Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai [Download]

by Sega

Product Details

• Downloading: Currently, this item is available only to customers located in the United States and who have a U.S. billing address.
• Note: Gifting is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B006WD9H9Y
• Release Date: March 22, 2012
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,396 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #61 in Video Games > Digital Games > PC Game Downloads > Strategy

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

THE END OF THE SAMURAI ERA, THE DAWN OF AN EMPIRE

The standalone expansion to the award winning Total War: SHOGUN 2 explores the conflict between the Imperial throne and the last Shogunate in 19th century Japan, 400 years after the events of the original game – a dramatic clash of traditional Samurai culture with the explosive power of modern weaponry.

Guide ancient Japan into the modern age, as the arrival of America, Britain and France incites a ferocious civil war which will decide the future of the nation.

Dramatic 19th century Japan setting
Based on the backdrop of the Boshin War period, the new campaign starts in 1864, a time of growing resentment against Western colonial power and influence. As Japan began to modernise and industrialise, the inevitable social and economic changes led to increasingly militant nationalism and antipathy towards the Shogunate.

• 6 new playable clans
  Play as a clan supporting the Imperial throne, or the last Shogunate:
  • Shogunate clans: Aizu, Nagaoka, Jozai
  • Imperial clans: Choshu, Satsuma, Tosa

• New foreign powers
  The American, British and French nations played an important part in the story of the Boshin war and your relations with these foreign powers will be integral to unit recruitment and to advancing your technology trees.

• New 19th century Japan campaign map
  • The new island of Ezo extends the SHOGUN 2 campaign map northwards.
  • Fully refreshed towns and other campaign map features reflect the different time period, with railways making their first appearance in a Total War title.

• Campaign map railways
  • Develop your own railway network to move armies and agents between your regions.
  • Railways can be sabotaged and transport can be blocked by enemy armies who take control of parts of the line or railway stations.

• 39 new land units
  • Including modern ranged units - such as the Gatling gun and Armstrong gun - controllable in a new first-person mode.
  • New units can also be recruited from foreign powers, including the British Royal Marines, US Marine Corps and French Marines.

• 10 new naval unit types with a total of 21 ships
  • New steam-powered warships, heavily armed with modern artillery.
  • Foreign ironclad ships can also be purchased, including the Warrior-class ironclad.

• New port siege battle type
  • This new battle type triggers when attempting a naval assault on an occupied enemy port.
  • The attacking fleet must sail into the harbour and capture the port, running the gauntlet of coastal gun defences.

• New land and sea unit interactions
  • During a land battle, armies can call in offshore artillery support barrages.
  • Conversely, costal gun emplacements can target enemy ships during port siege battles, when ending their turn within the range of upgraded coastal defences.
  • Campaign map bombardments: offshore naval units can bombard armies and cities in adjacent coastal areas on the campaign map itself.

• 3 new agent types
  • The Foreign Veteran, the Ishin Shishi and the Shinshengumi.
  • Each new agent has its own skill tree, and Ninja and Geisha agents have had their skill trees updated with new abilities.

• Improved siege battle mechanics
  • New upgradable tower defences can be built with a specific defence specialty: archery, matchlock or Gatling gun.

• Multiplayer 2.0
  • New Conquest map reflecting the 19th century setting
  • Brand-new Fall of the Samurai avatar, including:
  • Over 40 new retainers
  • Over 30 new armour pieces
  • New 19th century avatar skill tree
  • Multiple avatars: players can enjoy multiple careers and progression across Shogun 2 and Fall of The Samurai

  System Requirements

  	Minimum Specifications:	Recommended Specifications:
  OS:	Win 7, Vista and XP
  Processor:	2 GHz Intel Dual Core processor / 2.6 GHz Intel Single Core	2nd Generation Intel Core i5 processor (or greater), or AMD equivalent
  RAM:	RAM: 1GB RAM (XP), 2GB RAM (Vista / Windows7)	2GB RAM (XP), 4GB RAM (Vista / Windows7)
  Hard Drive:	32 GB
  Video Card:	Video card: 256 MB DirectX 9.0c compatible card (shader model 3)	AMD Radeon HD 5000 and 6000 series graphics card or equivalent DirectX 11 compatible card
  Additional Info:	Screen Resolution: 1024x768 minimum

  
  Additional Information
  Requires Steam account for installation and activation.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Game April 20, 2012

By Evahn

I have always enjoyed the TW games, from the first Shogun to Rome, etc they have always been fun and challenging. I dont really understand the review on here that says the game is too hard, I find that it is a pretty predictable and easy game to play if you use all of the elements of the game, such as agents, proper garrisons, proper navy strength etc.

