The best Total War games
So, you want to know about the best Total War games? Shogun: Total War released in June 2000, which means the venerable strategy series has been going for over 20 years now. That’s longer than iPhones, broadband, and most memes. There have been 14 games in that time – not counting mobile spin-offs or the cancelled and underrated Total War: Arena. It’s a lot to keep track of.
Enter: us. If you’ve ever been curious about this strategy games stalwart, look no further. We’ve put together a list of the best and most essential Total War games, from Shogun to Three Kingdoms via the fantastical foray that is Warhammer.
Total War games:
These are the best Total War games, in no particular order:
- Total War: Warhammer III
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
- Total War: Shogun 2
- Total War: Rome II
- Total War: Medieval 2
- Total War: Empire
- Total War Saga: Troy
Total War: Warhammer III
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Total War: Warhammer III has risen to the occasion and proven itself not only the best Total Warhammer game, but possibly the best Total War game of all time. Drawing on six years of fantasy and historical Total War design, Warhammer III pulls out all the stops in terms of offering the ultimate fantasy strategy game.
Our Total War: Warhammer III review describes it as “a triumphant step forward for Total War on almost every front, boasting not just the best and most diverse single-player campaigns ever, but a revolution in multiplayer too.”
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms is, some would claim, the greatest of Total War’s core historical series. Warhammer’s influence is clear in its expanded character mechanics, strategic variety, and an achingly beautiful upgrade to the Warhammer engine, but Three Kingdoms brings plenty of innovation of its own, with overhauls to diplomacy and espionage.
It all serves a purpose: to inject a national war with the human drama of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms – one of China’s most important national stories – as dozens of scheming warlords vie for power after the collapse of the Han Dynasty. Sadly, Three Kingdoms’ story is coming to close now that Creative Assembly has announced it won’t be releasing any more Three Kingdoms DLC.
Total War: Shogun 2
Widely regarded as the series’ best game at the time – a status that was further burnished by Rome 2’s rocky launch – Shogun 2 returns to the 16th-century Japan setting of the very first Total War.
After the intercontinental sprawl of Empire, it arguably played safe with this tighter focus, but built on all its predecessors to create the series’ richest core systems while adding a new level of aesthetic polish. It even lets you customise your own clan, which is neat.
Total War: Rome 2
Despite a rocky launch, Rome 2 has proven to be the most resilient of all the Total War games to date. It was the best selling game at the time of launch, but even 5+ years on from release, it can command a player count just shy of 10,000.
With buckets of Rome 2 DLC and bright graphics that still hold up – both Attila and Thrones of Britannia use close versions of its engine – Rome 2 is one of the most impressive turnarounds in strategy games.
Total War: Medieval 2
Released in 2006, this is the oldest Total War game on the list, but one that many veterans of the series insist has yet to be surpassed. Perhaps it’s the turbulence and romance of the setting – still one of the most beloved that Total War has ever tackled – or its more challenging, old-school sensibilities. Perhaps its simply because it followed the incredibly popular Rome: Total War, and was based on the same engine.
Whatever the reason, the enduring loyalty of Medieval 2’s community is reflected in its thousands of mods, which are among the best and most ambitious for any Total War game, and the fact that CA gave it a definitive edition which bundles in the huge Kingdoms expansion. So if you can look past the ageing graphics – and, let’s face it, none of us are getting any younger – Medieval 2 is bursting with worthwhile content.
Total War: Empire
Empire’s campaign is vast in scope, taking place across three theatres, with control of the seas between them an essential factor in your success. That means maritime warfare, and indeed Empire was the first game in the series to feature naval battles. Spectacular to behold, these see hulking ships of the line trade thunderous broadsides which, alongside the military technology of the Industrial Revolution, offers Total War players a completely new set of tactics to master. With musketmen and artillery dominating the battlefield, Empire was a big departure for the series.
Empire got a more focused mini-sequel, Napoleon: Total War, which moved forward in time to tell the story of the titular Emperor’s campaigns in Europe. It lacks Empire’s scope and variety, but is more polished and story-rich, so you can take your pick.
