changes.Sois thequickdealbutton,
whichletsyouimmediatelysee
whois opentotradeorvassalhood
orwhateverratherthanhavingto
scrolldowna list.
Vassalsareanimportantpart
ofThreeKingdoms, withfactions
muchmoreeagertosuggesthanding
someoftheirincomeovertoyou
inperpetuity,thoughtheymay
demanda degreeofautonomyatthe
sametime.Yourenemiescaneven
submitthemselvestovassalageunder
youralliesasa last-ditchattemptto
endwars,forcingyoutoeithergive
uponyourconquestorupsetthe
allyinquestion.WORLDOFWARLORDS
Ratherthanchoosinga factionatthe
startofa campaignyou
chooseanindividual
leader.Someofthem
arewarlordswith
varyingdegreesof
legitimacytotheir
attempttotakecharge
ofChina,someofthem
arestraight-upbandits,
andoneofthemis
DhongZhuo,a tyrantwhobeginsthe
campaignwiththecurrentchild-
Emperorasa hostage.
Theseverydifferentcharacters
canmakeforverydifferentstarts- CaoCao,thesuggestedbeginner’s
choice,feelsmoreliketraditional
TotalWarinthatyouhavea decent
settlement,anarmy,anda neighbour
todefeatsoyoucancompleteyour
firstprovince(herecalleda
commandery).Meanwhile,LiuBei
hasanarmyfulloflegendarygenerals
butnohomeandhastodefeatan
armyofYellowTurbanrebelsbefore
settlinganywhere.
Eachcharacterhasa different
mechanicthatdefinesthemtoo.
GongsunZan’smilitarygovernment
addsa uniquecourtpositionfor
militaryinspectors,whileSunJian’s
fluctuatingheroismscoreaffectsthe
Thesevery
different
characterscan
makeforvery
differentstartsJADEMONKEY
It’sa monkeybut,
like,madeofjade.
Bonustocunning
andsatisfaction.WEILIAOZI
Arguesforthe
importanceof
agriculture.Bonus
tosupplies.WUZI
Classicmilitary
strategytext.A real
page-turner.Bonus
tomilitarysupplies.ACCESSORIESStatbuffsarethegiftthatkeepsgiving
priceoftroopsandthesatisfactionof
characters.CaoCaoearnsa handful
ofcredibilitypointseveryturnand
canspendthemtoinfluencethe
feelingsofotherfactions,oreven
blow 75 ofthematonceinitiatinga
proxywarbetweenotherswhile
seemingtohavecleanhands.
Thatextradegreeofmanipulation
makesthediplomacyevenmorefun.
It’slikethewaythehighelves
workedinTotalWar:Warhammer 2
butwithevenmoreabilitytobea
deviousjerk.Beingabletogetright
intothegutsofdiplomacylikethis
makesthecampaignsideofThree
Kingdomsmoreimpactful,andaftera
certainpointeveryturnbeginswitha
paradeofmessagesaboutwhohas
turnedonwho.Theypopup
alongsideimagesofthe
leaderspullingintense
facesthatmakethem
hardtotakeseriously.
It’salla bit“Friendship
endedwithKINGDOM
OFWU,now
KINGDOMOFWEIis
mybestfriend”.
Otherpartsofthe
turn-basedcampaignsideofThree
Kingdomsarelessjolly.Populationis
important– a highrateofgrowth,
fromconstructingtherightbuildings,
canincreaseyourarmies’
replenishmentratebutalsocause
overpopulation,themainculpritof
publicdisorder.Havingtoomany
peopleputsa strainonfoodsupply.
Meanwhile,youwanttokeep
constructingbuildingsthatearn
moneyandincreaseprestige(which
is howyouunlockhigherranks,fill
outyourcourt,andeventuallydeclare
yourselfoneofChina’sthreekings).
I can’tsayworkingmyway
throughupgradesofvarious
buildingshaseverbeenmyfavourite
partofTotalWarandwhenyou
controlsomethingonthenorthside
of 20 settlementsmanagingallthis
constructioncanbea realbore.WOODEN FISH
They can’t all be
jade monkeys.
Bonus to resolve
and satisfaction.On the upside each member of
your court can be given an
assignment, attaching them to a
settlement and giving it some kind of
bonus. You don’t need to march them
around the map to do this – like
espionage it’s just a menu. It feels like
a way of keeping some of the things
agents and heroes did in former
games, but abstracted enough that
they aren’t an annoyance. It also
keeps them off the map so it’s free for
actual armies to do their thing.
According to one point of view, all
this stuff on the campaign map and
its multitude of attached menus – I
haven’t even mentioned the reforms,
a tech tree mapped onto a picture of
an actual tree where each
improvement lights up a blossom of
petals – is just scene-setting for the
battles. And it’s true that it gives
them context that can make the
next siege feel different to the last
one no matter how similar they
actually are in play.
I enjoy the campaign for its own
sake though, even if it can
occasionally be too mathematical for
its own good. For an example of that
look no further than the way it takes
an important theme of Romance of
the Three Kingdoms like corruption,
personified by traitorous eunuchs
who nepotistically manipulate their
friends into positions they don’t
deserve while the country falls apart.
In Total War: Three Kingdoms
corruption is a percentage modifier
that impacts your income. It’s so
prosaic it’s almost funny.THE POINTY END
The real-time battles are more
immediately exciting than the
numbers game. Units with crossbows
chunter out steady volley after volley
of bolts, horseriders form up into
wedges at the last minute and charge,
infantry lock down their shields and
absorb damage. Formations are back
and there are plenty of them, though
it’s not always easy to get access to
them. There are multiple classes
of general to choose from and
strategists, while weaker, are
necessary because they learn
formations as they level up.
Some followers have access to
them as well, so assigning a
herdsman to the general with a
cavalry retinue means they’ll know
the wedge formation.
An army can have three generals,
each with a retinue of up to six units.
This lends itself to balanced armiesTotal War: Three Kingdoms
REVIEW