Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai
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"You'll get an experience much more like a Civil War-era wargame with Fall of the Samurai, as opposed to a medieval wargame with the original Shogun 2, and that, in itself, is worth the cost of admission, let alone all the new units, locations, abilities, factions, and bells/whistles." - IGN.com
"Shogun 2 was a massive, beautiful game, and Fall of the Samurai is that same massive, beautiful game, except now it's got guns and trains, and a much stronger theme that plays into the mechanics." - Videogamer.com
THE END OF THE SAMURAI ERA, THE DAWN OF AN EMPIRE
Doesn’t require the base game TWS2 to play
The standalone expansion to the award winning Total War: SHOGUN 2 explores the conflict between the Imperial throne and the last Shogunate in 19th century Japan, 400 years after the events of the original game – a dramatic clash of traditional Samurai culture with the explosive power of modern weaponry.
Guide ancient Japan into the modern age, as the arrival of America, Britain and France incites a ferocious civil war which will decide the future of the nation.
• Dramatic 19th century Japan setting
Based on the backdrop of the Boshin War period, the new campaign starts in 1864, a time of growing resentment against Western colonial power and influence. As Japan began to modernise and industrialise, the inevitable social and economic changes led to increasingly militant nationalism and antipathy towards the Shogunate.
• 6 new playable clans
Play as a clan supporting the Imperial throne, or the last Shogunate:
o Shogunate clans: Aizu, Nagaoka, Jozai
o Imperial clans: Choshu, Satsuma, Tosa
• New foreign powers
The American, British and French nations played an important part in the story of the Boshin war and your relations with these foreign powers will be integral to unit recruitment and to advancing your technology trees.
• New 19th century Japan campaign map
o The new island of Ezo extends the SHOGUN 2 campaign map northwards.
o Fully refreshed towns and other campaign map features reflect the different time period, with railways making their first appearance in a Total War title.
• Railway lines on the campaign map
o Develop your own railway network to move armies and agents between your regions.
o Railways can be sabotaged and transport can be blocked by enemy armies who take control of parts of the line or railway stations.
• 39 new land units
o Including modern ranged units - such as the Gatling gun and Armstrong gun - controllable in a new first-person mode.
o New units can also be recruited from foreign powers, including the British Royal Marines, US Marine Corps and French Marines.
• 10 new naval unit types with a total of 21 ships
o New steam-powered warships, heavily armed with modern artillery.
o Foreign ironclad ships can also be purchased, including the Warrior-class ironclad.
• New port siege battle type
o This new battle type triggers when attempting a naval assault on an occupied enemy port.
o The attacking fleet must sail into the harbour and capture the port, running the gauntlet of coastal gun defences.
• New land and sea unit interactions
o During a land battle, armies can call in offshore artillery support barrages.
o Conversely, costal gun emplacements can target enemy ships during port siege battles, when ending their turn within the range of upgraded coastal defences.
o Campaign map bombardments: offshore naval units can bombard armies and cities in adjacent coastal areas on the campaign map itself.
• 3 new agent types o The Foreign Veteran, the Ishin Shishi and the Shinshengumi. o Each new agent has its own skill tree. Ninja and Geisha agents have had their skill trees updated.
• Improved siege battle mechanics
o New upgradable tower defences can be built with a specific defence specialty: archery, matchlock or Gatling gun.
• 4 new historical battles
Fight in 4 brand-new dramatic portrayals of the major historical battles of the Boshin War.
• Multiplayer 2.0
o New Conquest map reflecting the 19th century setting
o Brand-new Fall of the Samurai avatar, including:
Over 40 new retainers
Over 30 new armour pieces
New 19th century avatar skill tree
Multiple avatars: players can enjoy multiple careers and progression across Shogun 2 and Fall of The Samurai
Customer reviews
80
Excellent addition to the Total War series
Maniacal | May 16, 2013 | See all Maniacal's reviews »Total War: Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai is an excellent stand-alone expansion and addition to the Total War series. The game starts off with a mix of traditional Japanese units and technologies and Western rifles and technologies which you must find a balance between as the people are not always happy with change. Naval warfare is also much more important, with ships capable of bombarding coastal targets and supporting your armies in battle with deadly barrages. The AI will also frequently raid your shipping routes and they must be protected.
Unlike Empire and Napoleon, FotS has excellent models of steam powered and iron clad ships in the game that are simply gorgeous to behold and a fearsome sight upon the ocean in the naval battles.