Total War Saga: Troy
The ‘Total War Saga’ experiment is still trying to find its place in the world. These smaller games focus on decisive flashpoints in history – conflicts spanning a generation or less rather than a lifetime or more – and were initially pitched as more experimental spin-offs from the core historical series.
They’ve arguably been getting better with each iteration – Thrones of Britannia had a great setting, but it used old tech and was just a bit clunky as a game. Fall of the Samurai, while fantastic, was originally released over a decade ago as an expansion for Shogun 2, and so doesn’t really count. Total War Saga: Troy – created by Creative Assembly’s new Sofia studio – is the best the format has ever been, though it can’t decide what it wants.
It’s hard to deny how vibrant Troy’s strategic layer is, and how creative the Sofia team have been with blending in lessons learned from the Total Warhammer games with the flourishes of Total War: Three Kingdoms. Its multiple-resource economy is no more revolutionary a change than any we’d see in a new historical release, but that’s fine, as it’s a brilliant idea that makes for one of the richest campaigns in the series.
This concludes our list – if you stick to the above, there’s not much you’ll have missed from Total War’s storied history, and not many itches left to scratch in the realm of epic strategy battles.
Die besten Total Wars — Alle 17 Strategiespiele in der Topliste
Wir schwelgen in Erinnerungen und küren die denkwürdigsten Total Wars.
Mit seinen epischen Schlachten bietet eigentlich so gut wie jedes Total War eine fantastische Spielerfahrung. Trotzdem gibt es ein paar eindeutige Highlights und ein paar Titel, die eher zurückfallen. Wir listen hier deshalb alle 17 Spiele der Serie auf, sortiert vom schwächsten zum besten Vertreter. Ausgewählt nach Meinung unserer Redaktion.
Dabei haben wir uns auf eigenständige Serienteile beschränkt: Erweiterungen gehören einfach immer zu ihrem Hauptspiel. Und wir zählen nur echte Total Wars — Kingdom lassen wir als schmähliche Fußnote der Geschichte einfach mal außen vor.
Neu in der Liste findet sich ab sofort auch Warhammer 3, das erst vor kurzem veröffentlicht wurde. Der dritte Teil baut natürlich auf den Vorgängern auf, aber bietet auch zahlreiche Verbesserungen. Einige davon könnten wir uns sogar in neuen Teilen gut vorstellen. Unseren Test zum neuen Total War findet ihr direkt hier:
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Total War: Warhammer 3 im Test
Platz 17 — Total War: Arena
Free2Play-Onlineschlachten, nur drei Trupps pro Spieler und dann auch noch ohne Kampagne — konsequenter könnte man kaum an der klassischen Total-War-Zielgruppe vorbei entwickeln. Kein Wunder also, dass Arena auch bei unseren Redaktions-Strategen auf dem letzten Platz landet. Dem online Ableger fehlt einfach zu viel von dem, was ein Total War in seinem Kern ausmacht. Zusätzlich wusste Arena sogar zu frustrieren, da das Freischalten neuer Technologie-Stufen zum brutalen Grind ausartete.
Doch nicht nur die Total-War-Superfans wurden von diesem Ableger offenbar enttäuscht. Auch bei den Spielern kam Arena nicht gut genug an, um weiterentwickelt zu werden. Das Spiel ist inzwischen eingestellt.
Platz 16 — Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia
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Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia — Test-Video: Glorreiche Rückkehr ins Mittelalter?
Thrones of Britannia traute sich einige Experimente: Es war der erste Saga-Spinoff, der mit einer bestehenden Engine einen enger als üblich eingegrenzten Bereich der Geschichte erkunden wollte und krempelte viele klassische Spielmechaniken um. Es führte etwa ein völlig neues Rekrutierungssystem ein und schmiss Agenten komplett über Bord.
