In the same form that it has done much this year, EGX 2014 has delivered yet another pleasant surprise for us. During Creative Assembly’s panel, we were graced with a look at the next part in a truly epic saga of games that has spanned decades. After the rather disappointing shambles that was Rome 2 Total war, CA has announced that the next game will be a follow-up, stand-alone game to the previous Total War title. Originally this concerned me; as in my opinion, the last instalment of Total War consisted of being battered with relentless amounts of agents, an experience clearly biased towards Rome where victory basically relied on your ability to rush to legionnaires and burn the whole map to the ground. But before I let my predispositions get the better of me, I calmed myself and allowed CA to offer their case. And with that, the trailer began: A lone room, a candle with an ominous voice speaking of the weaknesses Rome has left itself open to. A man enters view, talking of how he will raze Rome to the ground and snuff out its light as he snuffs out the candle. A black screen follows: TOTAL WAR: ATILLA!
This aroused my interests greatly. Historically speaking, Attila the Hun ran rampant over Rome in the later days of her Empire and I was greatly curious to see how this would affect the style of play in the newest Total War game. Set in 395 AD, this game picks up at the dawn of the dark ages, when the Empire had already split into two factions, the east and the west. The campaign seemed to be, from the very first turn, focussed on compromise and survival, as a large Saxon invasion is gathered on the shores of Britain, other cities throughout the empire are also under siege, and your vast number of territories has to be supported by what is a barely adequate number of soldiers. Right from the onset, it then seems, the game is telling you that you have to decide which cities you can live without and which cities you need to commit your thinly-spread troops to. This style of survival-based gameplay seems to be much geared towards the more experienced players of Total War. Being an avid fan that joined the CA fan club with the release of the original Rome and Medieval Titles, even I feel that the early game would be very difficult to overcome without first attaining some experience with the earlier titles that didn’t throw the player into such a precarious position.
When the campaign started, the first thing that CA outlined (And the first thing that caught my eye) is the newly vamped overlay system that has been implemented. This new system is designed to make life a lot easier for the player by offering different filter-esque methods of looking at the map. These filters will show almost everything, from the geography of the map, economy, loyalty to troop dispersion. The map itself shows a graphic style reminiscent of medieval two’s graphic style, especially towards the luscious northern regions of the map. Whilst on the subject, the graphics have been brought up to date, as is usually the case with new Total War titles. The map is very well rendered, and the battle scenarios look very satisfying.
Whilst showcasing their new systems that are present in CA, a revelation that brought a round of applause from the audience is the family tree system. This system gives a structured family tree of your entire family, with separate menus to show buffs, attributes and positions of each individual character as well their buffs affects in battle and their affects for the provinces said characters occupy. Via this tree, it is possible to directly manipulate family members, which the players a very nice and most welcome alternative to locating them on the campaign map. Governments have also been altered, and now if the character wishes to pass an edict in the game from a particular province, there must be an operating government in said province.
Another new system Creative Assembly has put into Attila is the event feed. This is a chronological feed of all military, economic and diplomatic/social events that occur in the game. This feed is updated at the start of every turn and provides a rather helpful tool to analyse the progression of the game. These feeds can also be uploaded onto Total War websites and forums, allowing an enhanced level of interaction with other players. This feed may be of particular use to rookies who would like the aid of more experienced players with their campaign (Lord knows that how I’d use it!). On the subject of more helpful systems, CA has finally introduced a tiered building menu that shows in a well thought-out, structured manner, the level of all buildings in a settlement and the levels they can be upgraded to. Such a change is very welcomed by this Total War player, as I’m sure the rest of the community will agree. It allows the prioritisation of certain builds, which is made more important in the game as squalor and sieges now play a much more interactive role in the well-being of settlements. Squalor can build up where systems are not erected to remove it, and this leads to disease, which has the knock-on effects of decreasing population, damaging trade and reducing growth in the city. Armies can also now carry diseases between cities, as well as marching it through any enemy territories said army chooses to move through (Wink wink, Nudge nudge!).
The tech tree from Rome 2 has also been re-thought through and updated. The Civic tree and the military tree make up technology progression in this game and both trees are available on one screen, presenting a very tidy, easy to use system. Thus far, Attila is shaping up to be a lot simpler and easier to use than its predecessor! Character skill trees are also available in a much kinder, visually simple manner. These skills can also be presented in the effect summary of the army the general commands, another innovation to make life easier for players.
At this point in the panel, it was clear that CA were getting comfortable in their seats and had the attention of the audience without question, so they decided to go straight into the battle sequence. Before the battle even started, new innovations were available for selection. The Saxons in England had attacked with a force that heavily outnumbered the defending romans, but there was a catch. A new option allows the player to loot, raze and completely abandon the city under siege, taking a portion of its wealth and leaving. This last-ditch run-away tactic could prove very useful if the battle is clearly going to go ill.
But enough of the pre-battle formalities, straight into deployment! And Oh-me Oh-my, more new toys to play with! Defenders in cities now can place barricades, seemingly at will, throughout the city. This gives so much more flexibility to the defence as it allows the creation of choke points and the added defence to key structures. These barricades can be overcome, but they do appear to provide ample defence before that happens. Before the battle could get really going, CA explained how siege can actually directly affect the settlement in battle, fires start that can actually do very bad damage to the entire settlement if not quelled, civilians (who will actually wonder the castle and run for cover as the battle rages) will disappear, squalor can spread and structures like temples and walls can crumble, leaving the defence open to attack. The AI will take advantage of these factors, as the new updated Artificial intelligence seems to rapidly adapt to the battle scenario, allowing for far more interesting sieges than the old Total War games, where one could easily sit inside a castle and wait for victory as the enemy quite literally camped outside your walls. Troop XP points can also help greatly, and it seems for the first time, a small but experienced troop can actually hold out properly against a large but unskilled force. This factor should prove highly useful in Attila with your small amount of men and seemingly mountainous enemy forces!
As the battle progresses, we see siege engines fire upon the defending forces, which helps show of firstly the beautifully updates physics of the game; and secondly the New fatigue system. With this system, fighting will put a much higher strain than usual on the fighters, tiring them out quickly whereas resting units will allow them to regain their stamina. On the subject of movement and stamina, roads will grant a movement buff to units, allowing them to travel much faster than on rough grounds (One assumes this buff scales with the level of the roads, but further research has not yielded these facts!). 3rd person perspective is also now available, showcased very effectively by the charging horsemen units.
At the battles end, we were warned that less than professional and unruly soldiers were liable to pillage conquered settlements, which needless to say could be detrimental for the economy of said settlement, particularly if one intends to occupy the city.
So, Attila: Total War, on face value, a sigh of relief perhaps? The game seems to promise a well rendered, easy to use experience, mixed with updated systems and brand new toys for players both old and new to enjoy. Mix this with a release date in February 2015, and it looks like very soon we could have a new reason to relish in Total War once again!
