Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Mar 22, 2012
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 420 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 349 out of 420
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 420
  3. Negative: 26 out of 420
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  1. PanamanianDevil
    Mar 23, 2012
    10
    This is by far the best Total War title to date. Multi-player runs perfect and the additional units add so much to the Shogun 2 title that it's made me want to start playing it again. The graphics and smoothness of the game are great. Fall of the Samurai is worth every penny.
  2. thrash4ever
    May 16, 2012
    10
    Excellent title that strikes a good balance between the modern ranged and melee-based units. Off-map naval artillery is my favourite new ability, and when the foreign marines rank up they become brutal killing machines with suppression and kneel fire enabled. Nice touch with the addition of rail networks to quickly transport troops along the length of Japan. Oh, and Shinsengumi areExcellent title that strikes a good balance between the modern ranged and melee-based units. Off-map naval artillery is my favourite new ability, and when the foreign marines rank up they become brutal killing machines with suppression and kneel fire enabled. Nice touch with the addition of rail networks to quickly transport troops along the length of Japan. Oh, and Shinsengumi are devastating: from assassinations to quelling dissent and provoking insurrections, truly they are most valuable agent!… Expand
  3. mjwilliams84
    Jun 14, 2012
    8
    I'll get out of the way the fact that I have no interest at all in this late, industrialized period of Japanese history, and move on to how much I still absolutely love this game. The technological advances not only add more units and building options, but actually create a wonderfully immersing backdrop for an already heady, atmospheric campaign. Choose to side with the Emperor or ShogunI'll get out of the way the fact that I have no interest at all in this late, industrialized period of Japanese history, and move on to how much I still absolutely love this game. The technological advances not only add more units and building options, but actually create a wonderfully immersing backdrop for an already heady, atmospheric campaign. Choose to side with the Emperor or Shogun in a time of political and martial upheaval, and decide to try and maintain the traditional approach to warfare or embrace the new. The added units make ranged combat the order of the day, and with the addition of powerful artillery and naval support create a very engrossing battlefield experience. The campaign map is much bigger than Shogun 2, and looks more detailed with the railroads and surging industry of towns as they grow. The AI is good (although still able to be outwitted fairly easily) and for the most part it runs well without errors. Ignoring Sega's absolutely criminal approach to DLC (which does not affect the quality of the game in itself), I recommend it highly to strategy fans, irregardless of previous Total War experience.… Expand
  4. Fredphelps
    Apr 27, 2012
    9
    Speaking as someone who only plays TW games in single-player, this is one of the best of the series and far better than the original Shogun2. Briefly, this is for the following reasons:

    * No realm divide issues: although there is a similar concept (where all shogunate and imperial han are forced into active conflict), they've gotten rid of Shogun 2's completely ahistorical and    Speaking as someone who only plays TW games in single-player, this is one of the best of the series and far better than the original Shogun2. Briefly, this is for the following reasons:

    * No realm divide issues: although there is a similar concept (where all shogunate and imperial han are forced into active conflict), they've gotten rid of Shogun 2's completely ahistorical and game-killing "Colonization 2" style AI dogpile. All the other side's han declare war on you, but they don't spawn huge armies instantly.

    * Less monotony: one obvious issue with all the Shogun titles, including the original, is the relative monotony of setting and unit types. Battles tend to be maximising your archers' window while the enemy closes, and then generic melee attrition. In comparison, although FotS is arguably not as good at distinguishing each faction as Shogun 2, with its clan-specific movies and big bonuses, you can now choose to build your armies with anything from spear ashigaru hordes to Empire Total War style line regiments complete with a light infantry skirmish line and carbine-equipped cavalry screen. With modern field guns and naval fire support thrown in - and the potential to be genuinely devastating - combat has a lot more depth than Shogun's slogging matches.