The agent system is the same as Shogun 2's, and being able to upgrade your agents and generals is a lot of fun and they are extremely useful in subverting the enemy and providing buffs to your own regions, although their actions can be expensive.
Religion is replaced by which faction the populace supports, be it the Shogunate or the Emperor, or even yourself if you choose to go for complete domination of Japan.
The AI has improved a little bit over previous games, especially when it comes to sieges.
89
Great expansion
Lord_Walker | May 12, 2013 | See all Lord_Walker's reviews »Originally, when I saw this expansion, I was a little bit dissapointed. I wanted the visceral combat of the original game, not soldiers standing in lines shooting at each other. It just seemed a little to far from the hand-to-hand combat of traditional japan. Once I played it, though, it was clear to me that this was an excellent expansion. I had no problems with it feeling like it wasn't Shogun. In fact, I think that they did a great job of showing the clash between the traditional values and the western influences. Right now, my only qualm is that some of the modernized things like railroads are overpowered.
82
Game in itself
skagit | May 11, 2013 | See all skagit's reviews »I bought Fall of The Samurai as a Total War fan-boy who happened to skip Shogun 2. As a result, I am dying to buy Shogun 2. Fall of the Samurai contains all the features I would have hoped to have found in Empire. The AI is fairly competent, and better: aggressive. Rather than stay in formation and take shot after shot from your artillery like in past games, the AI takes the fight to you, even if it's not to their advantage. The graphics are a major improvement, and the map, while more linear feeling than previous installments, is beautiful and full of strategically important locations and resources.
90
Best in the Series
ROKET | May 11, 2013 | See all ROKET's reviews »Shogun 2 was the first time I was able to play a TW campaign to the end. I lost, of course, but didnt regret getting there. I looked forward to starting Fall of the Samurai and when I did I found a game that reflected CAs best. The series had finally grown to include everything it was supposed to have and provided a gameplay experience that was solid.
Gameplay:
As you know, this is a stand alone game and still includes Total War's signature RTS and TBS hybrid elements. This time around you get a plethora of new units, buildings and missions. The gameplay is streamlined and relatively faster than other campaigns. You take either the Pro Emperor or Pro Shogunate side and fight your way to dominance. Gone are the needs for specific regions besides the capital to win and this time around allies are very useful and helpful. You get the feeling that a huge struggle is underway and you must pull your own weight. Naval dominance is extremely important and you constantly have to battle with your people to maintain order. Modernization just sucks. lol.
Presentation: This game is very well optimized and I had no problems running the game. Its also the best looking and while some in games settings are crappy and require outside tweaking I still had a good time. Nothing beats the glint of iron shining off of your ironclads and nothing feels as good as seeing your riflemen pepper the enemy in distinct explosive volleys. I love it. The new units and buildings are great and CA tried hard to add variety this time around in terms of battles.
Overall I really liked this game and it felt very refined:
90/100
92
Excellent, Could Easily be a Stand-Alone Game
cybrxkhan | May 8, 2013 | See all cybrxkhan's reviews »Fall of the Samurai is arguably one of the best expansion/DLC campaigns in the total war series, if only because of the large atmospheric difference between the original Shogun 2 campaign and FotS. FotS captures well the time period it represents, the end of Tokugawa Japan; though it hints at the stereotypes horridly displayed in the movie The Last Samurai, it thankfully portrays the era in a much more accurate and morally dubious light. There is, firstly, a question of whether modernization is worth it, and what types of modernization. Secondly, there is the question of whether to support the Emperor or the Shogun. Unlike the movie The Last Samurai, both the Shogunate and Imperial factions are more accurately portrayed as using modern weaponry, and it is mastery of this weaponry - as well as the new tactics that go along with it - that will be key to victory in FotS. Other than the new style of warfare, the overall campaign mechanics remain the same, except for one main difference - the clear division between Shogunal and Imperial factions (or a third way, Republican faction if you so desire), which gives the later stages of the campaign some focus and purpose other than all-out conquest.
The only complaint I have about FotS is that archers have greater range than rifle-armed units, a completely inaccurate and ludricous mistake on the part of the developers. Other than this minor issue, however, FotS is worth the money. While it shares many mechanics with the original Shogun 2, it feels like an entirely new and fresh experience - almost like another game.