Total War: Shogun 2 - Big in Japan

Traditionally, a new Total War game means one thing - increased Totality. With each sequel and semi-sequel this series has always inflated dramatically in one area or another, and over the last 10 years its world map, battles, nation management and sheer scale all grew outwards from the comparatively sleek Shogun: Total War to form the awkward, stumbling shapes of Empire and Medieval 2.

Empire wasn't perfect, and Creative Assembly know it. As such, this upgrade of the first game couldn't have come at a better time. Firstly, compared to the huge tracts of history Creative Assembly's been wrestling with recently, Medieval Japan is a comparatively tidy time period. Secondly, Creative Assembly are getting to look at their game in the context of the brand-free smash hit it once was- when all the mechanics worked almost flawlessly. Thirdly, the team are borrowing a bit of Eastern philosophy. Creative Assembly wants the design of Shogun 2 to be 'zen'. Shogun 2, then, isn't going to be a bigger game than previous Total War titles. It's going to be better.

 Let's start with the game's tone and visuals. Because Shogun 2 is contained within Japan the team no longer have to provide a generic, rich-looking interface that might suit any number of nations, and can instead play around with their Japanese art, music and imagery. They unveiled the gorgeous world map a few months ago, where fog of war is rendered as flat paper displaying vague symbols, which slips into detailed 3D as you explore it. Of all the upgrades Creative Assembly could have made to Total War, I'm not sure there's a strategy gamer alive who was expecting it to become enchanting.

Adding an even bigger dose of personality to the game is all the attention being given to your in-game family, generals and agents. Creative Assembly saw all the people on their forums writing after-action reports that read like wonderful stories and decided that they wanted to help craft these narratives.

Shogun 2 doesn't simply re-instate your leader's family and make agents important again - everyone, from your generals to your geisha assassins, has a skill tree that you'll be able to pick your way through as your subjects level up. Agents will even look different as they increase in power, so you'll be able to watch your ninja evolve or see at a glance how powerful your opponent's monk is. You see, it's not just colour, it serves to make the game more readable. More Zen.

The interface has improved - now it's almost as pretty from afar as it is up close.

There are a few interface improvements in the battles, too. Hovering the cursor over unit portraits now snaps up a huge box on the side of the screen detailing everything you might want to know (precisely how much of a bonus those naginata samurai will get against cavalry, say), and as units become worn down by a battle their banner will get progressively more ripped and tattered. Between this and Shogun 2's return to a refreshingly simple spread of units, I felt in total control. It was a far cry from steering large blocks of riflemen around, their opaque stats making most of the battle cautious guesswork.