The Total War series has
always operated on a cycle of ‘revolution’ and ‘evolution’.
The original Shogun was a ‘revolution’ game, whereas Medieval was
an ‘evolution’ – a refined expansion, building and expanding
upon the foundation of its preceding title. It’s a pattern you can
see repeated throughout the entire series – Rome 1 (revo) &
Medieval 2 (evo), Empire & Napoleon, Shogun 2 & Fall of the
Samurai, Rome 2 & Attila and most recently Warhammer 1 &
Warhammer 2.
I think it’s the reason
why I still enjoy this series so much – because whilst the core
concept of Total War remains the same, the surrounding mechanics are
regularly reinvented and redefined. And Total War: Three Kingdoms,
the first historical ‘revolution’ game since Rome 2, really does
redefine the series moving forward.
I said prior to its release
that Three Kingdoms would struggle to match the Warhammer games in
terms of battles, which is why it was so important for Creative
Assembly to overhaul the campaign aspect of the game. And that’s
exactly what they’ve done, delivering what is easily the most
engaging and enjoyable campaign experience yet.
This is predominately down
to the massively expanded diplomatic system. It’s not just the
range and variety of options that’s impressive, but that the AI
also engages with these new options in ways that feel sensible and
appropriate. And these diplomatic exchanges can fundamentally change
the direction and focus of your campaign in a single turn.
At the time of writing I’ve
completed three campaigns, and I’m currently stuck into my fourth
with over 120 hours played. Whilst Three Kingdoms may lack the
variety of Warhammer in terms of factions and units, it excels at
campaign
variety. Every campaign has played out very differently and in ways I
didn’t expect. More so than any previous Total War, campaigns in
Three Kingdoms feel like personal, self-contained stories.
And this feeling is
enhanced by the focus on individual characters. Characters are at the
heart of everything in Three Kingdoms. You’re not just building
armies of units, but armies of characters and their retinues.
Characters are members of your family, of your court, they act as
your governors, as your spies, as your ruling council issuing
missions, and can even be sent on various assignments within your
empire.
Every character, even if
they lack unique art, is unique in terms of name, class and traits.
And by ‘class’ I’m not just talking about ‘Champion’ or
‘Commander’ – I’m talking about the ‘profession’ or
‘sub-class’ such as ‘trader’ or ‘tax collector’, which
then provides additional unique character effects. You can equip each
character with different weapons, armour, mounts and accessories to
further boost their stats or provide unit, army or even faction wide
boosts.
And Three Kingdoms really
is a game all about stacking stats and boosts, be it on characters or
in your economy. There’s no single
way to boost replenishment or reduce corruption – instead, it’s
all about stacking minor boosts. This also applies to your income.
Every region can generate three types of income – peasantry,
commerce and industry.
The building system of
Three Kingdoms is similar in style to that in Thrones of Britannia,
but expanded and far more refined. It’s all about maximising the
output of every region be it food, trade or industry. Various
buildings in various combinations (including ones which provide
boosts to adjacent regions) can be constructed to make the most of
every resource.
Governors can then be
assigned to key regions to further boost particular outputs, as can
characters on assignment – everything from reduced building cost,
to increased replenishment, to a 50% or more increase in income. If,
like me, you really enjoy trying to maximise the output of each and
every region, you can easily lose yourself in the Three Kingdoms
economy management system.
The campaign map in Three
Kingdoms is vast and gorgeous with a fantastic level of detail. There
are five turns per year, each with its own seasonal effects. The
campaign, depending upon your setting, also transitions slowly from
day to night. There are also unique audio effects depending upon
which part of the map you’re zoomed into.
Battle maps in Three
Kingdoms work more like they did in the original Rome than the more
recent Warhammer games. Every land battle map is essentially a zoomed
in tile of the campaign map. City maps also reflect the city level
and like Rome, buildings constructed on the campaign map are also
visually represented on the battle map. The minor resource
settlements each have their own unique map type – mine, port or
farm, for example – but these can still feel quite different to
fight upon depending upon the campaign terrain (which also changes
the appearance of the corresponding battle map) or the season, or the
weather.
And, like the campaign, the
battle maps are gorgeous, particularly with the ‘Romance’
graphical option enabled. Three Kingdoms is one of, if not the best
looking Total War game in the series. The map lighting, something of
a weakness in the Warhammer games, is fantastic here. Terrain quality
is great, and the units are all highly detailed.
No, the units in Three
Kingdoms aren’t as exciting as lizards riding dinosaurs shooting
laser beams, but the quality of the models is still pretty high. My
only criticism of the unit models in Three Kingdoms is that some of
the main character models don’t appear as polished as others.
Another criticism would be
unit animations when engaged in combat. There is a matched ‘kill’
system in place, but overall, it behaves more like the Warhammer
system, only not as polished in terms of animation. It’s not
uncommon to see men in a unit swiping at the air nowhere near an
enemy, or even facing the wrong way. So this is one area where Three
Kingdoms could certainly use some polish and improvement.
The good news though is
that like Warhammer, the units feel incredibly responsive in battle.
Because they’re not constantly trying to sync individual
animations, there’s a very nice fluidity to unit vs unit combat.
Cavalry in Three Kingdoms is also incredibly satisfying to use. In
fact, it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had using cavalry in a
Total War game.
