Total War: Three Kingdoms

I am going to start by saying that for me, Total War: Three Kingdoms is the best game in the franchise so far! This is a series that is very mixed. Some games are truly epic, but others have been average and bored me to tears. With this game, Sega and the folks at Creative Assembly managed to walk the fine line of being fun, exciting and also very strategic as well.

Romance Is The Way To Go

What sets Total War: Three Kingdoms apart from all the rest is the setting. The game is actually based on the books, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and to go with this is a brand new “Romance Mode”.

Romance Mode is a kind of retelling of this story and it actually has some fantasy elements to it. Your generals are Kung-Fu masters who have all these awesome over the top moves. The story is pretty fast-paced and the action great! I felt that it gave the game a kind of “anime” movie kind of vibe to it and I had to ask “am I really playing a Total War game?” many times.

More Than Just A Story

While Romance Mode has a great and well-written story. It also has many strategic elements to go along with the Kung-Fu master action! For example, playing politics and pitting other places against each other is a lot of fun and something that makes you feel like a mastermind! Also planning your battles in Total War: Three Kingdoms is very important. You have a selection of five very different classes to pick from, but you can only have three at a time. This forces you to really think about what you are doing as the wrong selection can result in defeat. Creating settlements, using resources and selecting the right people are all things that you have to contend with.

I found the difficulty level to be ideal. Some of the past games in the series have been rather strict and brutal when it comes to getting into them. That is not as much of the case here. Do not get me wrong, you still have a very solid challenge on your hand, but it feels like a challenge that with a bit more experience you can always overcome.

Welcome To Records Mode

Most of the time that I have spent with Total War: Three Kingdoms has been with the Romance Mode. Those who think that Romance Mode sounds like it is way too over the top for a game like this can play Records Mode. This is more your standard kind of strategy game and all of the “fantasy” style elements have been removed.

It has a much slower pace and you have to worry about things such as your stamina. After spending many hours with Romance Mode, I had a very hard time getting into this mode as I found it rather boring. Still for those who love strategy games, perhaps it will be Records Mode that really wows them?

I was pretty blown away by Total War: Three Kingdoms. The Romance Mode is one of the best modes I have ever played in this long-running series. If you have not liked the serious nature of the series in the past, Romance Mode is exactly what you are looking for. I really believe that mode is more than enough to make playing this game a worthwhile experience.

8.5/10

Pros:

• The Romance Mode is truly amazing
• The story and writing are very well done
• It looks gorgeous
• I really liked the way that the class system worked
• There is way more humor here than you would think

Cons:

• Records Mode bored me to tears!
• It can take a little while to get the hang of it