Total War: Three Kingdoms

Total War: Three Kingdoms
Studio	Creative assembly
Publisher	Sega
Erstveröffent- lichung	Windows , macOS , Linux May 23, 2019
platform	Windows , macOS , Linux
Game engine	Warscape
genre	Combination of real-time strategy game and turn-based strategy game
Subject	late Han Dynasty / Three Kingdoms Period
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Mouse , keyboard
medium	DVD-ROM , download
language	English , German , French , Italian , Spanish
Age rating	USK PEGI

Total War: Three Kingdoms is the twelfth part of the computer strategy game series Total War (if you do not include the differently designed Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia ) by the British developer studio Creative Assembly . It was announced on January 10, 2018 and was released simultaneously for Windows, macOS and Linux on May 23, 2019.

action

The action takes place in one of the most famous epochs in the history of China , the time of the fall of the Han Dynasty and the transition into the time of the Three Kingdoms . The game begins in 190, the coronation year of the last Han emperor, Han Xiandi . The Han Empire has been in a process of decline for decades, weakened by power struggles at court, the growing influence of wealthy landowning families and rebellions. The young emperor is just a puppet, while powerful military leaders and politicians fight for power and influence in the background. Open military confrontation between the various parties was soon to follow. This process of brutally conducted internal power struggles ultimately led to the collapse of the once great Han Empire and ushered in the era of the three kingdoms. This was the beginning of a period of state division of China, which the Jin dynasty in the late 3rd / early 4th century was only supposed to overcome for a short time and only for a longer period of time by the Sui dynasty in the late 6th century.

The story of the fall of the Han Empire and the emergence of the three realms not only belongs to one of the most scientifically researched epochs of Chinese history, but is also the background for one of the most famous Chinese novels: The Story of the Three Realms , written by Luo Guanzhong in the late 14th century, when the author also processed historical sources.

This is important because you can choose between a "realistic variant" and a "novel variant" in the game. In the latter, not only are historical generals available as commanders of armies, but the historical personalities are also equipped with “heroic powers” ​​and can fight entire contingents of enemy troops on their own. Furthermore, the real historical framework is followed less strictly. In the historical version, on the other hand, the developers attached great importance to the most accurate and detailed historical representation possible, for which they consulted one of the leading historians of this era, the Australian Rafe de Crespigny .

Game flow

At the beginning of the game you can decide on the type of game (historical or novel). Then you have different historical commanders to choose from, each with different strengths and weaknesses as well as different starting positions, which result in corresponding degrees of difficulty. This is particularly important for the "novel variant".

So you can z. For example, choose the notorious warlord Cao Cao , who historically managed to secure control over the last Han emperor and, on this basis, presented himself as the protector of the empire and representative of the only legitimate state power. Cao Cao had historically gained control of northern China but faced hostile warlords in the west and south who did not recognize his position; the most famous of these were Liu Bei and Sun Quan , the other two founders of the empire in the "Three Kingdoms" era.

It is up to the player whether he relies primarily on military strength or rather procures allies with the help of diplomacy. In fact, individual actions of the player can have a considerable influence on the course of the game, as the guanxi principle plays an important role, especially in the "novel variant": the social networking of the people involved. The execution of a popular enemy can lead to a distant, even hostile attitude and unrest among the people. To this end, the diplomacy system has been revised and expanded.

The ultimate goal of the player is to assert oneself against the enemy warlords and to gain control of the former Han empire. You play turn-based on a map of ancient China and take care of the state, army and diplomacy, while battles can either be calculated automatically or played by the player himself in real time. The game thus follows the usual gameplay of the Total War series. In real-time battles, riders can easily be repulsed by foot troops with lances, as usual, archers serve as ranged weapons, which, like swordsmen, are susceptible to cavalry attacks.

DLCs

The first downloadable content (DLC) is included for pre-order the game and, with the rebellion of the Yellow Turbans ( Yellow Turban Rebellion ) an additional playable action chapter.

