Jute88 said:
Have you tried the original Shogun and Medieval 1 and 2? They're all pretty good (Shogun is a bit bare bones, but still okay).
It's one of my favorite game series, but I've only been able to beat it twice without cheating (Shogun and Medieval: Viking Invasion). I was about to ask how good Shogun 2 is compared to the rest of the series, but since you've apparently only played Rome 1 and 2...
Shogun 2 is good. It isn't blow your mind absolutely fantastic in the mechanics department, but it is definitely a solid entry into the total war series, and focuses on the strengths of the series, rather than its weaknesses.
IIRC it uses the same engine as empire, and it runs into many of the same issues because of it. However, where Rome 2 basically focused on getting all the issues of Empire front and centre in a way that really ruined the game, Shogun 2 does its best to gloss over or bypass them, and is much more enjoyable for it.
First up, unit combat is the same as Rome 2 and all that. Melee is a 1v1 honour fight, when it really shouldn't be. This does lead to some really stupid defences at times where a high level general single handedly [And I mean single handedly, like, there is just this one guy fighting] takes out entire armies because its all 1v1 fights, but even though its not the truth of how things would have been, the Samurai setting can help you pretend that they really are just being honourable [Even though that's not at all what they would have been].
You have limited building slots in each city, in a way that does really impact what you do in each city, however it isn't too restrictive and most buildings are a viable strategic option, rather than just one you'll take to make sure the city doesn't revolt. In addition, every 'region' of the map has numerous resources in it that benefit that city no matter what. Some have Ninja Dojos that give bonuses to your Ninjas, some have armoursmiths that boost the defence of units trained there, some just have stone or wood that you trade for some extra money.
Sea combat works. Reasonably balanced, mostly, and a few viable strategies to work with, mostly. Historical battles tend to actually give you a bit of a proper intro to them so you know what's going on, usually. Leader speeches are a thing, and are generally pretty decent. City maps have multiple buildings you can capture to give an advantage [Two most common being gatehouses and towers, but in some scenarios there can be others], and one main capture point to fight to the death over. Diplomacy tends not to be too bad, and is reasonably functional. Special units each have a few purposes you may want to use them for. You don't need to have a general in order to have an army, though it can definitely help. 4 season years, with Winter being a time of attrition where all units in enemy territory take damage. You're sadly still plagued by the "Tax everyone" system, where the only way to set tax for one particular province is to exempt it entirely [Pretty sure anyway, has been a while since I played], and one of the good things of Rome 2 - it taking a while for unrest to build in a city once the army is gone - isn't in Shogun. AI is also pretty easy to beat in a fight, but that's normal.
Overall, its pretty good. One of my favourites, though of course it isn't perfect. If you've got the money and the time, almost definitely worth a look, at least in my opinion.
