Total War: Attila Reviews
For the uninitiated, Total War: Attila does a good enough job introducing a very detailed world and mechanics. What it does best is allow a player to get right into the meat of combat and enjoy orchestrating campaigns across gorgeous battlefields. While micromanaging the war effort and empire can be detracting, there are enough game modes and variety in the campaign to ween someone into the thick of it. At the end of the day, the battles are satisfying and the AI is good enough. It is not without it's problems, but it's as good a strategy game as you'll likely to find.
While Total War: Attila is a glorified expansion, it is a glorified good expansion, as it brings forth plenty of refinement and ideas… just not enough to make it a distinctly different game from its predecessor. Even so, it's still a wonderfully solid and enjoyable title, and still worth its price to newcomers of the series. For people who already own Rome II, it might be worth waiting for the price to drop, but, ultimately, it is a game that should be gotten.
Overall Attila builds on what Rome 2 did and improved it in a few areas. If you are a strategy game fan or Total War fan you should pick this one up. This review of Total War Attila was done on the PC. A review code was provided by the publisher. 2SHARESShareTweet Tags: Game Reviews, Johnny Hurricane Reviews
The road to victory is a long one
Total War Attila is the most fun the series has been since at least Shogun 2.
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.
Total War: Attila signals a remarkable return to form for the Total War series, with relatively few but well thought out additions, and some much needed tweaks to existing mechanics that allow them to come to life.
Brilliant, but as uninspiring as a greatest hits album. Although it helps when the great hits are delivered by war axes…
It is, across the board, an improvement on Rome II, despite some issues that have been carried over. And not just Rome II at launch, but even when comparing Attila with the Emperor Edition, the new kid puts on the best show. It's a confident marriage of setting and mechanics, with a historical and environmental narrative influencing each faction, pushing them into engaging situations. And you can burn the world, which is fun.
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.
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.
Rome could burn down in a day, if only the Huns were easier to control
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' plays well for the most part, as it lives up to the series' deep and enjoyable standards, but doesn't feel like a leap forward. It is a complex, demanding, and often difficult strategy title, and all of these are to its credit. Playing as the Huns does have its own nuance, while the accompanying historic scenarios help fill out the era. 'Attila' is not chock full of innovation and neither are technical achievements dazzling, but it does sport a reasonable price point at release, somewhere in between an expansion and full retail.
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 fans looking looking to experience the fall rather than the rise of Western Civilization should definitely invest some time into Attila. However, due to the scope of the campaign map, newcomers may want to approach with caution as the learning curve is even more severe than usual.
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.
Despite the long turns and multitude of menus, Total War: Attila succeeds because it gets you invested in your armies and the period of time. Because the lens is pulled back and away from the battlefield, you can still enjoy other aspects to the game such as family trees and political unrest. This makes for a more fully fleshed out experience that is accentuated by armies that will both thrill and frustrate you in equal measure. Total War: Attila expects you to lose and become frustrated, but it is right there waiting for you to learn, improve, and come back with a vengeance.
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?
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.