army home to fend off a betrayal from your neighbour clan. The time when you hid an army and engineered an ambush. The time when your veteran clan leader dismounted, and held the line while thousands of peasants rolled into the front gate. That time when… you’ve got the stories. You remember.

Highly recommended: Frozen Synapse and Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty.

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.

 
The Creative Assembly have just announced that they'll be releasing a huge standalone expansion for Total War: Shogun 2 called Fall of the Samurai. It will be set in the period leading up to the Boshin War, in which European and American forces introduce a new wave of military technology that threatens to wipe out the Samurai.

Fall of the Samurai will add six new factions. Some, like the Nagaoka, sill support the might of the Shogun. Others, like the Satsuma clan, want to embrace Imperial power. Externally, British, French and American forces are vying for influence in the Land of the Rising Sun. Over the course of the campaign, you'll get to decide Japan's fate.

New tech trees will reflect the evolving technology of a country adapting to the influx of devastating new weaponry from the west. That technology includes new naval units like "steamers, torpedo boats and mighty Ironclad battleships." For the first time in Total War, these will be able to launch artillery attack on land units from the safety of the sea. Coastal defences will also be able to launch ranged attacks on incoming fleets, and the fight for influence will rage across a new campaign map that will incorporate the Northern Ezo territories and railways. Railways can be used to move troops incredibly fast, and can be sabotaged by the enemy.

On the battlefield, 39 new units will be available, including Gatling guns, US Marines and British Royal Marines. There will be three new agent types, Foreign Veteran, the Ishin Shishi and the Shinshengumi. These campaign map agents will have all new progression trees, and the Geisha and Ninja skills will be updated.

The six new factions are divided into pro-Shogunate and pro-Imperial groups. The Aizu, Nagaoka, and Jozai clans fight for traditional Japan, while the Choshu, Satsuma and Tosa factions fight for the Empire.

A number of improvements will be made to siege battles. New tower defences can be upgraded and specialised to become archery, matchlock or gatling gun towers. A new "port siege" battle will let armadas brave coastal defences to take control of coastal towns by occupying their harbours.

Shogun 2's multiplayer features will also be expanded. You'll be able to create a separate Fall of the Samurai avatar with access to 40 new retainers, 30 new armour pieces and a new tech tree. There will be a new 19th century conquest map and you'll be able to create multiple avatars to try out different tech tree builds.

Fall of the Samurai is shaping up to be a huge update. It's standalone, too, so you won't need Shogun 2 to play it. It's due out in March.