Während diese Neuerungen allerdings überraschend gut funktionierten, scheiterte Thrones an klassischen Grundpfeilern der Serie: Die Wirtschaft erwies sich als deutlich zu seicht und die KI war so schwach, dass uns das Spiel nie wirklich herausforderte. Insgesamt ist die erste Total War Saga immer noch ein ordentliches Mittelalter-Strategiespiel, aber längst nicht Total War in Bestform.
Platz 15 — Troy: A Total War Saga
Eigentlich müsste Troy: A Total War Saga der zweite Saga-Ableger sein, da Fall of the Samurai aber im Nachhinein ebenfalls zur Saga deklariert wurde, ist es jetzt Teil drei. Qualitativ steht dieser Thrones of Britannia sehr viel näher als Fall of the Samurai. Allgemein hat Troy eine Menge mit seinem Saga-Vorgänger gemeinsam, behält dank weniger KI-Schnitzer im Ranking aber die Oberhand.
Wie bei Thrones of Britannia konzentriert sich Troy auf einen sehr spezifischen Ausschnitt der Menschheitsgeschichte, allerdings mit einem Kniff. Da der trojanische Krieg historisch praktisch nicht rekonstruiert werden kann, kennen wir die Geschichte hauptsächlich aus den lyrischen Gesängen des Dichters Homer. Doch obwohl es sich gerade deshalb angeboten hätte, aus Troy nach Warhammer ein hauptsächlich fiktives Total War zu machen, wollten die Entwickler was riskieren.
Anstatt die Schlachtfelder mit mythologischen Monstern und göttlichem Wirken zu fluten, zeigt Troy eine realistische Version der bekannten Ereignisse. So wirklich zufrieden stimmt Creative Assembly damit aber niemanden. Troy wagt zwar ein paar spannende Experimente, die aber wie im Falle der fünf neuen Ressourcen an der Ausführung scheitern. Wie Thrones of Britannia macht Troy dank der starken Serien-DNA trotzdem Spaß, für den Total-War-Olymp reicht es aber bei weitem nicht.
Platz 14 — Shogun: Total War
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Shogun: Total War — Der Strategieklassiker in der Hall of Fame
Release: 29. Juni 2000 | Epoche: Japan im 16. Jahrhundert | Wertung: 80
Unser GameStar-Test: Shogun im Test
Ein so niedriger Platz für das Spiel, mit dem alles begann? Dafür muss sich Shogun nicht schämen: Seine Nachfolger haben einfach alle sinnvoll sein Konzept ausgebaut! Aber als es damals erschien, gab es kaum etwas vergleichbares, so clever war die Verzahnung von realistischen Echtzeit-Schlachten mit der rundenbasierten Karte.
Dabei wollte Creative Assembly ursprünglich einfach ein RTS der Marke Command & Conquer machen! Das wäre vielleicht auch gut geworden, vielleicht aber auch einfach untergegangen — während die unverwechselbare Total-War-Formel bis heute überdauert.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Killed It / Total War achievement
For this trophy, I used a 24-card Northern deck. Without further ado, here is a complete list of these cards:
Cards with the Strong Link ability:
Blue Stripes Fighter (3 pieces)
Crinfried Rubiles (3 pieces)
Catapult (2 pieces)
Cards with the Spy ability:
Sigismund Dijkstra
Prince Stennis
Thaler
Mysterious Elf (Neutral Hero Card)
Maps with the ability of a doctor:
Healer Boore Bureau
Yennifer from Hungarian (neutral hero card)
Card with the ability of execution-hand-to-hand Map:
Villentretensmt
Special cards:
Scarecrow
Command Horn (1 piece)
Neutral Hero Cards without abilities:
Geralt of Rivia
Cirilla
Triss Merigold
Philippa Eilhart
Esterad Thiessen
Jan Natalis
Vernon Roche
Leader card:
Foltest Leader of the North
Now, actually, tactics: The main thing is not to use the offer at the beginning of the game to change two cards, since you already have a deck built for almost everything occasions, just click . In the first round, you hand over all your available spies to the enemy, take away the analogues sent to you as a scarecrow and send them back. Having given all the spies, it is best to hand over the round to the enemy, but you can look at the situation — if the enemy has already folded, and he has 5-14 points on the scoreboard, then you can get ahead if you have the appropriate neutral card. The second round, if after the first round there were more than one spies sent to you, then first of all, if there are Healers, release them on the field and resurrect the spies — this will give you additional cards from your deck. Then launch fireproof neutrals into battle. As practice shows, in the second round, the opponent most often prefers to quickly pass, so answer his several cards with one neutral fireproof one. Sometimes the enemy is stupid and releases an Execution card on the field, destroying the most powerful card on the entire field, so if you have at least one ten on the field, the card will work for nothing, without causing you any harm.