    * Better naval combat compared to Shogun 2: the AI is strangely worse on low levels, but it's a very cool take on a very neglected period (1850-1902 - the evolution of pre-Dreadnought battleships) of naval warfare, with centre-battery ironclads (l'ocean and Warrior), turret ironclads (Roanoak) steam paddle frigates, ironclad rams (Stonewall / Kotetsu) and torpedo boats all making an appearance. RBLs versus wooden hulls equals general devastation! * Tech tree and special units: modernisation effects on unrest, awesome tech and some great special units - especially the Shinsengumi / Ishin Shishi. Although each clan gets its own bonuses and sometimes their own units (e.g. Tosa get special rifleman unites), it is true that you're likely to end up with either a generic Shogunate or Imperial army rather than one dictated by specific clan bonuses - i.e. you will either have a samurai unit core or a line infantry core with modern artillery support in either case. So it's slightly more generic in that sense. However, this doesn't stop the player taking the game in a particular direction to suit the clan or just to see what happens. All in all, for me only a fully DLC'd copy of Empire beats this, and that's mostly for the greater scope of Empire.    … Expand
  5. heAd3r
    Apr 22, 2012
    9
    fall of the samurai is for this price a great deal, especially the naval battles are great, love the new elements, just worth buying if u liked shogun 2!
  6. adammclou
    Apr 25, 2012
    9
    This game will give you hundreds of hours of fun, complete one campaign then just start another one as another clan. Multi-player also lets you test your skills online and so far I have been in some epic battles, the tutorials on this game are also brilliant for beginners and the animations in the game out brilliant.
  7. TheXand
    May 2, 2012
    10
    Great game, like a cross between WW1 and the American Civil War with added samurai. The multiplayer especially is worth mentioning for adding new avatars and a new avatar conquest campaign, as well as new unlockables.
  8. DenzNoble
    Jul 4, 2012
    10
    Great game excellent for all view perspectives, brilliant, epic and giant battles, Perfect graphics a serius game and nothing cant change that console reviews cant change the real score
  9. Danish15
    Apr 23, 2012
    10
    The original one was awesome, this one is the best. It adds so much to the original game. I've played the original but this is an entirely new experience. Absolutely recommended. Go get it!!
  10. TheGamer31
    Aug 2, 2015
    8
    While it fairs far better than Empire and Napoleon a lot of the battles are rinsed and repeated if you play as an imperial faction. It can still be fun as the imperials though.
  11. rrtyu
    Mar 27, 2012
    10
    Creative Assembly pulls it off a again with an awesome expansion. Yes there are some bugs and gattling guns are kinda of overpowered but with all the new units and the new way's to attack and move make this excellent. This also the most beautiful Strategy Game I have ever played from the unit details to the city battles. The railroad system is very nice as it's very expensive to make butCreative Assembly pulls it off a again with an awesome expansion. Yes there are some bugs and gattling guns are kinda of overpowered but with all the new units and the new way's to attack and move make this excellent. This also the most beautiful Strategy Game I have ever played from the unit details to the city battles. The railroad system is very nice as it's very expensive to make but almost invaluable once it is complete. offshore naval bombardment makes your navy extremely dangerous during sieges and can also pester troops. there are a lot of changes to many to list (like 80 unit battles). This is a must have for any total war fan scratch that any strategy fan.… Expand
  12. AgentAms
    Apr 7, 2012
    10
    One of the best total war games in fact expansion i have ever played. That modern era and the benefits that are coming from that era in terms of economy,warfare and weapons can glue you to your chairs for so many hours. Once again total war has managed to deliver an excellent game which is near perfect in terms of strategy, battles, graphics and sound. Recommended to die hard total warOne of the best total war games in fact expansion i have ever played. That modern era and the benefits that are coming from that era in terms of economy,warfare and weapons can glue you to your chairs for so many hours. Once again total war has managed to deliver an excellent game which is near perfect in terms of strategy, battles, graphics and sound. Recommended to die hard total war fans and even for new entrants.… Expand
  13. Gene
    Mar 24, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the best TW title since Medieval II. The previous line infantry warfare titles weren't that exciting because of an extremely small number of different unit types and viable strategies. Shogun 2 had an increase in viable unit types and strategies, but it still paled in comparison to Medieval II. Fall of the Samurai is the sweet spot, they've managed to find the one period in history where sword and spear infantry, cavalry, and both archers and musketmen are balanced just well enough to all be viable and provide just enough tactical consideration based on what you're going against. Definitely a worthy buy.… Expand
  14. Sceptic
    Mar 29, 2012
    9
    An excellent expansion.Diplomacy and Naval elements are much improved.The new,modern era is a good setting.The campaign map,though more realistic,is a major downfall for me. I really,really prefer the original.However,if you loved the original,you'll love this as much as I do.
  15. Heben2
    May 16, 2012
    9
    One of the greatest expansions of the Total War series, in my opinion. It fixes a lot of the 'faults' of Shogun 2 with the two different unit-compositions (modern vs traditional), which makes the armies feel diverse and interesting. Also brings up a lot of new tactics if you want to be successful (especially with the modern armies). The navy aspect has gotten a new and improved aspect withOne of the greatest expansions of the Total War series, in my opinion. It fixes a lot of the 'faults' of Shogun 2 with the two different unit-compositions (modern vs traditional), which makes the armies feel diverse and interesting. Also brings up a lot of new tactics if you want to be successful (especially with the modern armies). The navy aspect has gotten a new and improved aspect with the bombardment. This is great as it makes navies important as never before. The navy battles are also improved compared to Shogun 2, but that might just be the guns.. There are now multiple ways to win the game, as everybody does not turn on you in the end (if you choose to support the common cause), but you can also go the total war-style (war with everyone) if you like. The expansion supports (multiplayer)battles with the original Shogun 2 armies and that is also great fun. I think they have balanced the games pretty well against each other. The only complaint I have is the tendency of the modern units to bug when they shuffle into lines after getting shot. This makes the unit unable to fire in the meantime and while under fire, even more troops will die which equals to even more shuffling.. Oh well, still love this expansion and you should go buy and game it!… Expand
  16. ryanfez
    Jun 4, 2012
    10
    I'm a little disappointed by the use of steam, while I love steam, this is not a game that belongs on steam. DLC is a cool thing in some cases but a blood pack for about 1.99USD? WUT? The other major thing that putting it on steam does is disallows the use of cheat codes. I loved cheating in Medieval total war 2. It was so much fun.

    Anyways enough of my ramblings, I suppose my major    I'm a little disappointed by the use of steam, while I love steam, this is not a game that belongs on steam. DLC is a cool thing in some cases but a blood pack for about 1.99USD? WUT? The other major thing that putting it on steam does is disallows the use of cheat codes. I loved cheating in Medieval total war 2. It was so much fun.

