is stillkey in historical mode
Whileyou’llseecharacterseffectivelyabletotakeonentirearmiesbythemselvesin Romancemode,thegeneralswillbemore
temperedfiguresin thehistoricalsetup.Thatdoesn’tmean,however,thattheyaretobeignoredentirely.In fact,managingthegenerals
anddealingwiththeirrelationships,thedramaandthebetrayalthathelpeddefinethateraofconflictis stillgoingtobea hugeappeal
tothecampaign.“Thesecharacterrelationshipsinfluenceothergamesystems.Theycreatea lotofinterestingchallengesandsortof
spawninterestingdecision-makingthatyouwillhavetodo,”saysBurrows.“It’s less about juggling positives and negatives or doing
spreadsheets of calculations, but rather about being a really strong leader.”
7 6 5
You can duel
other heroes to
the death
Giventhemythicalnatureofthese
generalsandthepowertheycanhave
overtheturnofbattlein Romancemode,
you’llbehappytoknowthatthereare
waystotakerivalgeneralsoutofplay.It’s
a riskymanoeuvre,puttingyourownhero
atrisk,butit cansooftenturntheentire
tideofa battle.Youcanchallengea rival
onthebattlefieldtoa duelasthebattle
ragesonaroundthem.Thetwocharacters
meetandimmediatelyengagein a fightto
thedeaththatis a realspectacletowatch
in action.You’llalsobeabletoactivate
abilitiesin thefighttotryandhelpyour
heroout,thoughitswinconditionsare
ultimatelya blurofclass,experienceand
morale;killa hero’sbrother,forexample,
andyoushouldexpecttoseethemlaunch
into a near-unstoppable, grief-fuelledYou can’t trust
anybody
Thisperiodofhistorycametobedefined
bybloodshedandbetrayal.TotalWarhas
theformer,withitsridiculousbattlesthat
pittensofthousandsofsoldiersagainst
oneanotherin activecombat.Butit now
hasthelattertoo,introducinga system
thatallowsyoutoimplantoperatives
withinenemyarmiestobringthemdown
fromtheinside– thoughthesamecan
alsohappentoyoutoo.“You’vegotto
constantlywrestlewiththeideathat
someonein yourfactionmightbea spy,”
teasesStewart,whotoldusthatplayers
willneedtopaycarefulattentiontowho
theyarepromotingin theirranks.“There’s
anelementofdifficultyandchallenge
in thatsystem,especiallyasyoukeep
progressingthroughthecampaign.It’s
oneofthebigthingstobeexcitedabout,
it makesthecharacters feel like they are
part of a world.”Great entry
point for new
players
OfalloftheTotalWargamesthat
havearrivedin thelast 19 years,there’s
anargumenttobemadethatThree
Kingdomsis goingtoperhapsbethe
bestentrypointforgenrenewcomers
thattheserieshaseverseen.That,we’re
told,is anintentionaldecisiononCreative
Assembly’spart– it’sconcernedabout
howeasilynewplayerscanbecome
involvedwiththefun.“I thinkoftenTotal
Waris seenasthisverystrategic,half-
historicalsimulation...butit is verymuch
a personalgameaboutcharacters– that’s
especiallytrueofThreeKingdoms,”
musesBurrows,whonotesthatwhilea
lotofworkhasbeendonetogradually
introducethesystemsandtoscalethe
difficultyin a moreeffectivemanner, all of
it is driven through those heroes.TOTAL WAR