If you see the name “Menelaus” and find yourself scratching your head over how to pronounce it, then have no fear: play any more than eight seconds of A Total War Saga: Troy, and you will never forget. That’s because the extremely bellowy king of Sparta can’t seem to take a breath without hollering his own name on the exhalation. He’s like an incredibly angry Pokémon. In fairness, though, he’s very cross, because noted Trojan sex enthusiast Paris has run away to the other side of the Med with his wife Helen, and the whole incident has made him look a right boafus. Cue the Trojan War.
Just as my first go at Troy saw me play a battle built on the feud between bronze age miseryboys Achilles and Hector, this second demo, which allowed me four hours to guzzle down as much campaign play as I could, focused on the even more cataclysmic beef between Menelaus and Paris. I got to play a good chunk of game with each of them, but Menelaus got the lion’s share of time. And while my inner roleplayer wanted to really get into the sandals of this insecure, shouting Greek fight aficionado, it transpired that the real joy to be had was in playing him as a sort of cheeky, opportunistic rock salesman. (more…)
