Big In Japan: Shogun 2 Preview

Recently I paid a visit to Creative Assembly, had a play of Total War: Shogun 2 and wrote about it. Yes. But not here! No. I did the deed over at IGN, and if you feel up to braving the journalism badlands outside of RPS then you can read it here. If you've lost interest in Total War, this preview is probably for you. Look, I say things like this:

Empire wasn't perfect, and Creative Assembly know it. As such, this upgrade of the first game couldn't have come at a better time. Firstly, compared to the huge tracts of history Creative Assembly's been wrestling with recently, Medieval Japan is a comparatively tidy time period. Secondly, Creative Assembly are getting to look at their game in the context of the brand-free smash hit it once was- when all the mechanics worked almost flawlessly. Thirdly, the team are borrowing a bit of Eastern philosophy. Creative Assembly wants the design of Shogun 2 to be 'zen'. Shogun 2, then, isn't going to be a bigger game than previous Total War titles. It's going to be better.

And then I segue into describing the new skill trees, the new interface and the new and ludicrously in-depth multiplayer, which boasts a (are you ready?) collectible card sub-game. Interested? Go and read.