Do you remember Braveheart (aka Tartan Army)?

I'm really excited for this new release of Total War. It got me thinking why I got interested in Total War games. I remember:

The first strategy/3d battle game I played was Braveheart (Tartan Army). It was totally cool, but totally clunky. Then someone told me about Medieval Total War (the first one), and so I tried it. It was totally cool, but lacked the campaign map strategy that Braveheart had. Building castles to literally "stop" enemies from roaming around unchecked was cool. The economy determined the weapons and armor your units could have, who you could recruit. That's just a couple of the things. The campaign map of Braveheart is today still the best of turn-based strategy (the 3d battle map totally blew :)

Now the first Medieval Total War didn't have a 3d map like it's predecessors. There was a little strategy involved, but not like Braveheart. It kind of had a simple board game feel. Rome, Medieval 2, and Empire have all had the 3d campaign map, but you know ,once you've eaten the best pasty in town, that pasty sets the bar. Braveheart set the bar on campaign map for Total War-Like games (though it was choppy), and I'm really excited to see if Shogun 2 adds some strategic campaign map war/economy plotting depth.

This isn't a criticism, but a desire. I feel like I'm an old gamer now, though I'm not that old. Braveheart was cool in '99. So was Medieval. I think it would be cool if Total War built a new campaign engine focusing on campaign map strategic depth like Braveheart tried to do. Whatever happens, I'm content. You just gotta be :)

Yes, well, RTW and M2TW also have a 3D map with more "depth". TW has been going that way since 2004 - its kinda old news for it now. If you like games that have more things to do on the strategy map try M2TW and you won't be dissapointed.

Yes I do it remember that one it came out the same time but Shogun was clearly the better game. I seem to remember there was some kind of gimmick for each faction almost like magic or something cant remember what it was now though.

@ gollum: I still play RTW and M2TW with the Europa Barbarorum and Stainless Steel mods. The battle maps are super fun, but the logistics on the campaign map, due to the engine, still are quite shallow. Even with the mods, which add a lot to the base game, military and economic logistics are still too simplified. But fun, nevertheless.

@gaelic cowboy: Yeah I don't remember any magic in the game, but I do remember that the quality of your generals played a huge role in campaign development. The RPG aspect of the game was pretty cool. I never played the original Shogun....I played the board game actually. I do believe the game was based off of the board game.

Rigth, you are a grand strategy fan then, and would wish for a really deep campaign. Perhaps STW2 would be that game, perhaps not. Let's see :)

Originally Posted by gollum

Rigth, you are a grand strategy fan then, and would wish for a really deep campaign. Perhaps STW2 would be that game, perhaps not. Let's see :)

:) I do like to think. Too much chess, I guess! But you're right, we'll see. Games are kind of like looking for that perfect coffee shop, except there is no perfect coffee shop. As a writer, a perfect atmosphere is important, but I've yet to find a coffee shop that provides one. Alas, it is best to be content with what we're given...within reason of course!!!