Total War: Attila Reviews
Total War: Attila is a complex and diverse strategy game that will offer returning Total War fans their fair share of ups and downs. While some things remain faithful to Rome II and the Total War formula in general, Attila is a significantly better title in that it is a really good period piece with some thoughtful innovations on how to deal with the mobility and turmoil of the period. Plus, who doesn't like setting the world on fire?
Total War: Attila iterates on Total War: Rome II. It represents an interesting diversion for fans of the series, but a lack of of new ideas and polish mean it's unlikely to appeal to a wider audience.
Total War Attila is the most fun the series has been since at least Shogun 2.
Total War: Attila brings an under-explored time period to bare to create a great setting and system of mechanics for a strategy game based more on tearing down your enemies than building up your own empire, but it's still plagued with some issues inherent to the Total War franchise.
Total War: Attila is a fantastic game and a must-have for fans of the franchise. The army management and battlefields are still the best piece, but I felt like the clan and empire management aspect has dragged the gameplay down a little compared to earlier titles. A major bonus is the cooperative gameplay has seemingly been fixed. I'm still working on verifying this fully, but previous titles since Shogun 2 has a desynchronization issue with cooperative campaigns, but it seems to have been fixed between Rome II and Attila.
Attila is a solid, innovative entry in the series marred by some inexplicable performance issues. Assuming that the performance issues get worked out, Creative Assembly may have a keeper. As their recent history has shown, though, that's unfortunately far from a given.
This game takes many hours to play a campaign, which is a definite plus, but those hours can be quite tedious when cutscene loading and strange hang-ups occur.
Total War: Attila is one of the best strategy games you can find on the market right now if the historic world is your field of interest and I strongly recommend it to you. There's more than enough accurate material to be found here, allowing you to recreate famous scenes from history, or even create your own from scratch.
Creative Assembly's passion and dedication to their Total War machine is evident with ATTILA. It's not for everyone, but for those that enjoy the series, this has all the makings of a superb entry.
The fall of empires has largely been consigned to expansion packs in the Total War series - as in Barbarian Invasion for the original Rome, and Fall of the Samurai for Shogun 2 - so it's a new look for a main instalment to concern itself with the topic. Nevertheless, it is largely successful in its ambitions, and is probably one of the most epic experiences you'll find in the tactical-strategy genre. Despite all the tweaks and improvements, however, it's held back by the lingering problems of the series: in short, long wait times and nonsensical diplomacy. With a little more focus to its early stages, these might have been forgiven; as it is, as fine a game as Attila might be, it stands more as a refinement than a revolution for the series.
Good news: The latest Total War game is better than Rome II at launch. But that doesn't mean it's perfect.
Rome could burn down in a day, if only the Huns were easier to control
Total War: Attila has itself firmly set on bringing a great representation of the Total War gameplay. This is the best point to begin playing if newcomers are interested in sampling their first Total War, while fans can feel better knowing what to expect with a working title at launch.
Long time Total War fans will be interested in the uniquely new features. Hordes, family trees, tech trees, and combat all have enough tweaks to not be the 'same old' experience. Different difficulties will welcome a player of any experience to the series
It's not without flaws, but this time those imperfections are forgiveable next to the wealth of quality on offer. Total War: Attila is the return to form that the series desperately needed.
For fans of the genre, the highs of Attila will more than outweigh any lows.
The time-period, focused campaign, new migration aspects, fleshed out political intrigue, and consistently grand battles make this feel like a Total War game aimed squarely at fans of the series. And being a fan, Total War: Attila comes highly recommended.
The road to victory is a long one
If this relatively obscure episode of history isn't your thing but you're jonesing for some Total War, of course, it shouldn't be too long until the incredible sounding Total War: Warhammer shows up. Apart from that, at least we know that Creative Assembly has a bright future making sci-fi survival horrors.
Total War: Attila is a triumphant return for the kings of PC battlefield strategy, and hopefully will usher in a new era of incredible Total War titles.