strategist. In a fit of frankly terrible
strategic decision-making I decide to
put Dong Zhou himself into my army,
partly to see the big man in battle
alongside his violent foster son Lü
Bu, and partly because he can take a
couple more trebuchets in his retinue.
Maybe I’ll select the option to fling
rotten horses at the enemy this time
instead, to fatigue Cao Cao
into submission.
This does not work. As I try to take
another settlement to the south Cao
Cao’s huge army attacks. The pre-
battle screen tells me it’s hopeless. My
chances are zero. I retreat my army,
put them into marching stance, and
instruct them to run as fast as they can
up the river.
It’s too late. Cao Cao’s army runs
me down and defeats my army easily.
Then a series of messages pop up. This
is what it looks like when an empire
implodes in Three Kingdoms.
One: My brutal ruler Dong Zhou is
captured by Cao Cao. Two: Cao Cao
executes my brutal ruler Dong Zhou.
Three: Lü Bu is the new brutal ruler
of my empire. Four: Senior figures in
my administration, Guo Si and Li Jue,
hate Lü Bu and have decided to defect
and form their own faction. Five: a civil
war has broken out and is tearing myGAMES PREVIEW WYour w a r lords
affect your approach
to the entire
campaign
scrap of territory as warlords vie for
power around you. In both campaigns,
civil unrest and enemy attacks made
it difficult to get a foothold. It’s a
symptom of the AI’s proactive stance.
Other warlords get in touch to ask for
favors, or to try to bully you for goods
or territory.
“It was one of our main goals to
make the AI a real threat to the player,”
says Graber. “I wouldn’t say we made
the AI much more aggressive, but it’s
more active than before. If you have
bad relations with the AI you should
be prepared for a war. Once a war
declaration happens, you should be
prepared for an actual attack and
lots of battles. We wanted to make
sure the AI follows through. The war
declaration should be followed
by battles.”
And so I find myself facing Cao Cao
to the south of my empire. Though Lü
Bu had ensured victory at the fishing
village, I’d taken losses. My army
is at half strength, and I’m down a