14 DAY TRIAL // The upcoming Total War: Attila is a game about the decline of civilization and the pressures that can take down even the mightiest empires, and the developers at The Creative Assembly are claiming that both the Western and the Eastern incarnations of the Roman faction will face tough challenges but will have different ways to deal with them.
When the game starts, a variety of barbarian tribes are moving around Europe, prodding defenses and trying to find places where they can settle down or regions to raid, according to a new podcast.
The Western Roman Empire is the weaker of the factions and it is facing powerful enemies on its North, with climate change forcing powerful forces towards more fertile regions.
The faction is disrupted by the fact that a lot of its armies are led by half-barbarian generals and by the limited wealth it can use to bribe those assaulting it, but a strong ruler that can inspire his troops could still save Italy and use it to build a new and powerful nation.
The Eastern Roman Empire is much more wealthy and has one of the greatest cities of the moment in Constantinople, but it tends to be hampered in its efforts by the constant plotting of powerful families.
The Greek influence is also growing stronger and they also need to find a way to interact peacefully with the Sassanid Empire in order to first deal with invaders, which will eventually involve the Huns.
Empires are as fun to play in Attila as the invaders
The horde mechanics that The Creative Assembly has revealed sound interesting, with migratory tribes able to create their own upgrades and get money from the fertile regions they move through unopposed.
But the studio says that established empires will also be engaging during the campaign because they will have to decide where to stand and when to flee in order to preserve their strength and make sure that they have enough resources to deal with the barbarians around them and the huge Hun threat.
The faction led by Attila can’t choose to settle, while the Roman empires and the Sassanids cannot become hordes.
Total War: Attila will be out on the PC on February 17.
