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. Yaav13
    May 9, 2022
    8
    My truthful honorable incorruptible conclusive rating of this considered game: 8.
  2. 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.
  3. Wiebe
    Feb 26, 2020
    8
    Decent expansion to a great game that adds some dept to the basic mechanics
  4. Vanco
    Jun 4, 2019
    9
    Best game of the Total War series. Combines a modern setting the the great mechanics of the base game.
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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????
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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!!!
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  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. 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!
  18. 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.
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
  26. 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!!
  27. 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!
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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.
    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]
See all critic reviews »