Flash of Steel header image 4

Entries Tagged as 'Creative Assembly'

Heirs to Peter, Corrupters of Plans: The Pope as Game Mechanic

March 6th, 2013 · 9 Comments · Creative Assembly, Design, Paradox, Religion, Retro

I did not expect to wake up a couple of weeks ago to the news that Pope Benedict XVI had announced his abdication. As of last week, His Holiness retired to a monastery and the cardinals now begin convening to choose his successor. There hasn’t been a voluntary abdication since the 13th century, and the […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Rome Total War 2

July 2nd, 2012 · 6 Comments · Ancients, Creative Assembly

So here we have the teaser trailer for the freshly announced Rome: Total War II. Given Creative Assembly’s amazing success with Shogun 2 and my own inability to resist anything vaguely Roman, I suppose I should be excited. And with drops of information being passed out (fewer armies, meaning more significant battles, for example), it […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Shogun 2 Early Moments

March 18th, 2011 · 8 Comments · Creative Assembly

So I got sucked in, mostly because Bill Abner told me that it was actually pretty good – the regular elimination of the Oda on the first turn (ever single game) notwithstanding. You can read his game diaries on No High Scores – first turn here. Though I defended the general design principles and aesthetic […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Shogun 2 Total War: The Iffy Idea?

June 4th, 2010 · 11 Comments · Creative Assembly, Preview

Yesterday I talked about the upside of Creative Assembly returning to Japan in their Total War series. Today, five reasons why this idea gives me pause. 1) Homogeneity: Though I’m sure that CA will manufacture reasons to mix up the factions a little (even the first Shogun had some differences in costs and unit types), […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Shogun 2 Total War: The Good Idea?

June 3rd, 2010 · 10 Comments · Creative Assembly, Preview

So this is a thing. There are teaser trailers all over, and I’ll probably be seeing something at E3. Top Five Reasons Why This Might Be A Good Idea: 1) Simple Diplomacy: You have a bunch of clans fighting each other to be the top dog. There will be less need for fancy alliances and […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Total War Countdown…to what?

May 25th, 2010 · 20 Comments · Creative Assembly

My friend Kevin pointed out the countdown on the Total War home page. It’s now at 1908. Obviously counting back to a new game to announce, but will it go back further? A Civil War game maybe? Could it be a Victorian/Bismarckian era game? What new setting will get Tom Chick angry in coming years?

[Read more →]

Tags: