I could only describe it as an utmost pleasure, seeing the Total War series triumphantly returning to its Asian warfare roots. Instead of Medieval Japan, the title I shall review today is the most complex simulation of Ancient China, you may find in a video game at the time of this publishing. I applaud developer Creative Assembly’s decision to start the campaign, three decades prior to the formation of the titular Three Kingdoms. The backstabbing, “diplomatic” scheming and military build-up sprouting from the decaying remains of the Han Empire, all serve as an excellent introduction into a theme that’s been mostly portrayed from a supernatural-like perspective (I’m looking at you, Dynasty Warriors) instead of a pure historical one, with a clear option to choose between fact and fiction. What more can I say about this prolific developer? This is their lucky 13th project under the Total War banner and almost 19 years have passed since the initial Shogun: Total War reached PCs around the world and changed how gamers would perceive grand strategy from that point onwards. Total War: Three Kingdoms is by now affectionately dubbed as TW3K by many fans of the series.

“The empire long united must divide, long divided must unite; this is how it has always been.” "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guanzhong

It is fitting that I start with a quote from the Chinese writer which first documented the fall of the Han Empire and the subsequent, tumultuous period known as the warring Three Kingdoms. These were in fact empires in their own right by any other definition and naturally, the source material was heavily fictionalized to enhance heroic feats and characters. The year is 190 AD and the Roman Empire’s slow crumble is mirrored in the rapid fracturing of the Han Empire, on the other side of the globe. Corruption and inefficient bureaucracy are the culprits in both cases, yet Ancient Chinese customs and political system, do make everything from Europe pale in comparison at this date and time. The Han dynasty ruled for 426 years over most of the territory belonging to contemporary China. Rather than meeting its demise as the result of outside threats, the empire collapsed under its proverbial weight, as corruption and decentralization had eroded imperial authority to the point of state matters being handled entirely by inept bureaucrats (eunuchs in this case) as underage Han emperors had a lesser life expectancy than a Roman emperor.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1749797513

The true power was obviously held by various feudal lords which began to question the empire’s authority but the catalyst to the Three Kingdoms period was a popular rebellion with religious undertones, which took decades to repel. The Yellow Turbans/Scarves were the final drop for an already full glass which had now overflown spilling hate and atrocities that could no longer be prevented. Warlords of both common or noble descent finally took matters into their own hands. Civil war broke as Chinese provinces (commanderies) were now caught between the Yellow Turban rebels and the Han loyalists still clinging unto power. The imperial capital of Luoyang was razed to the ground as the treacherous, former Chancellor of State Dong Zhuo attempted to usurp the Han Empire in the ensuing chaos in which he took a young emperor hostage. He obviously didn’t achieve his goal and a coalition of equally ambitious warlords went right after Dong as soon as they were done with the Yellow Turbans. But you don’t expect me to spoil the ongoing events from Total War: Three Kingdoms, do you? I wanted to offer proper context as an example of the sheer complexity within Chinese history, sadly a topic rarely touched by Western media, video games included.

The initial phase of the campaign shall seem outright chaotic, but from the smoldering ruins of an all-encompassing empire, a cunning ruler can forge his own destiny which may include imperial endeavours. Rather than revive the former Han glory, why not form a new empire within a smaller yet considerably more manageable space? Even if you won’t pick the factions which historically formed the aforementioned Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei, Shu Han and Dong Wu), you can still self-proclaim as emperor of a territory you’ve conquered by force of arms or coercive diplomacy. Indeed, avoiding bloodshed will win hearts and minds much faster when you propose a wise and peaceful rule as the only viable alternative towards a merciless tyranny you’re fighting against. Since most major faction leaders have unique abilities and traits, no conquest path shall be the same if you decide to switch not only sides but culture groups and military doctrines as well.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1749797618

Creative Assembly have updated their proprietary Warscape Engine once again and the performance increase is noticeable in Total War: Three Kingdoms, as expected. While I recommend you run it in 1080p, even the higher resolution options provided smoother experiences than the previous two Warhammer TW titles. Thrones of Britannia used a modified version of the Attilla “strain” of Warscape so it shares little of its “DNA” with our reviewed title in question. Now that the more stable frame rate has been addressed, we can focus on the eye candy. TW3K offers a near limitless pool of epic screenshots, as it looks absolutely gorgeous on its maxed out details. Pressing the “K” button shall hide the HUD and it also makes the battle interface as challenging as you may like it. Load times are adequately short on my SSD (keep in mind that I’m still bothered by the slow booting of Shogun 2 to this day) and I really can’t complain about seeing any glitches or encountering any crashes to desktop. This game is a true far cry from the disastrous launch of Total War: Rome II in 2013.

Authenticity. That’s the keyword for which TW3K went to great lengths and succeeded in offering a convincing set of sounds, whether we refer to the voice-overs, soundtrack or general effects. In fact you can totally enjoy this title with Mandarin voice acting and English subtitles and I went down this route in spite of barely speaking a few words in Standard Chinese and not being able to read it at all. All factional banners showcase the symbol which I presume is the leader’s last name. You will notice that unlike the Western naming conventions, in most of Asia, the surname takes precedence over the given name. Seems logical, considering the importance of honoring one’s ancestors and the manner in which family members support each other in a political context for our game. You won’t find flaws in the audio assets, not even highly repetitive lines of dialogue such as the infamous “Our men are running from the battlefield. Shameful display!”, which rightfully became a meme.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1753802024

