I have got it!

[Earl of Freshly Mowed Grass]

I personally love this game. I really do. But I loved STW more. In my opinion, the reason was because of the atmosphere. The game pulled you into Feudal Japan. There was a mysticism about leading samurai into honorable (or dis-honorable) warfare.

But in MTW there isn't so much. The game doesn't have that pull. And the reason I believe this is: there is TOO much variety. 110 units? There is so much to this game that it is all about building fast and killing faster. In Shogun, it was simple and elegant. I don't know, perhaps this is just a rambling on of my thoughts, or whatever...

[Nelson]

"building fast and killing faster" was just as important in Shogun.

A game covering 12 or so factions for 400 years on two continents can hardly compare to a single small (very homogenous) country during an 80 year time frame, at least regarding focus. It's this zoomed focus that can make Shogun seem simpler and more elegant than Medieval.

The vast unit variety in M:TW is essential considering the game's scope even if its appeal suffers somewhat among those fans who prefer Shoguns more limited pallet of tactical tools.

[Earl of Freshly Mowed Grass]

Yup.. I agree. I think I just liked STW's smaller scale better. It felt like a feudal war. This feels like WW2 with swords. (WHich is still cool)

[ToranagaSama]

Quite right, but trying to pin down "why" though, is a bit difficult.

I think its a combo, of the nature of the subject in addition to the incredibly high attention to detail and atmospherics. I believe CA should always have a historical "EXPERT" on board like they had with Shogun, and can't help but believe that his presence and input added a great deal to shape of the game.

Well, I just hope they apply MTW's advances to STW. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif