Since the end of 2009, our magazine has been actively stood for a small Hungarian studio Neocore. These people have ugly, uncomfortable, but in their own way charming clones Total War. With one reservation: they are cramped.
The authors successfully turned the obvious shortcomings of production (little money, few people) to the pluses – their games are quite accurately model for individual local conflicts, and not all world wars at once. Medieval , Rome or Empire they could not afford this for objective reasons. These games were about everything in the world.
In Neocore, a lot of things came up with their own regarding the RPG system and the global card, but at the same time, of course, looked back at the first part of Shogun. Respectively, the studio lived only due to the fact that Creative Assembly All decades have been dazzling with acute giantism.
So. What Shogun 2 -A cool game, and so it is clear, we played the beta version and checked everything ourselves. Now, taking this opportunity, we just want to contact Neocore. Friends, you will be a khan.
Philadelphia-Maki
Regarding each new part of Total War, it is customary to report that there is a new level of battles, new scales, a new depth of study, and indeed everything is now better. But if you discard this familiar journalistic pathos, then you can not help but admit: this is already more and less for many years the same games where everyone has been multiplied by two (in places – by five or ten). And Shogun 2 is, like the first part, a point, developed story in which you personally participate. And this really changes everything – despite the fact that the frame has the same map, cities and generals.
So that you understand the difference. Empire is a whole library compartment of the era of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Many books, mountains of text, dry references, tables, diaries, canvases of battalists and marinists, newspapers, political cartoons, publications of that time – everything is dumped in a heap.
Exactly a year ago, in the results of the 2009, we wrote that Total War has grown to such a scale that it can play itself. And it is still said. When you in Empire clicked on the “Skip move” button, billions of zeros and units seemed to fly into parallel reality, where the game lived without any participation. Someone attacked someone, someone captured the city, but also the pirates, and there is an uprising, and the king was born … by the time you really began to feel directly to what was happening on the monitor , from muskets and triangles already began to stir up.
Shogun 2 in this case – this is a medium -sized adventure book with bright pictures, historical footnotes and detailed, but living descriptions of each storyline. Not so large, but it is written for us, and not for a group of professors of a historical university. With this I want to fall into a hammock on a weekend.
The name of us are paths, and the wind drives us. Army and fleet of medieval Japan
In the 16th century, ASIGARO, ordinary infantrymen who subordinate to samurai (landowners and noble soldiers) fought in Japan for the most part in Japan. Armed them with peaks and bows. On June 29, 1575, a sign battle took place in the history of the late Middle Ages, the battle of Nagasino. Competing clans, Oda and Tokugawa, used arquebuses, long guns firing stone bullets. Despite the fact that the Arkebuzes themselves were invented fifty years before, it was after Nagasino that they began to massively arm their asigar all the feudal lords. This battle will be present in Shogun 2 itself, but only for those who buy a limited or collection edition (or Grand Master Edition, which also includes chess with units from the game, but in Russia this will hardly be possible to get it).
And the basis of the Japanese fleet during Segunes were sailing junks, bamboo boats with folding sails. It is not known exactly when the Jonks were invented, but they were used in China and Japan (and then all of Asia) since ancient times: they suggest that the Fleet among the Japanese appeared even earlier than that of the Egyptians. Jonki improved, increased sails and masts – and in the Middle Ages were much stronger and maneuverable of the fleet of Europeans. The standard weapons of Jonka consisted of ten metal guns (but already at later stages, there are no 2 guns in Shogun), although at that time everything that swims on water was used primarily for transport purposes.
Kitay-Gorod
Of course, the first global map responded to all shifts of an ideological character. In size, it seems to be practically not inferior to the previous games of the series, but in reality the difference is great – in fact, it is cramped Japan, and every corner has been worked out here, each bend of the islands. This, in turn, affects RTS-transfers: you definitely know all the types of areas and landscape, most cards are handmade.
The basic rules in the macro -management at first glance have not changed either. There are cities that need to be captured, there are generals who move on the map, there are units that are purchased in cities. But, firstly, the scale has changed, which means that the role of each individual province has increased (now additional settlements and bases for resources is really important). Secondly, the meaning and the relationship between units transformed and in general. There are few commanders, each of them is worth its weight in gold. They have overgrown with a lot of RPG elements: for example, a moral system has become more complicated (each real samurai is always in the balance from ripping off your stomach), talents in the field of warfare, supply and management of cities are pumped separately. Moreover, now behind the clan’s affairs can be observed from a special window, which clearly shows who is who, with whom in what connections are and what he does. Four ministers can also be appointed there: in military affairs, support, construction and finance.
And all communications, as before, provide agents, but now everything is also not easy with them. Geisha and ninja are responsible for the murders, but you need to use them wisely, following all the rules of the new role system. How to kill a commander – in a camp or on a battlefield, in a fortress or a city, with or without … nuances dozens, and for a successfully executed mission of your assassin will be awarded with experience points that can be spent on pumping certain skills. Each attempt to stab the enemy samurai is accompanied by a contextual video, which are here in a hundred.
Other agents – priests and secret police – do not kill enemy generals, but lure them to your side. The opponent’s monks, in turn, can dissuade their wards from such a dishonest act. Honor, morality and respect – key aspects of Shogun 2. There is even a special parameter by which you can determine how favorable to you not only other fractions, but also your own generals.