[h1]Introduction[/h1] I could only describe it as an utmost pleasure, seeing the Total War series triumphantly returning to its Asian warfare roots. Instead of Medieval Japan, the title I shall review today is the most complex simulation of Ancient China, you may find in a video game at the time of this publishing. I applaud developer Creative Assembly’s decision to start the campaign, three decades prior to the formation of the titular Three Kingdoms. The backstabbing, “diplomatic” scheming and military build-up sprouting from the decaying remains of the Han Empire, all serve as an excellent introduction into a theme that’s been mostly portrayed from a supernatural-like perspective (I’m looking at you, Dynasty Warriors) instead of a pure historical one, with a clear option to choose between fact and fiction. What more can I say about this prolific developer? This is their lucky 13th project under the Total War banner and almost 19 years have passed since the initial Shogun: Total War reached PCs around the world and changed how gamers would perceive grand strategy from that point onwards. Total War: Three Kingdoms is by now affectionately dubbed as TW3K by many fans of the series. [h1]Story [/h1] [b]“The empire long united must divide, long divided must unite; this is how it has always been.”[/b] "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guanzhong It is fitting that I start with a quote from the Chinese writer which first documented the fall of the Han Empire and the subsequent, tumultuous period known as the warring Three Kingdoms. These were in fact empires in their own right by any other definition and naturally, the source material was heavily fictionalized to enhance heroic feats and characters. The year is 190 AD and the Roman Empire’s slow crumble is mirrored in the rapid fracturing of the Han Empire, on the other side of the globe. Corruption and inefficient bureaucracy are the culprits in both cases, yet Ancient Chinese customs and political system, do make everything from Europe pale in comparison at this date and time. The Han dynasty ruled for 426 years over most of the territory belonging to contemporary China. Rather than meeting its demise as the result of outside threats, the empire collapsed under its proverbial weight, as corruption and decentralization had eroded imperial authority to the point of state matters being handled entirely by inept bureaucrats (eunuchs in this case) as underage Han emperors had a lesser life expectancy than a Roman emperor. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1749797513 The true power was obviously held by various feudal lords which began to question the empire’s authority but the catalyst to the Three Kingdoms period was a popular rebellion with religious undertones, which took decades to repel. The Yellow Turbans/Scarves were the final drop for an already full glass which had now overflown spilling hate and atrocities that could no longer be prevented. Warlords of both common or noble descent finally took matters into their own hands. Civil war broke as Chinese provinces (commanderies) were now caught between the Yellow Turban rebels and the Han loyalists still clinging unto power. The imperial capital of Luoyang was razed to the ground as the treacherous, former Chancellor of State Dong Zhuo attempted to usurp the Han Empire in the ensuing chaos in which he took a young emperor hostage. He obviously didn’t achieve his goal and a coalition of equally ambitious warlords went right after Dong as soon as they were done with the Yellow Turbans. But you don’t expect me to spoil the ongoing events from Total War: Three Kingdoms, do you? I wanted to offer proper context as an example of the sheer complexity within Chinese history, sadly a topic rarely touched by Western media, video games included. The initial phase of the campaign shall seem outright chaotic, but from the smoldering ruins of an all-encompassing empire, a cunning ruler can forge his own destiny which may include imperial endeavours. Rather than revive the former Han glory, why not form a new empire within a smaller yet considerably more manageable space? Even if you won’t pick the factions which historically formed the aforementioned Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei, Shu Han and Dong Wu), you can still self-proclaim as emperor of a territory you’ve conquered by force of arms or coercive diplomacy. Indeed, avoiding bloodshed will win hearts and minds much faster when you propose a wise and peaceful rule as the only viable alternative towards a merciless tyranny you’re fighting against. Since most major faction leaders have unique abilities and traits, no conquest path shall be the same if you decide to switch not only sides but culture groups and military doctrines as well. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1749797618 [h1]Graphics[/h1] Creative Assembly have updated their proprietary Warscape Engine once again and the performance increase is noticeable in Total War: Three Kingdoms, as expected. While I recommend you run it in 1080p, even the higher resolution options provided smoother experiences than the previous two Warhammer TW titles. Thrones of Britannia used a modified version of the Attilla “strain” of Warscape so it shares little of its “DNA” with our reviewed title in question. Now that the more stable frame rate has been addressed, we can focus on the eye candy. TW3K offers a near limitless pool of epic screenshots, as it looks absolutely gorgeous on its maxed out details. Pressing the “K” button shall hide the HUD and it also makes the battle interface as challenging as you may like it. Load times are adequately short on my SSD (keep in mind that I’m still bothered by the slow booting of Shogun 2 to this day) and I really can’t complain about seeing any glitches or encountering any crashes to desktop. This game is a true far cry from the disastrous launch of Total War: Rome II in 2013. [h1]Audio[/h1] Authenticity. That’s the keyword for which TW3K went to great lengths and succeeded in offering a convincing set of sounds, whether we refer to the voice-overs, soundtrack or general effects. In fact you can totally enjoy this title with Mandarin voice acting and English subtitles and I went down this route in spite of barely speaking a few words in Standard Chinese and not being able to read it at all. All factional banners showcase the symbol which I presume is the leader’s last name. You will notice that unlike the Western naming conventions, in most of Asia, the surname takes precedence over the given name. Seems logical, considering the importance of honoring one’s ancestors and the manner in which family members support each other in a political context for our game. You won’t find flaws in the audio assets, not even highly repetitive lines of dialogue such as the infamous “Our men are running from the battlefield. Shameful display!”, which rightfully became a meme. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1753802024 [h1]Gameplay, Verdict, Summary & Rating are below in the Comment Section.[/h1]