So at the zoomed in,
animation level, Three Kingdoms can look a little wonky, but when
zoomed out and managing the battlefield as a whole, it’s hugely
enjoyable and engaging. Like Shogun 2, there’s a heavy emphasis on
unit counters with the reworked ‘braced’, ‘range block’ and
‘charge reflect’ mechanics. Archers can demolish unshielded
units, but with the right Character skill boost or unit formation,
you can negate range damage almost entirely.
And tier 3 cavalry can be
destroyed by even tier 1 peasant spear men if they’re properly
braced for an incoming charge. Whilst the battles in Three Kingdoms
may lack the spectacle of the magic and monsters of Warhammer, I’d
say they’re just as much fun to play. Knowing when to charge, when
to brace, when to adopt formations or when to drop various character
skills can all be key to winning or losing a battle.
And that’s without even
taking the new duel system into consideration. Duels add another
tactical layer to a battle. Choosing the right duel at the right time
can be key. There are times when you may need to enter a duel you
know you can’t
win, but it might be necessary to lock down a dangerous character and
keep them out of the wider battle for as long as you can.
Returning to the campaign,
let’s talk about the new spying system. In Three Kingdoms, you can
send out your characters to spy on other factions. Initially, your
characters will simply scout the enemy territory, revealing it to
you. But they can also be hired by that faction and that’s when you
can start using spy actions.
If you want your spies to
be hired then it’s important not to just send out level 1, generic
characters, because it’s unlikely the AI will want to recruit them.
I’ve had the most luck with the spy system by sending out
characters at level 3 or 4 with an accessory or two. Once in the
enemy court your spy will feed you useful information such as the
faction income, the number of regions they control and how many
armies they’re fielding.
In court, your spy can
manipulate various things such as the satisfaction of other
characters, turning them against their own master and making it far
easier to recruit them should you capture them in battle. Spies can
also be assigned to an army, unlocking even more options, including
the option to stage a military revolt, disbanding the entire army –
although this does expose your spy and return them and their retinue
to you.
In my most recent campaign
this action proved invaluable as one of my armies was cornered by two
enemy forces. Fortunately, one of these contained my spy who
triggered a revolt. What was previously an unwinnable 2v1 situation,
had now shifted in my favour. Spies can also be assigned as the
administrator to a city, unlocking even more options such as opening
the gates prior to a siege, or even surrendering the city to you
without a fight.
And let’s not forget that
spies can also be adopted into another faction’s family, unlocking
the option of assassinating enemy family members and triggering a
civil war. Overall, the new spy system is a great addition to the
game, but there aspects to it that could use improvement.
Spies can be utilised in
very powerful ways – but this also relies heavily on RNG – such
as my situation with the 2 enemy armies. It was only luck that sent
the army with my spy in to my border. And in my other campaigns,
although I’ve used spies in court or in armies, I’ve never
managed to get one assigned as a governor or adopted into a family.
There is a luck based element to the spy system which can make it
feel a little unrewarding, especially if your spy doesn’t even get
hired.
It’s also a ‘long game’
type of system. It’s important to get spies out early into the
factions you feel may pose the most threat long term – even
factions you may be on friendly terms with initially. And whilst this
long term planning can really pay off, it does result in a lack of
any immediate reward or satisfaction from using it. It takes a lot of
time and luck to get your spies into a position where they can really
hurt your enemy.
In a previous post talking
about unit progression in Three Kingdoms, I highlighted concerns
about how units are unlocked and not always utilised during a
campaign. With more hours played, I’m pleased to say that my
opinion has shifted somewhat, as my third campaign saw far more of
the higher tier units on the battlefield. I still think some of the
reform units need to be rebalanced, and maybe the way unit experience
works – such as retaining all, or at least some, of their
experience when ‘retraining’ them to a higher tier.
Campaign and Battle AI in
Three Kingdoms is some of the best we’ve seen in a Total War game.
And by ‘best’ I mean consistently competent. One improvement I’d
like to see though is AI unit formation use, as these can be very
useful – such as advancing in turtle formation to block incoming
arrows – but, aside from the loose formation, the AI rarely seems
to use them. AI army composition could also use some work.
Music in Three Kingdoms is
great in both battle and campaign. The UI looks lovely and all the
unique character art is fantastic – we just need more of it. The
range of factions is also really good, although some factions do get
more interesting (and useful) mechanics and unique units/buildings
than others.
Okay, I think it’s time
to wrap this up. Overall, Three Kingdoms is another fantastic entry
in the Total War series. Blending elements of the Warhammer fantasy
games into a historical setting may not be to everyone’s taste but
it’s created a unique and engaging mix that even after 120 hours of
play, I’ve still not grown tired of.
That’s not to say the
game is perfect – there are lots of little areas that can be
improved, expanded, refined or polished. We need more unique
characters, art and accessories. We need more competition in the
southern regions of the map – perhaps another faction or two. The
spy system could use some tweaks, unit balancing could use some
tweaks, as could certain aspects of the UI – finding marriage
prospects through the diplomacy menu can be a bit of a nightmare as
there’s no ‘quick deal’ option for it.
But for all its little
flaws, Three Kingdoms is truly a ‘revolution’ title in this long
running series and there’s a lot more they can build upon using
this existing foundation, not only in terms of DLC but also in future
Total War games.
8/10
