GamersGlobal vs Blistered Thumbs - Total War!
It’s a Total War between the German Gaming Site, GamersGlobal and Channel Awesome’s Blistered Thumbs! Watch as Joerg Langer and Angry Joe battle for the honor of greatest Total War critic!
Total War: Shogun 2
Players: 1 offline player, 2+ players online
Publisher: Sega
Genres: Strategy
Publisher: Sega
Genres: Strategy
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Developer: Creative Assembly
MSRP: $49.95
Developer: Creative Assembly
MSRP: $49.95
Shogun 2 will feature enhanced full 3D battles via land and sea, which made a name for the series, as well as a tactical campaign map. Featuring a brand new AI system inspired by the scriptures that influenced Japanese warfare, the millennia old Chinese “Art of War”, the Creative Assembly brings the wisdom of Master Sun Tsu to Shogun 2: Total War. A unique multiplayer system will allow large numbers of players to take part in a larger campaign as individual generals, all part of a larger clan.
Total War: Shogun 2 – Angry Review
Posted By AngryJoe about 2 years, 2 months ago
Total War: Shogun 2 – Angry Review,
For Honor and Glory!
Angry Joe travels to Japan to discover whether Shogun 2 can bring honor and glory back to the Total War franchise!
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Top 5 Reasons Shogun 2 Will Kick Ass!
These are the Top 5 Reasons Total War: Shogun 2 might kick ass! Can the latest in the award-winning franchise return the series to glory? Find out what's in store for this sequel!
Total War: Shogun 2 - Angry Review
Angry Joe travels to Japan to discover whether Shogun 2 can bring honor and glory back to the Total War franchise!
Total War: Shogun 2 Review
Those willing to only commit 90% of their war need not apply. This war is total. Johnny M. plays swords... but not in that way.
Total War: Shogun 2 Review - ZGR
Known for its realistic strategy game-play, does Shogun 2 hold up to the Total War name?
GamersGlobal vs Blistered Thumbs - Total War!
It's a Total War between the German Gaming Site, GamersGlobal and Channel Awesome's Blistered Thumbs! Watch as Joerg Langer and Angry Joe battle for the honor of greatest Total War critic! 
Total War: Shogun 2 Review - ZGR
Known for its realistic strategy game-play, does Shogun 2 hold up to the Total War name?
Total War: Shogun 2 Review
Those willing to only commit 90% of their war need not apply. This war is total. Johnny M. plays swords… but not in that way.
Total War: Shogun 2 - Angry Review
Angry Joe travels to Japan to discover whether Shogun 2 can bring honor and glory back to the Total War franchise!
Top 5 Reasons Shogun 2 Will Kick Ass!
These are the Top 5 Reasons Total War: Shogun 2 might kick ass! Can the latest in the award-winning franchise return the series to glory? Find out what’s in store for this sequel!
Shogun 2 Demo Coming Next Week
Conquerors rejoice! Sega has announced that a demo for their upcoming Shogun 2: Total War will soon be available on Steam.
Shogun 2 Hands On Preview
Blistered Thumbs gets some hands-on time with a preview build of the upcoming strategy title, Shogun 2: Total War.
Shogun 2 Complete Battle Footage
Creative Assembly gives us a look at a full battle, start to finish, for Shogun 2.
Shogun 2 Purchase Editions Revealed
The special edition details of Creative Assembly’s upcoming Total War: Shogun 2 have been released.
GamersGlobal vs Blistered Thumbs - Total War!
It’s a Total War between the German Gaming Site, GamersGlobal and Channel Awesome’s Blistered Thumbs! Watch as Joerg Langer and Angry Joe battle for the honor of greatest Total War critic!
Total War: Shogun 2 Review - ZGR
Known for its realistic strategy game-play, does Shogun 2 hold up to the Total War name?
Total War: Shogun 2 Review
Those willing to only commit 90% of their war need not apply. This war is total. Johnny M. plays swords… but not in that way.
Total War: Shogun 2 - Angry Review
Angry Joe travels to Japan to discover whether Shogun 2 can bring honor and glory back to the Total War franchise!
Top 5 Reasons Shogun 2 Will Kick Ass!
These are the Top 5 Reasons Total War: Shogun 2 might kick ass! Can the latest in the award-winning franchise return the series to glory? Find out what’s in store for this sequel!
Shogun 2 Demo Coming Next Week
Conquerors rejoice! Sega has announced that a demo for their upcoming Shogun 2: Total War will soon be available on Steam.
Shogun 2 Hands On Preview
Blistered Thumbs gets some hands-on time with a preview build of the upcoming strategy title, Shogun 2: Total War.
Shogun 2 Complete Battle Footage
Creative Assembly gives us a look at a full battle, start to finish, for Shogun 2.
Shogun 2 Purchase Editions Revealed
The special edition details of Creative Assembly’s upcoming Total War: Shogun 2 have been released.
