

Though the specifics of each faction type are a bit different – for example, governor factions are still loyal to the weakened Han Empire, while coalition factions are not – the ultimate goal remains the same: try and become powerful enough for your faction leader to become the new emperor of China and reunite the divided nation. You can also unlock and play as the tyrant Dong Zhou himself. As a player, you can choose to enter the fray as one of twelve factions, which are divided up between coalition, governor and outlaw types. The game does a decent job of introducing new ideas, and has a clever function that lets you put on a UI overlay with tooltips for everything, but there is a lot to take in and it's an appreciable learning curve nonetheless. The game is absolutely massive with a lot of depth to the point that it is somewhat intimidating to approach, even for Total War veterans.

Just as significant is how Three Kingdoms bucks the trend of streamlining that has been occurring in the series for a while now. Total War Three Kingdoms allows you to step into the shoes of these warlords, at which point you can attempt to follow or upset history after the factually founded starting conditions that see Dong Zhou taking control. With no clear centralized ruler, various factions led by opportunistic warlords fought and schemed to gain power and unite China under new leadership. China at the end of the 2nd century was a divided empire, as the fall of the Han dynasty following a rebellion left power in the hands of a corrupt and tyrannical leader Dong Zhuo, whose eventual assassination sent the country in an extended period of political turmoil and civil war. I did do a verify game cache in case there was something weird in there but I may give it another bash.One major aspect of Three Kingdoms that greatly enriches the experience is the setting.