    Anyways enough of my ramblings, I suppose my major complaint with the game is that the use of steam ruins aspects of the game for me. However, more importantly this is still a total war game, through and through. I can lose hours and hours playing these games and this is no exception.    … Expand
  17. mcz17chief
    Mar 23, 2012
    9
    If you enjoyed Shogun 2 you can't go wrong with this one. The improvements are awesome: naval battles are much more fun and much faster, infantry combat has been tweaked and the ability to call in off-map artillery NEVER gets old + you can take direct control of your on-map artillery. New research tree is great as well as the new agents. Religion has been replaced by loyalty of the peopleIf you enjoyed Shogun 2 you can't go wrong with this one. The improvements are awesome: naval battles are much more fun and much faster, infantry combat has been tweaked and the ability to call in off-map artillery NEVER gets old + you can take direct control of your on-map artillery. New research tree is great as well as the new agents. Religion has been replaced by loyalty of the people either to the Shogun of to the Emperor. Overall it is a great game for veterans and novices alike !… Expand
  18. Necrotaur
    Mar 24, 2012
    9
    This is what an expansion should be like. Fall of the Samurai is set in the middle of the 19th century, and has new and interesting tech trees, building chains, and units. Even the map has been remade and feels much larger. One of the new features is the ability to call in off-map artillery support from nearby ships - they're finally good for something besides protecting your trade lanes.This is what an expansion should be like. Fall of the Samurai is set in the middle of the 19th century, and has new and interesting tech trees, building chains, and units. Even the map has been remade and feels much larger. One of the new features is the ability to call in off-map artillery support from nearby ships - they're finally good for something besides protecting your trade lanes. The conflict between new ideas and traditional values, briefly touched upon in the previous games, is genuinely interesting and is central to the game. The only complaint I can really acknowledge is that if you found the line combat of Empire or Napoleon sort of boring, you might feel the same way about FotS... though you have the option of using samurai to chop up the foreign devils.… Expand
  19. MrBoBo1
    Mar 25, 2012
    10
    Fantastic game. Excellent value for money. Proper pc game. Lots of depth, amazing graphics. Excellent multiplayer. Buy this and not some crappy console ported game. This is a proper pc game.
  20. Darkeffect777
    Mar 27, 2012
    9
    Total War: Shogun 2 best strategy. DLC Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai very interested and new story me love. I play in Total War: Shogun 2 for 80 hours and i going play in Total War: Shogun 2 many many hours.
  21. Kela-Appi
    Mar 25, 2012
    10
    Although released with some bugs, just like every other game in the series, it's still a lot of fun. The visuals are stunning and the game-play is improved once again. Total War seems to be a series that constantly improves.
  22. Bekenel
    Jun 11, 2012
    9
    Definitely enjoyable, a very good expansion to the original game. I personally enjoy the setting of a civil war situation in the campaign, and the choice between modernising and traditionalism, the latter, ironically being the more challenging play style. I did think, however, that because of the setting, unlike any other total war game i've played, you often get squeezed for choice ofDefinitely enjoyable, a very good expansion to the original game. I personally enjoy the setting of a civil war situation in the campaign, and the choice between modernising and traditionalism, the latter, ironically being the more challenging play style. I did think, however, that because of the setting, unlike any other total war game i've played, you often get squeezed for choice of enemies since everyone fights either for the shogunate or for the emperor, narrowing your choice of enemies, conquests and your prospects of success. It doesn't quite seem like the domination-style gameplay of other total war campaigns, rather it feels co-operative and coalition-style. Particularly true in this instance is the idea that having more allies (which you inevitably will have) will not actually improve the game's progress, rather it seems that it hinders your progress and interest since you have less to fight and take over.
    I did, however, particularly like the modernisation system. I like the choice between becoming an advanced, europe-esque clan, and fighting against modernism across your campaign in an effort to remain traditional; I love the feel of the old japanese order colliding with the new.
    Then there's battles; Graphics don't have to be on highest settings to thoroughly enjoy this aspect. My fairly low-Spec PC runs Shogun 2 on low settings with an excellent performance and it doesn't look at all bad; i found this runs better than Napoleon TW on my PC
    Definitely worth the money , i'd say, i mark this highly for its in-depth coverage of the boshin war period and the conflict between old and new, and would mark this down purely because of the restriction of the number of opponents faced in campaign. Ultimately, excellent game.    … Expand
  23. imbrex
    Apr 19, 2012
    10
    It is difficult to overstate how pleased I am with this expansion. The shogun/emperor divide even at the start adds some much needed diversity in units. Bombardment from navies is a great addition. The only complaint I could have is the scope still only encompasses Japan, albeit with some new territories. If you've ever enjoyed a total war game, this will undoubtedly provide you with manyIt is difficult to overstate how pleased I am with this expansion. The shogun/emperor divide even at the start adds some much needed diversity in units. Bombardment from navies is a great addition. The only complaint I could have is the scope still only encompasses Japan, albeit with some new territories. If you've ever enjoyed a total war game, this will undoubtedly provide you with many hours of entertainment,… Expand
  24. Allions
    May 4, 2012
    9
    Awesome game, best of the total war series. I didn't like the setting in the samurai era, but the game is still great. Only bad thing i've found is that now years are dived in many turns (due to the setting) and because of this it's difficult to have a long "dinasty" like in other total war games. The last bad thing is that on a high end pc WITHOUT a SSD the loadings screen takes longAwesome game, best of the total war series. I didn't like the setting in the samurai era, but the game is still great. Only bad thing i've found is that now years are dived in many turns (due to the setting) and because of this it's difficult to have a long "dinasty" like in other total war games. The last bad thing is that on a high end pc WITHOUT a SSD the loadings screen takes long (better than Shogun 2 anyway)… Expand
  25. seves_96
    Mar 25, 2012
    10
    AMAZING!

    This is a perfect Expansion for shogun 2 and it does so many things so much better! Many that i knew thought it would be like empire Total war but in E:TW the line infantry was very very boring and the fights were not fun to watch because of the mega slow reload time and boring melee... But this is so much more fast paced the shoot way faster and can really cut down the enemy if    AMAZING!

