Total War Moves Back to Japan as Shogun 2 Is Confirmed

The Creative Assembly has officially confirmed that it is working on Shogun 2: Total War, a new installment in its long running series, which takes a trip back on memory lane to the first historical period it has ever tackled. Fans of the franchise have long asked for a return to Japan and its samurai warriors, especially if it is also linked with more simple mechanics for a series which, with Napoleon and Empire: Total War, has become bloated to some.

It seems that the new videogame will have eight factions the player can choose from, one more than those seen in the original release. Each of them will have different strengths and weaknesses and players can expect to see some of the Takeda focus on cavalry or on the protected starting position and the Oda focus on mass producing low quality troops.

The Creative Assembly is promising that Shogun 2 will offer a smaller roster of units, each with a clearly defined role on the battlefield and with easy to understand upgrade options over time.

The developers will aim to offer more of a narrative structure to the new game, with the daimyo, or faction leader, gaining traits as he develops and gains control over more of Japan while also taking the lead when it comes to negotiations with other factions and dealing with European intruders like the Portuguese and the Dutch. One entirely fresh idea is that of hero units, based on poems and stories, who can shift the balance of power on the battlefield but are vulnerable to political manipulation and, presumably, to money.

The Creative Assembly is also aiming to make sieges more interesting, with the conquest of the fortresses taking place in stages, allowing for the player to evaluate how the effort is going and decide on whether to press on with the direct assault or wait out the defenders. Naval battles are also included, but with a simpler nature than in Empire. Shogun 2: Total War will probably not arrive until late in 2011.