Finally, the last, third, round, in which it’s time to get rid of all your cards. Throw the enemy with a Strong connection, after spies you should have a lot of it, fatter neutrals. If you see that the opponent (most often with a deck of Monsters) does not give up and stubbornly scores points, then wait for the peak point of this set and release Villentretenmert against the enemy melee unit, which will fry the tail of the enemy great. Most importantly, do not waste Healers on all sorts of nonsense, it is best to raise spies with them, of course, if there are any in the opponent’s deck. If the opponent spoils the weather on the field (most often this happens in the last round, when the enemy has few cards left), then do not pay attention to this, continue to lay out your cards on the field. If the opponent, losing, folds ahead of time, do not spare him, lay out all the cards. Remember, you don’t just want to win, you want to win with more points. After laying out all your cards, see which row is the strongest and add the Commander’s Horn to it.
Finally, use the leader card Foltest Leader of the North to improve the weather on the field. That’s all, with luck, you will score a very large number of points in the last round, enough to get a trophy. If not, replay the game and you’ll be fine. nine0003
Lavrov: Russia declared total war. Network: «It’s not scary with Putin» — Svetlana Shapovalova
Annotation
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western countries of unleashing a real hybrid war against Russia. Comments from social networks.
Svetlana Shapovalova,
March 25, 2022 People believe that the country will only become stronger and cope with the challenge. Edition IA REGNUM chose the most characteristic comments.
Victor Ivanov. You gave us life back! 1943-44. 1953
Follow the developments in the broadcast: «Import substitution and new markets: Russia’s response to Western sanctions — broadcast»
«God, the world has gone mad. When will Europe live by its own mind? Who do you listen to — Biden (USA)? This country brings only death for its own benefit. And you all caved in. Only Russia openly calls you to common sense, listen to reason… You are all pawns in the hands of the United States, think again before it’s too late. Otherwise, the Russian Federation will destroy you all!” — calls Vladimir Valetov. nine0003
“Russia will be stronger and no one will dare to weaken it,” says Konstantin Tupitsyn.
“Yes, understand all of you in this world: we even have jacket potatoes!” — ironically Zinaida Goncharova.
“You might think that Russia is facing difficulties for the first time in the history of the country. Difficulties will only make us stronger,” Alexey notes.
“It seems to me that any person in our country is sharpening his teeth on these Western antics, patience may soon burst,” wrote Olga. nine0003
“Everyone who declared total war on us should have their teeth knocked out, otherwise their history teaches nothing,” suggests Aliya Salimova.
“I completely agree with Lavrov! And since such a situation has developed, it is necessary to act accordingly,” Rinat notes.
“The Russians don’t give up,” wrote Denis.
“We accept the fight,” Nika encourages.
“We stand! We will win! Svetlana agrees.
“We can survive if we develop ourselves, our family, our society. You can make Russia the best country in the world — you just need to try, ”Daniil believes. nine0003
Viktor Ivanov, Olga Burova. Let’s rebuild for glory! 1945
“If it were not for the special operation in Ukraine, they would have openly opposed us, we worked ahead of the curve,” Shulzhenko shared his opinion.
“Yes, they are afraid of us and they hate us, they will harass us in any way, but it’s not scary with Putin,” says Denis.
“The main thing is to be all together for our commander in chief,” Elena Bondareva agrees.
“The whole world has shown its true face and attitude towards our country, we are hated and ready to be destroyed, but we are ready for such a blow,” says S.