    This is a perfect Expansion for shogun 2 and it does so many things so much better!
    Many that i knew thought it would be like empire Total war but in E:TW the line infantry was very very boring and the fights were not fun to watch because of the mega slow reload time and boring melee...
    But this is so much more fast paced the shoot way faster and can really cut down the enemy if you handle them right! But i just have to tell you that it's not like i first thought it would be... i thought it would be Samurai VS "the modern era armies" (with guns and stuff) but no, you choose a clan that either supports the shogun or the emperor and both sides have the modern technology but i guess that makes it more fair.
    I really have nothing to complain about.    … Expand
  26. Nichtswisser
    Apr 24, 2012
    9
    Apart from some stability issues (especially on HD 7xxx cards) and the bugged AA, it's a great add-on and definitely worth the money. For the low price it's a highly recommended buy.
  27. Razznor
    Mar 25, 2012
    10
    TW just gets better and better. If you've played the earlier titles like Rome and Empire, you will be shocked by how far this series has come. The new units and mechanics comepletely change the feeling of the game. Infantry is so fragile now that you really need to change your tactics - if you don't like wasting soldiers that is.
    With a game this complex you normally have to wait for a    TW just gets better and better. If you've played the earlier titles like Rome and Empire, you will be shocked by how far this series has come. The new units and mechanics comepletely change the feeling of the game. Infantry is so fragile now that you really need to change your tactics - if you don't like wasting soldiers that is.
    With a game this complex you normally have to wait for a couple of patches, but I had a smooth ride so far. Only the download took forever.
    My only real complaint is that morally I feel inclined to prevent the western culture and technology from spreading through Japan, while those new influences are actually the most fun and powerful part of the game. I'm playing the battles thinking "I order to defeat it, I need to become it first". Anyone else feel like that?    … Expand
  28. Garloz911
    Apr 3, 2012
    10
    Another fantastic addition to the series with every little bit changing the gameplay dramatically. Still offers many different effective strategies for every play style.
  29. siveZ
    Mar 23, 2012
    10
    For some unknown reason i got this early 1-day-early, but as a DLC for SHOGUN 2. Classic Total War pure win game - 10/10. Absoutely worth its' price, i got it for 15$ in Russia.
  30. markweberking
    Mar 23, 2012
    10
    This is an expansion, but yet it is like a whole new game. Everything is remade, the one thing that remains the same is in the interface, some of the maps and the graphics. I have enjoyed the game ever since the beta started, but it is first now that I have felt that I have enough knowledge of the game, to actually write a review. The campaign is really fun, and while the map stays theThis is an expansion, but yet it is like a whole new game. Everything is remade, the one thing that remains the same is in the interface, some of the maps and the graphics. I have enjoyed the game ever since the beta started, but it is first now that I have felt that I have enough knowledge of the game, to actually write a review. The campaign is really fun, and while the map stays the same and the mechanics haven't change completely from shogun 2, it is still very solid game play, and having already completed one campaign I haven't had any problems yet. It was fun, the AI was good, and the new time the game was set in made it feel brand new for me to play. It had no problems that I found, and was absolutely stellar. If you enjoy the campaign in Shogun 2 you should definitely try this one as well. I don't know if the sinc bug is in this one as well, but I hope they fixed it so you can play more than 100 turns with friends ^^.

    The multiplayer is the aspect of the game that I have looked forward to the most. With a rank    … Expand
  31. Half-lifeer
    Mar 23, 2012
    10
    You Like Shogun 2 ? You Thought Empire/Napoleon sucked? Try Fall of the Samurai!
    Total War at it's Best! 10/10! Great Work Total war team!
  32. BlAzin17
    Mar 23, 2012
    10
    GREAT GAME a few amal bugs but over all deef worth the money aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
  33. jquincy
    Apr 12, 2012
    10
    Dear Creative Assembly:

    I want to start by saying that the Total War series is the best strategy series that I'm aware exists. Shogun 2 and S2: Fall of the Samurai are really, really impressive. I'm especially happy with S2: FotS. The improvements are so that it ALMOST feels like a whole new game. I just have one request -not a complaint mind you, but a request: please stop re-releasing    Dear Creative Assembly:

    I want to start by saying that the Total War series is the best strategy series that I'm aware exists. Shogun 2 and S2: Fall of the Samurai are really, really impressive. I'm especially happy with S2: FotS. The improvements are so that it ALMOST feels like a whole new game. I just have one request -not a complaint mind you, but a request: please stop re-releasing newer, better versions of old games. I absolutely loved Rome Total War, but please do not release a newer better version of it. Please keep it moving forward. Please make your next game about the fall of the old empires, i.e. World War 1. You could even set the technology to be turn-of-the-last-century at the beginning of a campaign mode, then have it developable (is that a word?) into WW1 tech, then maxing out at technology equal to what would've been available circa 1950. From bolt action rifles and bi-planes to early fighter jets and the atomic bomb.

    That. Would. Be. Awesome. And I can't imagine a scenario where I WOULDN'T be playing that game, job and wife be damned.

    I'm probably just kidding about that last bit.    … Expand
  34. Silas32
    May 17, 2012
    9
    Total War: Shogun 2 fall of the samurai, is a great game. the campaign is good, and the battles too... but the multiplayer campaign is broken; most of the time it crashes, and the load time is too long. but Total War: Shogun is still a good game. i recommend it.
  35. Crimson
    Mar 31, 2014
    0
    Utterly atrocious. Everything that was bad about S2 is worse in this.

    In battles you literally line up your men and watch them fire, you do absolutely nothing. The few battles that do happen (and they rarely do) are so utterly boring 90% of the time is spent sped up. Defense is even stronger now, provided they don't have artillery. But while artillery evens the playing field it    Utterly atrocious. Everything that was bad about S2 is worse in this.

    In battles you literally line up your men and watch them fire, you do absolutely nothing. The few battles that do happen (and they rarely do) are so utterly boring 90% of the time is spent sped up. Defense is even stronger now, provided they don't have artillery. But while artillery evens the playing field it makes the game no more interesting, as again you sit there and wait for your artillery to run out of ammo, or theirs. So if you like a game where you can line up your men and walk away, this is the game for you.

    Naval battle are much worse now, and considering that naval battles were so utterly atrocious in S2, that they could have managed to make is worse is a feat in and of itself. Where-as before though you could ignore that aspect of the game, now you have no choice as you're cities will get endlessly bombarded. The flee in circles mechanic is still there, where it you spend your entire time chasing navies that refuse to engage but just run away, during which time 10 other 1 stack units will blockade every port and trade route while bombarding your cities. If by sheer dumb luck you can actually engage an enemy navy, the naval battles are worse than the bumper-car cluster-fck that was S2 naval battles. As stupid as watching 20 ships sit there stuck and unable to move just firing ineffective arrows at each other for 20 min was, Fall of the Samurai's naval battles are even worse. The defender lines his boats up sideways and does nothing, while the attacker has no option but to steam head first into the fire losing almost his entire fleet before being able to fire a single shot. Unless you're MASSIVELY out numbered, you can't lose at naval defense.

    I got this on sale for 5$ and still feel ripped off...    … Expand
  36. Bethrezen
    May 20, 2012
    10
    One of the best Total War title, further improving the graphics and gameplay of the series. The game is, perhaps, one of the best RTS games ever made even though I'm sure there will be many more TW games to take his place and raise the realism standard. Great multiplayer, superb single player!
  37. TheRealMalice
    Mar 23, 2012
    6
    Nice game but it seems very much like the 1st one but with some flashy weapons/units.
    It really should have been an DLC pack.
    Sadly I'm already bored of Japan (No offence to the country), Total War needs a fresh feel, maybe WW1 or 2.
    Game play is fun, graphics are great, but overall it's "more of the same".
  38. RDonnell
    May 26, 2012
    4
    While a fun addition to the Totalwar series Fall of the samurai is missing key features like bayonets and a patch system to seperate the changes from the base shogun 2 title.The game does not require shogun 2 but massively changes the graphics to shogun 2 anyways and removes loved graphical features such as gloss and breaking the view distance so users are plagued with facelessWhile a fun addition to the Totalwar series Fall of the samurai is missing key features like bayonets and a patch system to seperate the changes from the base shogun 2 title.The game does not require shogun 2 but massively changes the graphics to shogun 2 anyways and removes loved graphical features such as gloss and breaking the view distance so users are plagued with faceless troops.Depth of field has also been bugged by this system along with many missing textures and other graphical errors like extreme color saturation and buggy shaders.

    The expansion seems to massively downgrade the graphics engine for the old shogun 2 users and as such without a way to stop steam from updating users have to put up with the changes to thier game even though it is not advertised nor is there any prior warning.The creative assembly team have reported that some of these errors apart from gloss would get looked at but so far after 2 months and many patches the only thing they fixed was the broken blood pack dlc which again was broken by fall of the samurai.So they actively ignore patch requests and bug reports in favour of making money spinning faction DLC packs and map creators!

    This company seem to like to advertise thier games with features they like to remove later on and refuse to patch or correct so i do not see how i can give this title above a 4 rating which should of been an 8 if they would of corrected the errors and been more humble to what the consumer is sold and afterwards denied access too.    … Expand
  39. Comanglia
    May 28, 2012
    5
    After having played nearly all of the Total war titles I got to say I don't care for these kind of total war games. I just don't like having guns in Total War at all Empire/Napoleon/FoTS. The Campaign is decent especially compared to the original Shogun 2 campaign. Also I noticed someone else said something about a Total War title of WW1 or WW2 which in my opinion is something I wouldn'tAfter having played nearly all of the Total war titles I got to say I don't care for these kind of total war games. I just don't like having guns in Total War at all Empire/Napoleon/FoTS. The Campaign is decent especially compared to the original Shogun 2 campaign. Also I noticed someone else said something about a Total War title of WW1 or WW2 which in my opinion is something I wouldn't buy for more than $10. (I would rate this lower, but this is more of my opinion of guns and the Total War series) I am also highly unsure whether the traditional style of playing Total War games (aka Troop Grouping/movement) would work well at all for anything passed the 1800s.… Expand
  40. scotius
    Mar 30, 2012
    10
    More annual shovelware from Creative Assembly. Full of bugs, low level of support from the appalling developers and no mod tools. No mod tools means no longevity. You will be bored of this game after 2 months but that is part of the plan so you buy their next dumbed down piece of crap which releases in about a years time. The only Total War games you need are Rome and Medieval 2. The restMore annual shovelware from Creative Assembly. Full of bugs, low level of support from the appalling developers and no mod tools. No mod tools means no longevity. You will be bored of this game after 2 months but that is part of the plan so you buy their next dumbed down piece of crap which releases in about a years time. The only Total War games you need are Rome and Medieval 2. The rest are **** and the developers are morons. I hope and pray for the day when someone brings a decent Total War competitor. Either that or when Creative Assembly crashes and burns.… Expand
  41. SpacemanStew99
    Mar 23, 2012
    9
    Mannnn dis' da **** you got yo flashy graphics and yo crazy gameplay mechanics this game will always satisfy a brotha the story line is cool to! you got your **** shoguns and **** then the rebels who have the europeans! its like Hunger games all again! execpt this be better because hunger games copied the history books yo
  42. EllEzDee
    Sep 11, 2013
    0
    More shovelware from Creative Assembly. It's a copy and paste of Empire, but with only 1/10th of the units and all of the same bugs. Cannons are still completely invincible while limbered, pathfinding is still completely broken, and CA's games are still not worth wasting money on.
    If you want it, pirate it.
  43. LD9000
    May 18, 2014
    7
    A decent game, but as others have pointed out, guns don't really belong in the total war series, and this game is an example of that. Guns don't offer arching and can't shoot over units, so it's really easy to rush a line of riflemen with any melee infantry, even spear levy. The result is a very quick rout.

