Shogun 2 Q&A Available

Sega have published a Shogun 2 Q&A with Total War's Lead Designer James Russell.
Key points:

• Shogun 2 is set during the same time period as the original Shogun: Japan’s Sengoku Jidai: the warring states period in the 16th century, before the Tokugawa Shogunate asserted its complete control and ended the anarchy.
• There will be sea battles, less sophisticated than in Empire Total War because of the nature of the period and setting, but will involved integration with land warfare by the sound of it, with land masses visible during sea battles, and presumably usable?
• They will fold in the importance of honour, treachery, clan & family, and many other aspects of being a warlord in feudal Japan. Of course, we need a completely new set of agents and agent abilities too.
• Hero characters will have more influence on battle and castles will be completely different.

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Shogun 2 Total War Announced by Sega but no Game Footage yet

Under the aegis of "Don the Armour of a Warlord in 2011" Sega has announced Shogun 2 Total War. Shogun was the first incarnation of the hugely successful Total War franchise. I loved the original game when it came out - it was just what strategy fans had been crying out for - a strategy level game that also allowed you to fight battles at a tactical level. There have been many imitators since Shogun first came out, but I think no-one has got close to creating anything better in the last ten years.
The launch video is at http://www.totalwar.com/videos?cid=2743&mtype=video, but there's only movie-style footage, no in-game action.
There's also a video showing Japanese calligraphy - http://www.totalwar.com/videos?cid=2749&mtype=video
At the moment there's not much more on the website http://www.totalwar.com/shogun2, but the announcement email tells us that it features:

• The perfection of the series with a new Artificial Intelligence (AI), revolutionary multiplayer modes, brand new campaign map options and epic 3D real-time battles.
• New Generation AI system developed according to Sun Tzu’s principles in the Art of War
• Set during the golden age of Samurai warfare, Shogun 2 brings to life the most turbulent period of Japanese history.

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