Shogun 2 Total War - confirmed

[caravel]

One particularly novel development is the introduction of hero units. These are warriors who have perfected a fighting art and can carve their way through enemy armies without much trouble at all. Based on mythologized historical figures like the warrior monk Benkei, hero units are a nearly unstoppable force on the battlefield, capable of holding bridge crossings against entire armies, or smashing through a battle line to engage the enemy general. You can counter heroes with the right tactics, such as filling them full of arrows, or by having your own hero units engage them in duels.

[Veho Nex]

Second...

[caravel]

Well let's just pray that it can be modded - going by the last two titles in the series I'm not very hopeful...

[Beefy187]

Shogun

[Sp00n]

Great news I just hope there's an online chat section like the old game. Can we partition early for an online chat room for MP.

[Aradan]

Second...

According to this:

Hero Units: - These are not one man armies that destroy everything that opposes them. These are highly ranked elite units, available at the top of the tech tree who exemplify a mastery of a given martial technique (E.g. sword fighting). They are able to take on other heroes, and are naturally very powerful against groups of enemies but are not invincible game-changers. These figures are also based on true historical accounts of great fighters who founded schools of combat, not myths that take on whole armies and win.

In many ways Shogun is a great opportunity to finally see something good. Few(er) units, similar factions, limited timeframe, etc; generally a much more focused and tight game, so that hopefully means more focus on the essence of the game: gameplay, AI, immersion. Of course if CA manages to botches up this time with an armada of bugs, terrible AI and supermen-samurai...

WRT to moddability: It would be so very nice, but chances are slim. However if the game itself is good, it can be forgiven. STW was not more moddable than NTW, it became a huge success due its sheer vanilla awesomeness (and novelty, I'll give you that, which is not really there any more after 6 iterations).

[Furunculus]

great setting - one worry: get the modding tools right this time CA!

[gaelic cowboy]

Hup ya boy ye Shogun Totalwar 2

[Julius_Nepos]

Well I'll be passing on S2TW, or rather, I wont be getting involved until its priced at about $10. The setting is just so very limited and its in a time and in a place in which I just have not even a passing interest. Don't get me wrong, I am in fact quite interested in the affairs of Central Asia and India, so I'm not strictly a fan of European history, but I never really got into the far East, and Shogun promises to be a small, detailed and focused venture that's just not for me. Oh and I'm not at all confident CA will reverse its apprehensions towards modding either, so there's that too.

Still, there's no reason NOT to give it a go once its been out for a year+ and has been fully patched and reduced in price to a reasonable level. I never got to play STW (I had Mac back then) so I wouldn't be opposed to trying out the new release. I am disappointed, but I'll live. Watching the development cycle of S2TW should be interesting whatever the final result will be.

[Sp00n]

The simple setting is what made the first one so great, it wasnt over complicated so was much easier to pick up and just play. Fewer units also made the multiplayer simpler and more prone for people to try out new things, online battles always seemed more fun to me in Shogun than any of the other eras since, there was a lot more scope of tactics you coulnt take masses of guns you had to think faster.
I'm extremely excited that they are returning to the Shogun era, I just hope they can do it the justice it deserves.