    Singleplayer gets tedious really fast, Japan gets divided in two - Shogun up    A decent game, but as others have pointed out, guns don't really belong in the total war series, and this game is an example of that. Guns don't offer arching and can't shoot over units, so it's really easy to rush a line of riflemen with any melee infantry, even spear levy. The result is a very quick rout.

    Singleplayer gets tedious really fast, Japan gets divided in two - Shogun up north, empire down south, and one has to attack over very long distances. This is where enemy's use of ships to blockade trade routes gets really annoying- the enemy keeps spamming stacks of 1-2 ships, and it's a hassle to chase them all, especially since they can magically retreat really far away most of the time.

    In terms of clans, there's really minimal differences between them. The shogun/empire divide is only visible in the early game, as capturing enemy settlements later on allow a player to field both samurais/ninjas and best riflemen, like US marines.

    Castle sieges were disappointing, as the enemy is utterly retarded. It can neither attack nor defend properly, and seeing AI try to climb the same tallest wall in my castle with 5 squads of 150 men at once is just too much.

    Overall, I don't see myself playing this for long, and it seems like a waste of 30$    … Expand
  44. JimCorbett
    Apr 4, 2014
    7
    A big step forward from the lackluster Shogun 2. FotS adds gunpowder era units into a Shogun setting and it works marvelously. There's nothing more satisfying than calling in your offshore ships to bombard and enemy in a castle and see them get absolutely destroyed, or setting up some Gatling guns before a wall of charging samurai and just watching as they get mowed down. I'm still not aA big step forward from the lackluster Shogun 2. FotS adds gunpowder era units into a Shogun setting and it works marvelously. There's nothing more satisfying than calling in your offshore ships to bombard and enemy in a castle and see them get absolutely destroyed, or setting up some Gatling guns before a wall of charging samurai and just watching as they get mowed down. I'm still not a fan of the setting. Japan is a still a very homogeneous country and none of the factions really felt any different from the others. The few interesting factions in the game were locked out and you have to buy a DLC to unlock them even though they are already in the game. FotS loses a point over that scam. Overall though, the game is an upgraded Napoleon and well worth the time of anyone who enjoyed that or Empire.… Expand
  45. takashi
    Aug 4, 2012
    0
    o jg e totalmente injuativo e lento simplismente e mais um jg inutil no mercado!!! o estilo do jg e totalmente idiota n a dinamica no jg de estrategia!!
  46. Pelopidas
    Jan 21, 2016
    6
    It actually became good after way too long time. I stopped playing before that happened. As is the destiny of every CA game in the hands of me. I don't doubt the game suffered the same fate in others hands.
  47. Latrec
    Sep 13, 2012
    6
    Look, unless you liked empire at war, you probably wont like fall of the samurai. But even then, why get fall of the samurai when you can just play empire? Empire is much more indepth and ecompasses more territory than japan.

    I strongly prefer Rise of the Samurai as mobilising Samurai armies is much more satisfying than musket-wielding noobs.
  48. Orctownorc
    Apr 27, 2013
    6
    Creative Assembly have done a great job in the areas of research and presentation. This game boasts great graphics, great maps, great units, great factions, and a decent sense of historical friction of Japan in a state of transition from medievel society to modernity. Sadly however the elements of game design are not so strong in the single player campaign. As in all CA games this game hasCreative Assembly have done a great job in the areas of research and presentation. This game boasts great graphics, great maps, great units, great factions, and a decent sense of historical friction of Japan in a state of transition from medievel society to modernity. Sadly however the elements of game design are not so strong in the single player campaign. As in all CA games this game has an overly mechanical feel about it. War is a process of steady expansion, and it lacks any sense of narrative, identity politics, indeed any sense of politics, diplomacy or political economy. The game (on hardest setting) see saws from TOO HARD at the start to TOO EASY once your faction reaches the point of sufficient mass. Also lots of little things are unbalanced. Agents in particular are WAY OVERPOWERED. A single Geisha can convert all the generals in a rival faction to your army. A single Ninja can kill ever NPC in a faction and so on. This game was never truly play tested. For Multiplayer Fall of the Samurai was a great expansion. But the single player experience is, like all CA games, not very well designed. CA needs to get beyond mechanical expansion and into campaigns based on real diplomacy and real political economy. GROW UP CA! Learn something from Paradox Interactive!… Expand
  49. Deutchburg
    Jan 16, 2013
    6
    Think Shogun and Empire Total War combined and you have it.
    A great improvement to the mechanics compared to Empire, however RESEARCH aspect of the entire Shogun series is dissatisfying compared to Empire.
    Also the Ishin ShiShi and the Shinsengumi played a much larger role in the Meiji Restoration having them act as in the manner of spies and assassins gives them great injustice.    Think Shogun and Empire Total War combined and you have it.
    A great improvement to the mechanics compared to Empire, however RESEARCH aspect of the entire Shogun series is dissatisfying compared to Empire.

