Forums » General Gaming

Any Total War fans?

    • 20 posts
    January 12, 2016 1:36 PM EST

    My gaming these days is largely split into 2 broad categories:  Bethesda-style RPGs on the one hand, and games in the Total War series on the other.

    They're so different from one another that it gives me a nice break when I come back around to these games.  And I tend to play games for a looong time.  Of Bethesda games, I still play Morrowind regularly (as well as Skyrim, of course), with side-trips to FO3 and FNV (haven't bought FO4). 

    And in the Total War series, I still return to Medieval (the original as well as Medieval 2) and Rome (the original).

    Anyone out there playing old(er)-school TW games?

    • 277 posts
    January 12, 2016 1:40 PM EST

    Total War is strategy, right? If so, to this day I still play Age of Mythology. 

    • 20 posts
    January 12, 2016 3:59 PM EST

    I remember that one!  Although my first borderline-obsession computer game was Age of Empires 2. 

    But yes, Total War is strategy.  Their games are split into 2 parts: a turn-based campaign map (of medieval Europe or Japan or whatever, where you build up your infrastructure and train and maneuver armies), and the real-time battle map (where you actually fight those battles with those troops you trained).  It's an excellent model IMO. 

    • 394 posts
    January 12, 2016 4:23 PM EST

    I'd love to play these but I can't find any that run on Windows 10. Are there any? I'm also a big Civ fan.

    • 1 posts
    January 19, 2016 10:57 AM EST

    Probably THE strategy game I have spent the most time playing must be Medieval 2 Total War. I still play it from time to time, with various different factions.

    The dual strategic elements of empire-wide strategy and battle tactics is what keeps drawing me in, as does the highly inspiring setting (the medieval period).

    I do wish the diplomacy system had been made to actually work, though

    • 43 posts
    January 19, 2016 5:06 PM EST

    I own Rome Total War 1/2, Medieval Total War 2 (without dlc) and Napoleon Total War, I have not played them in a while due to life and those games making me lose whole days to them without noticing. There is something so enjoyable about making your own vast empire that makes them so fun, that and brutally killing thousands of people to build said empire. War, war never changes.   

    • 1441 posts
    January 19, 2016 5:10 PM EST

    I have wanted to, but sadly have not played Total War. I have played Civilization Revolution, Crusader Kings 2 (Highly recommend you buy this gem when its on sale), and Mount and Blade Warbands. 

    • 1467 posts
    January 19, 2016 7:11 PM EST

    I own multiple Total War games, but I've never been able to get into them.

    I'm more of an Age of Empires guy myself, I own the 3 main games (+ all DLC) and Age of Mythology) 

    • 203 posts
    January 19, 2016 7:15 PM EST

    I am in a very similar situation, I have sinked many hours into the "age of" series and Civ5 but even though they are periodically installed on my pc I just can't seem to get into the total war games.

    • 277 posts
    January 20, 2016 2:08 AM EST
    That game was so awesome! My uncle from Canada bought AoE2 and brought it to me half way through the globe. I spent so many hours of fun playing it. Still, my first ever played game was Age of Empires 1.
    • 641 posts
    January 23, 2016 1:21 PM EST

    I'm excited for Total Warhammer although I don't have anything to play it on.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    January 23, 2016 1:35 PM EST

     My first Total War game was the original Rome, and I played it quite a lot until a few years ago, when I lost my copy and got a better computer (to play the newer ones)

     I ended up skipping Medieval 2, Empire and Napoleon, so my first "new" Total War game was Shogun 2, and what a blast that was. I fell in love with the series, so I bought Napoleon and Rome 2, and had a blast with those too (I only ended up playing Rome 2 after a few patches, so I missed the horrible launch it had).

     I also tried getting into Medieval 2, but the game kept crashing after a few turns and I just didn't have the time/patience to try to fix it. That was when my O.S was Windows 7, I haven't tested it with Windows 10 yet.

     After that, I bought Attila on release day (I wanted those vikings for free. They were disappointing in the end...) and, although I haven't played it as much as Rome 2, I really enjoyed its new mechanics - except the exaggerated fertility drop and the absurd amount of campaign razing - but those two concerns were fixed in one of my all time favourite campaigns: Age of Charlemagne.

