#Attila total war franks plus#
#Attila total war franks series#

#Attila total war franks series#

There's a series of subtle changes and unit advances from Rome II that long-standing fans will appreciate as always it seems that Creative Assembly has done their homework.

#Attila total war franks plus#

On the battlefield things are much as they ever were, but new tricks like dynamic fire, plus historically-relevant units, keeps the fighting fresh. There's certainly room for improvement here, and we're looking forward to seeing where CA take this in the future.

It's hard to invest in the characters when they're presented as just another menu to click through. The idea of adding more character to the political side of the game is a good one and one of which we approve, but it perhaps could have been delivered more succinctly. We never mismanaged any of our factions to the point of civil war, but that's a genuine possibility. It's also a bit tricky to work out how the systems intersect. They've tried to give your entourage a bit of personality via in-game events, but many of the decisions are so dry that it's hard to form a connection to the characters.

Most notably there's increased emphasis on political intrigue and the struggle for power within each faction. On top of the empire building, Creative Assembly has bolted on a few new features to the turn-based element. With so many displaced tribes and with rising powers springing up across the continent, there's often an unexpected twist in the tail of any decision. The historical backdrop of turmoil keeps things interesting, and the dynamic sandbox offers plenty of surprises. It's easy to overreach in Attila, and twice we lost games because we tried to bite off more than we could chew. Actually, leading a small tribe might not involve too much glory, and players may have to set their sights lower than that and aim for mere survival. There's something here for every type of player you can either control a swollen empire and keep it steady, or lead a small tribe to glory. This is a nice option for a Rome II player who grew a fledgling nation into a hulking behemoth last time around, and who wants to continue that story by resisting the course of history and the advances of the Hunnic Empire. Players can also control either the Eastern or Western Roman Empires. Playing as the Huns isn't about conquest in the traditional sense it's more focused on sacking and looting enemy factions, or squeezing them for tribute. They offer destruction on a global scale and are formed of roving armies that sweep in and out of conflict. The Huns and their horseback armies will be an attractive option for both new and existing players (although learning the nuances of a cavalry-heavy army can take a while). It's an excellent option for a Total War novice. The Sassanids represent a gentler option thanks to their starting position, giving the player a steadier base to manage, plus a chance to ease into expansion. You can follow events as they happened (for example, one objective when playing as the Visigoths is to sack Rome, or you can take the Vandals to North Africa), or go off on your own tangent and take history in an altogether more fantastical direction. As is the way with Total War games, the player is given a starting point and then given the freedom rewrite history. The migratory tribes, the Goths and Vandals, are also difficult to master thanks to the new horde mechanics (you can uproot your tribe until you find a new home, get different bonuses as you move them to their new kingdom, and there's added options as your army sacks/loots/razes the cities it meets along the way - indeed, a migrating tribe needs to live off the wealth of other factions by constantly fighting its way across the map), but like the barbarians they also offer opportunities for player expression on the world map. The barbarian tribes, the Saxons and Franks, are challenging options that involve relocation and expansion. There's a nice blend of playable factions. One of Attila's great strengths is that while there are plenty of historical parallels, but there's still room for unexpected events to change the course of a campaign. During the turn-based campaign, communities migrate to avoid long winters and sharp swords, leading to a dynamic shift across Europe as tribes relocate. This time it's not just about the business of empire building, as climate change and a marauding army from the Steppes acts as the catalyst for huge upheaval across the continent. Once again a turn-based campaign played on a world map is complimented by real-time battles that take place in a variety of different locations. Creative Assembly has added a number of new features, and in doing so they've created a sandbox that's overflowing with possibilities.