    Also the Ishin ShiShi and the Shinsengumi played a much larger role in the Meiji Restoration having them act as in the manner of spies and assassins gives them great injustice.

    Definitely worth playing, for both newcomers and veterans, Shogun is the best series to date.    … Expand
  50. Katsumoto34
    May 12, 2013
    10
    This is a great addition to the Shogun series! This totally makes me stick to my laptop playing this for more than hundreds of hours!!! Really great soundtracks,animations,combat sequence,text,voice overs,arts,units and online.Great work on the clans units animations guns and facial expressions!!! LOVE THIS AND RECOMMEND TO ALL STRATEGY GAME PLAYERS!!!
  51. gracjanski
    Aug 11, 2015
    8
    Another great idea to play the fall of the samurai and put in some guns in the game. There are more new interesting aspects of the game: fights in the port and the 2 parties after realm divide. The biggest problems remain: KI is bad, especially realm divide is frustrating, because the KI is throwing everything against the player and the allies are stupid. The battles should be moreAnother great idea to play the fall of the samurai and put in some guns in the game. There are more new interesting aspects of the game: fights in the port and the 2 parties after realm divide. The biggest problems remain: KI is bad, especially realm divide is frustrating, because the KI is throwing everything against the player and the allies are stupid. The battles should be more interesting, because you get a new kind of units. But on the other side the battles get all the same: shooting with artillery, infantery and bows at the rear, front units attacking or defending the infantery. I prefer the battles in main game. The same in naval battles: they are better and more interesting in main game.… Expand
  52. Thatweirdguy
    Sep 11, 2013
    10
    This is the best game i ever played and still playing it totally amazing love the rail way system and the new weapons /units for the choice thumbs up with a 10 10
  53. pierrem
    Sep 25, 2014
    10
    This game hardly deserves the 10 I'm giving it, because it has little replayability : all factions feel the same. Apart from that, it is in my opinion the very best TW game. How could such a game be turned into R2TW????
  54. Shoegazer
    Dec 5, 2017
    9
    One of the most valued games of the beloved strategy game series pushed a standalone baby "Fall of the Samurai" out from Shogun 2.
    Take that golden vanilla Total War and add more advanced tactics through wider unit variety, more agents and way more firepower. Have your frontlines made of infantry rifle men, back them up with melee katana- and yari samurai, covering their flanks with some    One of the most valued games of the beloved strategy game series pushed a standalone baby "Fall of the Samurai" out from Shogun 2.
    Take that golden vanilla Total War and add more advanced tactics through wider unit variety, more agents and way more firepower. Have your frontlines made of infantry rifle men, back them up with melee katana- and yari samurai, covering their flanks with some cavalry and putting explosive firepower to launch from your back lines. And with this wide unit scale you're forced to think of a whole new set of battle tactics.
    The campaign map itself is very similar to the predecessor with its Japanese-cartoon-styled - but a gorgeous map of Japan. They added a fresh look for the unit cards and overall the game is a blast to look at. The game is set in the mid 19th-century when the threat of Western powers forced Japan's government to modernize (and Westernize) and eventually abolish the traditional samurai-based Shogunate, and was replaced as an Emperor for Japan's leader. As for the player, he gets to choose to pledge himself for either Shogunate or Imperial Court, and the player aims to destroy the other faction. And if you will, conquer all Japan while you're at it.

    The Fall of the Samurai adds new tactics to the vanilla Shogun 2 via firepower, as riflemen and cannons are added, as well as Carbine Cavalry and a whole set of other new units. Besides for the samurai fighting in the midst of gunpowder smoke, and getting blown up by explosive destruction of artillery, other new cool features are in as well. Hire a geisha or two to entertain your armies or send them to seduce the enemy.

    All this fighting aims for the end game, where there are are only two armies at war: the Imperial Vanguard and the Shogunate forces. The other one must vanish. This is arguably one of the best TW titles, even if it's a half-priced, graphical copy-paste from a previous game that created this one.    … Expand
  55. VidyaBum
    Mar 8, 2014
    8
    I'd like to give this an 8.5 but I can't, so it'll be an 8.

    The good at Shogun II: Everything. The visuals, sounds, game mechanics, diplomacy, naval battles, everything is such a vast improvement over Medieval II TW(I didn't play Empire). The game as a whole is a glorious success in every aspect, but it does come with a few minor and two major flaws. The first major flaw is    I'd like to give this an 8.5 but I can't, so it'll be an 8.

    The good at Shogun II: Everything.

    The visuals, sounds, game mechanics, diplomacy, naval battles, everything is such a vast improvement over Medieval II TW(I didn't play Empire).

    The game as a whole is a glorious success in every aspect, but it does come with a few minor and two major flaws.

    The first major flaw is simple: it lags. Terribly. After checking around, this game has no multicore support. That means that the game's loading times, battles and world map all lag. It's a terrible, unforgivable issue that never stops. It will sometimes lag so bad it'll crash, that's how bad it is.