Finally, the last important change in macrostategia is the development of cities and upgrades. To ripen the economy and society, no academies or special buildings are needed anymore (this has always been annoyed in Total War), you can build and improve anything, if only the means allowed. And everything related to urban management is conveniently divided into two branches: peaceful and military.
Sushi-lover
But the closest thing in beta version managed to get acquainted with the battles. Despite the fact that now one army can consist of 50 thousand units (a record in the series), the battles are mostly compact, you will quickly orient yourself what kind of detachments are for what is being needed and what is happening at all. Although everything happens in terms of the same scenario as before (to be precise, to Empire, when everything ruined firearms): archers give a volley and retreat, the cavalry strikes the first blow and runs away to accelerate again, and then they go to use Meglines and spearmen. Either the one who has more the army wins, or the one who uses the same bunch of “archers-cavalry”, while the rest are shoved in the center of the field. But this is only within the dough battle, which offers a preview of the version, in general, in Shogun 2, units-veterans and pumping of detachments will appear-this, of course, will make its nuances.
And although ordinary collisions of the wall on the wall remained an unimportant booth, then the assaults of fortresses are actually something new. Locks in Shogun 2 are large, with multi -level approaches and steep climbs, you really have to strain to win. By default, the fortress of each province is small, but with the growth of the city it is also improved – it is overgrown with towers, walls and floors. On average, take 3-4 times more units to take the fortification from the attackers than the defending side: first you need to deal with the infantry at the entrance (under the hail of arrows), then-with protection on each platform (archers, of course, continue the shelling ), and then, half -dead detachments, to finish off the cavalry that protects the feudal lord.
The main thing is that you really want to understand the battles, they are quite interesting and understandable so that there is no desire to squeeze them out. The last time this was in Rome.
Sea battles have also changed a lot. Japanese ships are not gigantic European caravels (for more details see. insertion), but rivers and coastal waters are not ocean spaces, so there are no such clashes, when thirty ships are watered with nuclei of the other thirty vessels, there is no. It is necessary to deftly maneuver between islands and water garbage, exactly designating the path of the ship (according to the method of building a broken line) and catching the veteran of the enemy one at a time. Now it is more nimble tactics than a large -scale strategy. But this, perhaps, can be said about Shogun 2 in general.
The case is thin
Some aspects of culture and policy of medieval Japan who have found or can be reflected in Shogun 2.
Forgive me, mom
Shogun 2 will have suicides doomed to defeat military leaders. But this is not harakiri, as is commonly believed. Ritual care is called Seppuka, during which the samurai, strictly observing the rules of the ceremony, pierces his abdominal cavity with a ritual dagger, having previously written a farewell verse (most often three -winged, Hoku). Sometimes a Samurai servant cuts his head off the already dead master. “Seppuka” is literally translated as “cut stomach”, and “harakiri”, despite a similar translation, is a vulgar word, dirty, rough suicide, unworthy of a real warrior.
From mud to bunch
In the previous parts of Total War there were Duelz Casino two ways along which you could get bosses to your army. The first is dynasty: your generals had families, and born boys, after reaching eighteen years, became commanders of the army. The second – when your detachments fought under the leadership of the captain, and he is raised for military successes. How things are in Shogun 2 is unknown, but here, unlike Europe, several factors work against the current principle. On the one hand, samurai is not just warriors or feudal lords, it is a social layer, and not the fact that the distinguished captain can get into it. On the other hand, in the history of Japan, it has repeatedly happened that a simple peasant led people behind him. So, Toyotomi Hideesi, the great unite of Japan, was born in a poor family in a small province of Ovari.
Hostages
In Japan, that now, five hundred years ago, there is a whole set of unspoken rules of conduct, communication, life, negotiations, etc.D. In addition to, for example, famous customs to bow instead of handshakes and restrain their emotions as much as possible (does not apply to a friendly smile), there are also rules formed in modern Japan. Let's say it is not customary to give tips in any form – this will be considered for insulting.
Some customs and gestures have yet lost their relevance. One of the most important diplomatic rules of medieval Japan is when you conclude an alliance with someone, you must transfer a member of your family to the second side as a guarantor of peace. If you break the pact and attack the newly -made ally, your relative is executed. The authors of Shogun 2 confirmed that in the game such a diplomatic option is provided for.
Development paths
Not a single Total War series has yet been complete without additions (the events of which, as a rule, develop after the historical period of the original campaign). In 1603 in Japan (just where the game ends) the feudal government (segunate) of the Tokugawa clan was established. The clan of the rules united by the state until 1868, that is, 265 years. Internal trees at this time practically came to naught – until the formation of a strong opposition in the XIX century.
Obviously, the original Shogun 2 will not affect this historical fact, but for the addon the topic is beautiful.
* * *
Not so long ago, Creative Assembly admitted that they themselves do not know which road to lead Total War. Inside the studio, disputes are constantly underway (up to Fantasy: Total War). We would advise them to develop exactly the approach that Shogun preaches – to work out each nation in detail. And only then, in ten years, pushing them in one big game, for the vulgar gigantism of which will no longer be ashamed.
The only question is, how many charming states as medieval Japan will be typed in the history of mankind.
We will wait? Total War for a year in a row has become the main reason to be proud that you have a game computer at home, but this time not because the game is huge. And because it is really good.
Percentage of readiness: 80%
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