Initial release date: February 17, 2015
Back to Dark Ages. The installment of the next multi award-winning PC series that combines turn-based strategy with real-time tactics, Total War: ATTILA casts players back to 395 AD. A time of apocalyptic turmoil at the very dawn of the Dark Ages.
Against a darkening background of famine, disease and war, where refugees in their thousands flee from a sweeping tide of destruction and death. Desperate barbaric tribes rally against the ailing might of a dying and divided Roman empire; the light of civilization gutters and dims. In the great steppes of Scythia, a vast and terrifying force gathers, led by a warrior king whose thirst for conquest is utterly unequaled. new power is rising in the great steppes of the East. With a million horsemen at his back, the ultimate warrior king approaches, and his sights are set on Rome…
Total War: Attila introduces new gameplay mechanics which improve and add to numerous core turn-based and real-time Total War systems. The world will darken around you as Attila’s forces descend on your homeland creating a unique vision of survival strategy. It’ll definitely be a blend of grand turn-based strategy, political decisions, and large-scale real-time-combat.
A world on the way to Change
Set in 395AD, Attila shows a world very different to what Total War typically likes to demonstrate. The Roman Empire is no longer the huge dominating force it once was; instead of a powerful, regimented armoured fist, it is a bloated and confused mess of an administration on its way to collapse. As a result of taking command of the empire much later in its lifetime, you’ll start Attila with far more territory, but with its cities and political system in chaos. You’ll have to try and quickly reign in the madness, choosing what territories you can afford to lose and which need to be defended, because there’s another kind of society out there in the world.
Unleash the horde
Key to Atilla’s design is hordes. Rather than the organised ranks and garrisons of the Roman empire, Attila and his armies were ever-mobile, constantly on the move as they raided and pillaged through multiple territories every year. As such, a horde faction operates very differently to a traditional Total War army. They’re not just soldiers; wherever they go they can construct camps to rest up in, making them more effective on the road than regular armies. Some horde factions can even take over settlements and attempt to live a more traditional way of life, although rapid expansion is required to prosper. Ten of Attila’s 56 factions will begin life as a horde, meaning they won’t have a capital city or home region, but will be ready to rampage across the continent.
Winter is coming
Attila the Hun and his colossal army may be on the front of the box, but he’s not Total War’s biggest threat. The real villain you really need to look out for is negative number temperatures. As Attila's campaign rages on, the more northern territories start to suffer from colder and longer winters. As areas become chillier, their productivity will plummet. Armies stationed in the north will begin to starve and die. This will force whoever controls these territories to migrate south, leaving them no option but declaring war on the occupants of warmer lands. It’s a system that should help prevent stagnation in the later stages of a campaign, ensuring constant movement and hardened defenses. Regardless of your expansion plans, at some point you’ll either have to fend off immigrant armies or perform a hostile takeover of a sunny resort for yourself.
Whipping up a firestorm
Creative Assembly has been installing a great chunk of new tech into Attila, and it’s most notable in the new Dynamic Fire Simulation. Not only do we get some beautiful flame effects, but fire realistically spreads and burns. Considering a great deal of Attila’s fortresses and towns will be made of wood, this provides great opportunities for reducing your enemies to smouldering ash without sacrificing hundreds of troops. The simulation also replicates fire spread, which is affected by the weather, so only takes one flaming projectile fired into the right place and a good gust of wind to cause a whole town to become a roaring furnace.
Distinct levels of Siege
Attila will feature distinct levels of siege, meaning the longer you surround a settlement, the worse the situation will become for your enemy. Previous Total War games would see garrison forces dwindle as the siege went on, but in Attila the physical town will deteriorate, opening up cracks in defenses that can be exploited when you finally decide to march on the gates.
If you’re on the receiving end of a siege party, just because your walls are crumbling and half your men have died of starvation doesn’t mean you’re out of options. You’ll be able to put up special defense structures before the battle starts, and provided you lay them down with a strategic hand, you can funnel enemy troops into bottlenecks and traps.
No comments:
Post a Comment