Total War: Shogun 2

Total War: Shogun 2, a strategy title from Creative Assembly and Sega, hit shelves in 2011 as the seventh major installment in the Total War series. After several games set across Europe and the Middle East, this entry circles back to the same feudal Japan setting that launched the franchise with *Shogun: Total War*. The action unfolds during the 16th-century Sengoku Jidai, or Warring States period, when the Ashikaga shogunate has lost its grip on the regional daimyō and their clans. Players take charge of one of these clans, aiming to crush their rivals and seize control of Japan as the new Shogun.

The standard edition offers eight playable factions, each with a distinct starting location and unique military or political perks, plus a ninth faction reserved for the tutorial. A limited edition adds the Hattori, an exclusive ninja clan, and a separate DLC unlocks a tenth clan, the Ikko-Ikki. Unlike *Empire*, which stretched across much of the globe, this game narrows its focus to the Japanese islands—leaving out Hokkaido—and pares down the variety of unit types. Critics praised the game for streamlining and polishing the series by returning to its core strengths. A standalone expansion, *Total War: Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai*, depicting the 19th-century Boshin War, followed in 2012.

Gameplay sticks to the series’ familiar blend of turn-based strategy and real-time tactics. Players act as both clan leader and general, switching between a campaign layer—where they manage settlements, armies, and economies one turn at a time—and battles, where they command troops in real time. On the campaign map, they develop provinces, produce military units, grow their economy, and research technologies. Armies move across a stylized map to engage other factions in combat. Beyond fighting, players can use diplomacy, political maneuvering, and special agents to gain an edge. Ninja and geisha appear as assassins and spies.

The unit roster includes ashigaru, cheap peasant infantry that are easy to recruit, and samurai, who require specific buildings but are more effective in battle and fill specialized roles like cavalry. Siege units like mangonels and European cannons are available, along with special troops like kisho ninja, who excel at stealth and scaling castle walls.