Sega has announced the second expansion to Total War: Shogun 2 called “Fall of the Samurai”, which takes the game to the last Shogunate in 19th century Japan. As the country is introduced to modern weaponry and the Samurai begin to decline, Western powers begin to encroach on Japan and a civil war breaks out.
The game, which begins in 1864 during the Boshin War period, is a standalone expansion, meaning it does not require Shogun 2 to play. A growing resentment is festering in Japan as Western colonial powers have started to influence the region. As Japan began to modernise and industrialise, the inevitable social and economic changes led to increasingly militant nationalism and antipathy towards the Shogunate.
Players will have six new playable clans, three of which back the Imperial throne while the others back the Shogunate clans. They will also have to deal with the new American, British and French factions, who played an important part in the story of the Boshin war. The relationship with each country will affect unit recruitment and tech trees.
In addition to the new factions and tech, the Fall of the Samurai campaign map now includes the island of Ezo. The map will also show off newly rendered towns as well as the new transportation method of railways that can be built and sabotaged.
Other new features include 39 new land units which feature modern ranged units - such as the Gatling gun and Armstrong gun - which are controllable in a new first-person mode. Players can also recruit foreign units including the British Royal Marines, US Marine Corps and French Marines.
10 new naval unit types with a total of 21 ships include steam-powered warships and purchaseable foreign ironclad ships can also be purchased. As such, the game will include a new battle type: port sieges, in which the attacking fleet must sail into the harbour and capture the port, running the gauntlet of coastal gun defences. During a land battle, armies can call in offshore artillery support barrages, while, conversely, costal gun emplacements can target enemy ships during port siege battles, when ending their turn within the range of upgraded coastal defences.
Espionage and political intrigue are more potent as well, as the game includes three new agent types - the Foreign Veteran, the Ishin Shishi and the Shinshengumi. Each new agent has its own skill tree. Ninja and Geisha agents have also had their skill trees updated.
As far as campaigns, the game adds four new historical battles from the Boshin War. The game will also support an updated multiplayer feature.