On August 8, 2019, the expansion Eight Princes ("eight princes") was released. In addition to the new campaign, there were also new characters and units. The scenario takes place at the end of the Jin Dynasty and begins in 291, when power struggles within the imperial Sima family shook the empire between various princes, which only ended in 306. Only a few years later the sinized Xiongnu prince Liu Cong was to conquer and plunder the two capitals of the empire, which meant the end of the unified Jin empire; China was only to be reunited under the Sui dynasty .

In 2020, Mandate of Heaven (January 2020) and A World Betrayed (March 2020) two more DLCs will be released, which represent an expansion of the content.

reception

reviews publication Rating GameSpot 8/10 GameStar 86/100 IGN 9.3 / 10

The reviews of the game are overwhelmingly positive. The extraordinary setting, the abundance of possibilities and the precision mechanics were particularly praised, as was the graphic representation. Game magazines and game sites consistently gave good to very good ratings, and this also applies to game ratings in the press. So awarded The Guardian a score of 4.5. Rob Zacny of Vice.com called it the best Total War for a decade. Polygon judged the game to be a masterpiece of strategy. In the test by Rock, Paper, Shotgun , it was even referred to as the best part of the series so far.

Nevertheless, the AI ​​problems known from the series persist, so that weaknesses of the computer opponent can sometimes be exploited relatively easily in open field battles.

Total War: Three Kingdoms has proven to be the fastest-selling game in the franchise to date, selling one million units shortly after launch. Due to the background story, the game sold particularly well in the People's Republic of China .

Shortly after the release, Total War: Three Kingdoms also set a record on Steam : It is the best Steam release of 2019 with 162,000 players on the day of the release, and it also occupied both the week from May 27th to June 2nd, 2019 first and second place in the Steam charts.

Web links

• Totalwar.com

supporting documents

1. ↑ New games: "Total War: Three Kingdoms" and "Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy". In: ifun.de. Retrieved June 17, 2019 . 
2. ^ Rafe de Crespigny: A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Leiden / Boston 2007, pp. 554-556. In the following, reference is made to this specialist lexicon of persons by Rafe de Crespigny regarding the persons involved.
3. ^ Basic (in western languages) is Rafe de Crespigny: Fire over Luoyang. A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD. Leiden / Boston 2016.
4. ↑ Video of the developers with a summary
5. ↑ Total War: Three Kingdoms Faithfully Recreates an Epic Era in Chinese History , in: game.info.intel.com (May 22, 2019) / TOTAL WAR: THREE KINGDOMS - WORKING WITH ROMANTICISED HISTORY , in: Total War Blog (6. June 2018).
6. ^ Rafe de Crespigny: A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Leiden / Boston 2007, pp. 35-39.
7. ^ Rafe de Crespigny: A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Leiden / Boston 2007, pp. 478-484.
8. ^ Rafe de Crespigny: A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Leiden / Boston 2007, pp. 772-774.
9. ↑ Rob Zacny: Three Kingdoms Is the Best 'Total War' Game in a Decade , Review in Vice.com (May 23, 2019).
10. ↑ See also Total War Blog
11. ↑ Overview
12. ↑ Gamespot Review
13. ↑ Gamestar test
14. ^ IGN Review
15. ^ Guardian Review
16. ↑ Three Kingdoms Is the Best 'Total War' Game in a Decade , Review in Vice.com (May 23, 2019).
17. ↑ Total War: Three Kingdoms is a strategy masterpiece , in: Polygon.com (May 31, 2019).
18. ↑ Denis Ryan: Where Total War meets Crusader Kings . In: Rock, Paper, Shotgun (May 16, 2019).
19. ↑ See for example the test at Gamestar.de
20. ↑ pcgamer.com
21. ↑ News from Gamestar.de (May 28, 2019)
22. ↑ News at Gamestar.de (June 3, 2019)