They re climbing the walls. Hundreds of tiny warriors are using grappling hooks to scale the stone barriers of a Chinese settlement, as I look down on the battlefield from my perch at E3. I bite my lip and pretend to know what I m doing. Yes, swordsmen, through the breach. Spear dudes, down the middle. Grappling hook men, up you go. Only stinky Romans use anything as primitive as a ladder to assault a city. But oh no, I ve forgotten my heroes. Three horsemen that are now hundreds of metres away from the action. These units are what Total War: Three Kingdoms is all about. Special warriors, similar to the powerful hero units of the Total War: Warhammer spin-offs. I send them in and they slaughter dozens of soldiers, holding entire battalions at bay. But the enemy has one of these heroes too L Bu. And he LOVES to kill. (more…)
Total War: Three Kingdoms is the latest outing from Creative Assembly’s series of best selling strategy games that educate you about fun historical times and places and all the different ways that you can CRUSH their people under your iron will. TW:3K is set for release in spring 2019, and transports the series to Ancient China during the reign of child Emperor Xian of Han, as I’m sure you all remember from history class. I hate to rehash 190 AD when we all know it like the back of our hands. Anyway, like you already know, the child Emperor was manipulated by regent Dong Zhou and various factions would need to rise and fall and make fragile alliances to fight back against this tyranny. You know: Total War basics.
Today, we get a look at some of the pre-alpha gameplay via a new video. They didn’t have video in 190 AD. That’s a fact I know. A history fact.
"Art-driven" design, "mythical" characters, Wushu (yes, Wushu!). Total War: Three Kingdoms is the next historical entry to the grand strategy series but, boy, it really sounds like another fantasy game on paper. Watching developer Creative Assembly's E3 presentation I can almost feel the hand-wringing before it's begun - but, clearly, so can the developers, because in a stroke of simple genius they've already thought of that, already devised a solution, and already have an answer for me, before I even ask the question.
That's because Total War: The Kingdoms has two campaigns: a "Romance" mode and a "Classic" mode. One for the novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a sweeping epic of power, betrayal and warriors who slay a thousand men; one for the history books, like Records of the Three Kingdoms, a sweeping epic of power, betrayal and precise accounts of taxation levies and military formations.
I didn't get to see how this played out in the campaign, but I did get a look at "romance" version of a siege battle, where much of the game's changes are immediately evident. Creative Assembly is keen to stress the emphasis on character, above all, in Three Kingdoms. In the campaign map it'll come through in the form of "Guanxi" - a sense of connection, relationship and reciprocity - that I'm told will underpin much of your decision-making and that of your AI opponent's. In battle, it's most evident in your generals.
Bad news: the launch of Total War: Three Kingdoms will come in spring 2019, pushed back from autumn 2018.
Good news: a new trailer has a selection of moving shapes, colours, and sounds that you might find comforting.
The Creative Assembly’s first foray into Chinese history for their strategy series needs a little more time to finish up properly, see. Better a better game later than a wonky one sooner, right? (more…)
Update: We asked Creative Assembly about the delay, and were given the following comment:
"As the next major Total War title, we're giving it the time it needs to reach the highest levels of quality."
Original Story: Sega and Creative Assembly have delayed Total War: Three Kingdoms to spring 2019.