That does neatly lead me on to talking about the battle AI as a whole. So overcommitting the general isn’t an AI glitch, it is historical and also makes sense tactically. More to the point though, the general’s unit is the biggest, and by far the best unit you will have, so it makes sense to use it, rather than for it to only be a spectator. ![]() The AI putting their general front and centre of their army is a recreation of history. They were expected to lead the army right at the centre of the shieldwall. Leaders during this time had to lead their men into combat. One thing I will note is the use of the general’s unit. The units are faithful recreations of what warriors must have looked like at the time, and they all look brilliant. Other than the Scottish faction having crossbow units (crossbows were forgotten about in Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages), and all factions having Viking Longboats in naval battles (although does anybody actually play these and not just auto-resolve them?). From the noise of battle, to units walking in shieldwall formation, this game is impressively faithful to history for the most part. The level of historical detail and accuracy is great for a history buff like me. It might sound like a small change, and I’m probably not doing it justice describing it here. Never before have I felt so close to the action in a Total War game. In my first major battle, I placed the camera in-between the two shield walls, watching arrows fly over and listening to the roar with the volume right up. This is one of my favourite features of the battles, it just makes them feel so real. It really feels like 2000 angry men are shouting their hearts out at each other. All that time they make so much noise, chanting and roaring. So whilst the missile units are busy, the shieldwalls close up into shield castles and wait until the ammo has run out. The AI is now perfectly happy to skirmish with you, provided it too has ranged units. When armies are close to each other, about the range of the archer units, they make a cacophony of noise. The next thing I noticed, and this is what really grabbed me about battles at the start, is the noise. The level of detail on the units, the individual links in their chainmail, the furs around their shoulders, are sharp and fantastic. The first thing I noticed were the amazing visuals. Then I play loads of custom battles with all the factions and all the units to get a feel for the battles and just to look at the units. The first thing I do when starting a new Total War game is to go straight to custom battles, trawl through all the factions and look their unit rosters. This feels like a polished release, with nothing broken and everything working fine. There were a couple of audio glitches which I encountered, but they were only slight. There was some stuttering during battles initially, but once I’d finally gotten around to updating my graphics drivers that disappeared. Of course, I have only reviewed this on one computer, but it worked flawlessly for me. This being a Total War game, and still living in the shadow of the Empire: Total War and Total War: Rome 2 release debacles, I should start with performance and technical issues. The time period of 878CE to around 1066CE was one of the most diverse and important in British and Irish history. Fans of The Last Kingdom and Vikings will be familiar with the setting and time period and this was a pivotal moment in the history of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. ![]() It is just after the kingdom of Wessex finally managed to halt the rampaging Great Heathen Army of the Vikings at the battle of Edington. Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia is set in the British Isles during the dark ages. The question is: have they pulled it off? The release of Thrones of Britannia was delayed for about a month so that CA could polish the game more. The aim of Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia was to create a game with the feel of a full-fat Total War title, but with a much narrower focus, sharper detail, and more ways to win. This flies in the face of the vast sprawl of the last few Total War games, Rome and Attila, and the upcoming Three Kingdoms. The aim of CA’s Saga venture is to make Total War games set in compact eras, or flashpoints as they call them. Enter the Total War Saga series, Total War games which are smaller in scope than the main series but no less grand or complete. Creative Assembly have decided they want to make more focused games alongside their main Total War series.
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