

Paris of Troy might be one of the best video game approximations of what it’s like to play a Wife Guy. Other heroes have similarly dramatic gimmicks at work.

But all beware an outraged Achilles: Although his mighty tantrums give his troops berserker strength, he’s far too pissed to pay attention to the details of his diplomatic dealing, or even make sure people are harvesting their crops efficiently. An indignant Achilles sulks, pouts and parties hard with all around him, boosting resource gathering in his settlements and increasing the public’s happiness. His mood swings, influenced both by scripted events and in-game factors, have faction-wide effects. My first choice, Achilles, practically personifies his kingdom, meaning that when he’s sad, everyone is sad and when he’s mad, everyone‘s mad.

Your hero choices make huge differences on your play experience, as each faction leader comes with a bespoke gameplay gimmick that changes how their faction plays. Players will take control of hero-kings from both sides of the conflict, including familiar names like Paris and Hector on the Trojan side, and Achilles, Menelaus, and Agamemnon on the Greek side. The famous combination of turn-based strategizing and real-time tactics is still intact, simulating an approximation of Mycenaean Greece and Asia minor, circa 1200 BC. You guessed right: It’s the Trojan War! The decade-long dust-up between an alliance of indignant Greek kings and the Trojans over a pretty lady has been chronicled in countless different ways over the course of European civilization, from the Iliad to Troy (2004), and now you too have the privilege of reenacting it all on your computer screen.īut “reenactment” might be the wrong word, seeing as this is still a Total War title at heart. Like 2018’s Thrones of Britannia’s focus on the time of Alfred the Great and Fall of the Samurai‘s tackling of the Boshin War (though released in back 2014 as a Shogun 2 expansion, Fall was retroactively added to the Saga line), Troy zooms in on a single major region, and a single, relatively contained span of time, and in this case, one that’s quite a bit more recognizable in terms of world history.

Games in the Saga line are intended as smaller-scale experiences, and spaces for Creative Assembly to mess around, trying out new gimmicks and drastic overhauls that might seem out of place in the kind of era-spanning scope of a marquee release. The title, A Total War Saga: Troy, is the telltale sign. In case you haven’t been keeping up and are wondering what Creative Assembly are doing in ancient Greece when its epic foray to classical China has barely celebrated its first birthday, Troy isn’t a mainline Total War game. He will walk over to you, no matter how many guys you have in your army, and stick you in the ass with a sharp spear. And blood dlc certainly doesn't improve much.If I’ve learned anything from my brief time with a pre-release build of A Total War Saga: Troy, it’s this: Don’t piss off Achilles. Well, it's kind of a moot point since every game multiplayer need balancing and need it constantly.įighting animation is meh if you like that kind of thing. You'll always end up with 2 big alliances sending ships back and fourth over the sea, and they often invade at the same place. Single entities is way to durable while not having a lot of damage, make them an annoyance rather than a threat.īattle control is janky sometime. Support and bug fix has been quite on point so far. Troy can be quite frustrating and feel unfair if the play can't figure out, but if they do, it's actually one of the easier title in the franchise. Great battle map & siege, although some people may dispute the later. Speed difference and the improved flanking mechanic is the best things ever happen to infantry combat.įactions are more diverse and nuance than what they looks like at first sight. Alliance is actually useful instead of something that actively harm you like in Warhammer. I can't bloody believe that I need to think about a build order in Total war.ĭiplomacy is good enough and pretty fun to manipulate. Pros:Ī economy that reward good planning without being too tedious. I love it but I can see why many people don't. Good game, can be better, not for everyone.
