Gamespy E3 coverage of Barbarian Invasion

[player1]

This is the most interesting thing I've heard about the expansion. I wonder if it will be viable to play the Empire defensively? Almost Total War games so far have been about expansion - to win, you have to occupy more provinces [1]. But I like the idea of just trying to hold on to your lands against the odds. Oda in STW and HRE in MTW were fun examples of large factions struggling to hold their frontiers; I am looking forward to the Western Empire being similar.

[1] The only real exception was the Japanese in MI

Well, I guess that oversized army support (that is necesarry to keep borders not revolting), in combination with money deficit and several other factors would really make empire stagnant. Then add several good but old governors, which when die would add even more unrest (loss of influence and managment potential).

Basicly, you would need to reform your finances, and in same time watch from barbarian invasion (which could lead to even more deficit).