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. 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".
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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.

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

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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.
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  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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