     Perhaps it's the early medieval setting and my personal fascination for that time period, but it is a great mix of classic Total War feeling, Attila new mechanics without anything being over the top like in the main campaign and the amount of care you can see that was put in this DLC, unlike many of Rome 2 and Attila's other paid additions, which I thankfully avoided thanks to the feedback provided in the Total War forums.

     If you couldn't tell, I really love Total War. In fact, it was one of the main, if not the biggest reason I had to move to computer gaming. And I don't regret a thing.

    • 20 posts
    January 28, 2016 1:31 PM EST

    I've bought CK2, but I just cannot get into it.  There's so much detail, it's overwhelming!  Everything I've read suggests it's an awesome game, but I feel like I'll need to dedicate a huge amount of time to learning how everything works. 

    • 20 posts
    January 28, 2016 1:33 PM EST

    I love the time period of AoC too, but I haven't bought any TW games since Shogun 2.  Initial reviews of Rome 2 turned me off to it.  My main concerns are the "blobby" battles that seem to be over far too quickly, and lack of unit cohesion.  Has AoC changed things in that regard? 

    • 20 posts
    January 28, 2016 1:34 PM EST

    I don't have Win10 myself, but you may have to do a little fiddling.  I think people can play them via Steam, though. 

    • 1441 posts
    January 28, 2016 1:59 PM EST

    Yeah, you do, I even haven't gotten the hang of it. My friend Jeremy is a whiz at it though.

    • 1 posts
    January 28, 2016 7:56 PM EST
    I played a lot of Rome 1 and Medieval 2, and about a year ago I became obsessed with achieving an "immaculate" reputation on very hard difficulty on Med 2. I haven't been able to get into the newer Total War games - the last one I spent any time with was Empire. Having read this thread I think I might go back to Med 2 for a while- I have been playing FO4 a lot but it isn't anywhere near as immersive as I found Skyrim. Here is my list of most played games:

    1. Skyrim
    2. Mass Effect series
    3. Oblivion
    4. Medieval 2
    5. Rome 1
    6. Fallout 3 and FNV
    7. Dragon Age Origins
    8. X3 Terran conflict
    9. TW Empire
    10. Championship Manager a lot back in the late 90s
    • 1 posts
    January 29, 2016 10:50 AM EST

    LOVE the series! Started with the original Rome and spent WAY TOO MUCH time in it. For some odd reason (and I expect to be crucified for saying this) I didn't like Medieval 2 all that much, maybe for the time-frame, and wasn't interested in Empire or Napoleon either. Played a bit of Shogun 2 before getting my teeth into Rome 2, and while I loved the vanilla game, it was the DeI mod that hooked me in for good, they have SO many great features built in it feels a totally different game. Also, I saw (to my delight), many referencing AoE2, which was the game that got me into gaming in the first place =)

    • 9 posts
    January 30, 2016 2:13 PM EST
    I actually started the Total War series with the original Shogun. I have enjoyed every release though I cannot play the original Rome or Medieval II unmodded any more. I also tend to fluctuate between Bethesda RPG's and Total War games. While I do play other games at times I tend to return to Total War and Skryim most frequently. They just have the most replayability for me.
  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    January 30, 2016 10:24 PM EST

     Attila (and by extension AoC) definitely improved on the blobby battles present in Rome 2, but unfortunately it is still there. It is especially visible in some siege battles, while on field battles its intensity is reduced. Unit cohesion has been improved, but it was done in a somewhat "lazy" way (by reducing 1x1 animation occurrence).

     Before the first or second patch, the morale of the soldiers was breaking too soon for my taste, but they fixed it, and now battles take longer (plus soldiers rally a lot more than they did in Rome 2).

     Personally, I think Attila (read: AoC) is worth it. In the end, it's still the same experience I've had with past Total War games: you have a blast in the first turns, but once you get to late game, it gets too easy. but by then you're probably itching to start a campaign with another faction.

     But those are just my impressions, you should watch a few youtube videos before deciding to buy it or not. Total War also gets Steam deals pretty often, so you can keep an eye on those.