Pros
* Navy bombardments have made having a navy a more relevant part of the game, instead of just being there to protect trade routes and backdoor invasions like in Shogun 2.
* Railroads make transporting across the map from your premium army creating regions much easier and allow for faster reinforcing.
* International forces and agents are a cool part of the game
* Diplomacy works better, ie if you are the same allegiance you most likely wont get stabbed in the back.
* Turn system is better and years take longer which makes more sense

Cons
* Artillery seems to be overpowered, unless running a mod of some sort. I think my guns kill around 1000 people per battery and are just so damaging it seems unrealistic.
* Annoying 1 ship navy harassment by the enemy get old after a while, I mean who would just keep sending lambs to the slaughter as opposed to trying to build up a significant force that could cause some real damage.
* Traditional units aren't that useful in my opinion, beyond the Yari Ki cavalry and some spears to defend against cavalry. I have taken a full stack of gold level armor traditional army and it struggles to beat a relatively weak levy infantry army. It also takes so 2 turns for each unit, which might be more realistic due to the skill required to use swords or bows, but it also makes me not want to use them....

All in all, this is a great game and it is really cool to watch line infantry square off against each other, and to take control of a Gatling gun battery and mow down a charging calvary unit a la "The last Samurai" Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Total war Shogun 2- fall of the samurai December 25, 2012

By Richard

Amazon Verified Purchase

Will never do a download like this from amazon agen over 21 GBs. Took 3 days to download. Then you have to wate for anther day for steam to update. My download speed is 80-120 kbs. For a total download time of something like 4 days. :( The game is fun to play and I enjoyed the game but the download time was hard to take.

Rich L

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun with guns! August 4, 2012

By C Lavender

Amazon Verified Purchase

In short, Fall of the Samurai is an excellent expansion that builds well on Shogun 2.

The focus of the new expansion is the rapid modernization of Japan in the context of Boshin War. Within the single-player campaign, you will see a transition from the samurai units from the original title to gun-carrying and artillery units of the early modern period. As you would imagine, this transition is a big one, but the game maintains the same fluidity of combat of Shogun 2. Unlike some other games in the Total War series, the gun and artillery units bring with them a tremendous and satisfying sense of power. I had a lot of fun in battles in this game.

One aspect of the Shogun 2 I did not like was the realm divide event that occurs at the end of the single player campaign. In Fall of the Samurai, this has effectively been replaced by an event where most or all clans form two Shogun- or Emperor-supporting alliances. I liked this event much more; the end game felt like it had a greater sense of focus, and being able to have allies throughout the campaign felt more natural and rewarding.

The expansion does not seem to have the same depth and balance of the original title. Clans are pre-divided into Shogun- and Emperor-supporting camps, so diplomacy feels a little canned. If you are pro-Shogun, you ally with other pro-Shogun clans. With gun and artillery units being as powerful as they are, your clan development is usually focused on researching and producing relatively few unit types. However, the game is so fun, it's easy to overlook this minor flaws.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Game July 7, 2012

By Peyton

Amazon Verified Purchase

Great game. Near perfect graphics. Fun/Difficult campaign. First person artillery shooting. Most advanced guns of all the total war games.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars distinct and novel concept May 10, 2012

By Lisa Shea HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

The second downloadable content pack for "Total War: SHOGUN 2", Fall of the Samurai deals, naturally, with the end of the samurai era and the beginnings of modern Japan.

Fall of the Samurai takes place during the Boshin War of 1868. Unlike the Sengoku period of the default game, which was about warlords seeking their own power, the Boshin war is a dedicated "civil war" between those who support the Shogun and those who support the Emperor. The Imperial side is traditionalist, supporting a return to the old ways and the isolation of Japan. The Shogun's side is modernist, favoring greater trade with the outside world. While each side is made up of multiple areas and factions, the two greater sides are very concrete and meaningful in the game.

Like the standard game and the Rise of the Samurai DLC, "Fall of the Samurai" has its own aesthetics and gameplay dynamics that are largely independent from other versions of the game. One of the most noticeable struggles in the game's campaign mode is between modernity and tradition. Upgrading your technology can give you advantages - guns, artillery, industry - but doing so undermines Japanese history and culture. Remaining traditional presents advantages in the form of better morale and training for "classical" units like armored samurai. Traditional units are weaker at range, but if they can close into melee distance they vastly overpower unarmored riflemen. The balance between "modern" and "traditional" is established pretty well in the game's combat system. The broken, hilly terrain of Shogun 2's battle-maps means that modern forces won't automatically have an advantage, but if they can catch traditional armies in the open their range can make or break an entire battle....

While many of the campaign's elements are similar to Shogun 2's previous incarnations, there's enough new twists and turns to keep things interesting. The "civil war" dynamic is totally different from the "every warlord for himself" of the Sengoku period or the "spread your family's influence" of Rise of the Samurai. The split between modern and traditional defines most of Fall of the Samurai's gameplay, with foreign powers and trading becoming a major issue later on. Sea battles are more important now, as fleets can provide supporting fire for land-based battles or bombard cities. In some senses the classic "build structures in towns, move armies around maps" gameplay feels kind of dated and "gamey", but the battles themselves work great.

The aesthetic for Fall of the Samurai is based around maps of the period, using a more grey-toned style compared to the highly colorful styles of Shogun 2 and Rise of the Samurai. I've heard mixed opinions about this, but personally I don't like it at all. The 3d models still look great, but the campaign map is just very drab and dull-looking (intentionally so, but ugly is ugly). Overall, the game is definitely distinct as its own concept - a concept whose execution could have been done better, but a distinct and novel concept nonetheless.

Rating: 8/10.

We purchased this game with our own funds in order to do this review. Read more ›