14 DAY TRIAL // The Creative Assembly has unveiled more information about the Agents that will appear in Shogun 2: Total War, the mix between turn based and real time strategy that will arrive in 2011, showing the complex missions that they can perform on the strategic map.
The agents in Shogun 2: Total War are the Geishas, the Ninjas, the Metsuke and the Monks.
Geishas are familiar from the first Shogun game and will keep mainly the same abilities and skills.
Ninjas are also mainly unchanged, skilled in overtly killing other characters, mainly Generals, but The Creative Assembly is mixing things up by creating assassination cutscenes that will vary depending on the skill of the agent involved and on the protections the generals have.
One new interesting mechanics is that of the Metsuke, secret agents that can infiltrate the camp of a general who is out with his army and lure him and a portion of his force out of safety and into an ambush.
It will likely create a few interesting situations where just being out with a big army is no guarantee of success and will make troop loyalty more important than ever.
Factions will also be able to create Monks, the counter to Metsuke, meaning that the turn based strategy portion of the game will be more engaging than in previous Empire and Napoleon titles, where even diplomacy was handled without the use of an agent.
New mechanics are also linked to Generals, with loyalty to the leader of the clan coming into play more than in the first game.
Generals can also be ordered to commit seppuku if they are close to going rogue.
The move give factions a bonus to loyalty but it can also lead to others leaving the clan and becoming rebel immediately.
Shogun 2: Total War returns the series to its roots and will again allow players to take control of a Japanese Daimyo during the period when factions were fighting over control of the Shogunate.