    Besides that, the balancing of units is a little poor: Artillery almost always ends up being the one and only thing you want to use, along with some support units to defend your cannons. While the mountainous landscape sort of kills that, it only sorts of does it. Most of the time, going for cannons is your best option for 90% of battles. Ironically, cannons become way less good against castles as the walls and hilltop fortresses are usually pretty decent at protecting from the ammo-limited cannons.

    Cavalry has become almost universally useless except in some extremely specific situations, too. That is certainly historically accurate, but it means that you're almost better off never making any cavalry.

    I may also be a massive pansy for saying this, but the other big flaw I found is that this game's very hard and legendary difficulties are just bollocks. They are absolutely ridiculous since you will find yourself, even if you play like a god, having to fight with 4-5 provinces against 30, since every single clan and their mother will attack you. I even had clans from literally the other side of the farthest island of Japan send out an amphibious assault specifically for me when they could attack literally anywhere else on the way!

    The AI doesn't get more difficult, it's just that the level of agressivity towards YOU specifically gets retarded. Even your allies, or people who have every reason to attack you, will betray or assault you.

    As long as you hold yourself to normal or hard difficulties, this is pretty great though. The difficulty is just fine and the strategy, while usually pretty simple as Japan's shape does force you to fight clan after clan, you can't have many 3-way wars, you have to just push forward city after city till your victory, does allow for a lot of ambushes, surroundings, sieges, assaults of all kinds, naval supports, and such.

    Naval battles are a ton of fun, but are a bit on the easy side once you've learned the basic principle of "get them in your range, don't get in their fire range". I won many battles with 3 major ships against fleets of 10.
    One big problem with it is how huge the sea battlefields can be. You literally have to wait 5 full minutes of game time just to get in range! That is 2 real life minutes of waiting for nothing. And when it's a tough battle that you keep losing and have to reload to win, it's two minutes you'll really get annoyed at.

    This is actually another big problem, the loading times. They added this neat little quicksave feature before every battle. That's great and all, but if I lose a battle, the game automatically loads the world map to show me my defeat. I can't load a save from inside a battle. So I lose 10 seconds. Then I reload the quicksave. 10 more seconds. Then I can reload the battle. 10 more seconds!
    How about keep this feature but allow to just reload the battle once you've lost it? It's the same principle and it doesn't have to take that much time! Or better yet, just have the little battle menu show up if you choose to reload the battle so you can choose auto-battle or battle battle without any loading.

    With these problems out of the way, and apart from a few minor gameplay mechanics like the boarding and unloading of ships, trains and the like, this is an excellent title in every aspect.

    The upkeep of units is too high though, especially for artillery which should have very little as it only needs 30 men.
    Diplomacy works much better(although I'm never quite sure why my trade agreements are rejected and I find it a bit silly) than M2TW, the battles are extremely fun and varied although you'll often end up fighting in a forest or a hill, guns and cannons are the way to go to win battles apart maybe for castle battles, the technologies, agents and generals growth trees are an extremely great mechanic and this is an all-around wonderful TW game.

    I just wish CA had made an effort on the programming and actually had working multicore, this lag is awful. And that the difficulty wouldn't go from fighting a somewhat weak enemy to fighting 10 somewhat weak enemies at the same time. Oh and the cutscenes are very meh, too.
    Still truly a great, memorable, fun and complex game.    … Expand
  56. Wiebe
    Feb 26, 2020
    8
    Decent expansion to a great game that adds some dept to the basic mechanics
  57. Dco326
    Mar 2, 2023
    6
    Meni se nesto u vezi ove ekspanzije nije dopalo, bila je prelaka i vecinu vremena sam se smarao propisno tako daono, nije mi nesto bolja je base igra.
  58. Krowsnose
    Oct 13, 2016
    10
    This is the best Total War game out of those I've played (Rome, Medieval 2, Empire, Napoleon, Attila) and I always find myself coming back to it. The lasting appeal is very high. Different factions call for quite different strategies and each campaign is typically long. The wide array of technology in the units will have you trying out different combinations obsessively. The agents areThis is the best Total War game out of those I've played (Rome, Medieval 2, Empire, Napoleon, Attila) and I always find myself coming back to it. The lasting appeal is very high. Different factions call for quite different strategies and each campaign is typically long. The wide array of technology in the units will have you trying out different combinations obsessively. The agents are fantastic and really come in handy when you're at a disadvantaged position. The AI is not the best and is probably the weak point of the game, but it's still an improvement over previous TW installments. Great graphics and sound. Learned a lot about 19th century Japan.… Expand
  59. Vanco
    Jun 4, 2019
    9
    Best game of the Total War series. Combines a modern setting the the great mechanics of the base game.
  60. Lazyyybone
    Feb 14, 2021
    8
    정말 시대 선택 오졌다. 역시 해군이 좀 어렵고 진입장벽은 높은데 당시 상황들을 반영하는 캐릭터들과 신식무기로 쓸어 버릴 때 그 쾌감은 잊지못한다.
  61. Yaav13
    May 9, 2022
    8
    My truthful honorable incorruptible conclusive rating of this considered game: 8.

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best PC Game of 2012
79
#79 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
46
#46 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. Gamer.nl
    Jun 9, 2012
    85
    Fall of the Samurai is an excellent mix between old and new forms of warfare, although the game leans more on the new forms of warfare which can make lovers of the old forms feel left out. The expansion is so big on the other hand, that you can't really pass up on it. This expansion lifts the original to new heights.
    Read full review
  2. CPUGamer
    Apr 29, 2012
    80
    It very much feels like Creative Assembly has peaked creatively.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Apr 27, 2012
    90
    Still unique, still unmissable - and wielding knockout visuals too. [June 2012, p.87]
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