Total War: Shogun 2 Review
Posted By Johnny Maloney about 2 years, 2 months ago
Total War: Shogun 2 Review
Total War: Shogun 2 – Angry Review, 
It’s turn ten, and I’m completely surrounded by people who don’t like me. I get the impression that something really, REALLY bad is about to happen. Naturally, I pick up my laptop and calmly walk out of the church. Turns out they’re not tremendous fans of people who swear incessantly at their computers during sermons. My sudden relocation to a more friendly place to play doesn’t seem to make a difference though, as the Oda use their next opportunity to give me a close up view of the underside of their boot. It’s official: I love Total War: Shogun 2.
| PROS | Better Cutthroat AI, Atmosphere, Slicker Unit List, Multiplayer is Incredible. |
| CONS | Uninspired Naval Component, 2 player campaign, No DX11 support yet. |
| WTF?! | Stay out of the way of the matchlock Ashigaru. They will !@#& your !~%* up. |
The Total War series is where I go when I want to get my ass kicked. I know that sounds like an unusual desire, but some strategy games are made to help the player succeed. Mission by mission, you climb up the ladder and unlock new units each time you start a new one. No matter what though, that mission is the only one you have to beat before the game continues. Every other level you’ve completed is in the bag, finished, chalked up to your victories, you bought the T-shirt and worn it to singles mixers on the weekend to tell people “that’s right baby, made it to Dune 2′s FIFTH stage as the Ordos.”
Total War just isn’t like that. You’re always under pressure to lose it all. One poorly planned advance, one turn spent ignoring your army placements or your recruitment lists and it can all come tumbling down. The past few installments of Total War (Napoleon and Empire) had changed this around some, focusing more on a plot driven set of campaign missions. These were interesting directions to go in, and I wasn’t disappointed with either game, but it was a simpler task to roll through a map picking off territories bit by bit. Shogun 2′s campaign mode will plant you smack dab in the middle of the pair of shoes belonging to the daimyo of whichever clan you’ve picked.
With the Tokugawa… I wasn’t winning. Charlie Meme, I mean Sheen… would be ashamed.
As such, some clans have it a little rougher than others, and seeing as how disastrously my attempt at siding with a winner (the Tokugawa) ended in just ten simple presses of the enter button, I opt again for a clan down the south end of the island to slowly work my way up the spine, back to the wall strategy. Each clan has a specific reputation, giving you bonuses to units, build times, costs, etc. My new clan, the Shimazu are ‘Masters of Integrity,’ giving them reduced upkeep for samurai units, increased loyalty for generals, and the ability to hire on more skilled samurai hero units.
It starts a little smoother this time, with a military alliance to the Mori, cemented by a marriage between one of my sons and his daughter. Together, we take the south island without incident and look northwards. Well, I say without incident, but what I really mean is having to consistently put down a Christian rebellion in the Hyuga province, which happens at least three times during the course of my military advance on my Chosokabe rivals in the north.
I love the smell of springtime… smells like victory, after generous bribery and sabotage. Smells like… eggplant quiche.
Fans of the Total War series will rest easy, though this information may not be news, considering we mentioned it in our hands on preview of Shogun 2 last month; the AI has finally figured out how to use boats properly. The sneakier opponents are now bringing armies around the coast and dropping them in territory long thought secure from advancing forces. The AI will downright stab you in the eye if you don’t keep one of yours on them at all times. Negotiating peace and begging for mercy is likewise an uphill affair, even allowing you to present one of your children to your opponents as a hostage. In my experience, this didn’t work the one time I tried it, as per the first paragraph of this article.
What has also received a makeover is your military unit list. Other Total War games opted for some semblance of historical accuracy, keeping each factions units named specifically and getting specialized bonuses. While complete, in their total inclusion, it was a niggling criticism that the difference between the Prussian empire’s Bosniak unit and the Russian Gardes a Cheval were not immediately known. Choosing a new army to start with might require some decent amount of personal research into your new units to maximize your effectiveness. Shogun 2, while still sporting an impressive unit list, has taken a more universal approach and slimmed the armies down to more basic unit types: bowmen militia, spearmen militia, samurai bowmen, samurai spearmen, samurai swordsmen, etc. Each of these units usually have some kind of specialty, and definite vulnerabilities. Charging your light cavalry into a spear wall, wedge formation or not, is never a bright idea. What results is an easier means of army customization, and faster response time on the field to counter your opponent’s maneuvers.
9/10
Top 5 Reasons Shogun 2 Will Kick Ass!
These are the Top 5 Reasons Total War: Shogun 2 might kick ass! Can the latest in the award-winning franchise return the series to glory? Find out what's in store for this sequel! Total War: Shogun 2 - Angry Review
Angry Joe travels to Japan to discover whether Shogun 2 can bring honor and glory back to the Total War franchise! Total War: Shogun 2 Review
Those willing to only commit 90% of their war need not apply. This war is total. Johnny M. plays swords... but not in that way. Total War: Shogun 2 Review - ZGR
Known for its realistic strategy game-play, does Shogun 2 hold up to the Total War name? GamersGlobal vs Blistered Thumbs - Total War!
It's a Total War between the German Gaming Site, GamersGlobal and Channel Awesome's Blistered Thumbs! Watch as Joerg Langer and Angry Joe battle for the honor of greatest Total War critic!-
March 19, 2011 at 11:09am
Ah yes, the torture of waiting for everyone to complete their turns in multiplayer strategy games. We each had a book at the ready whenever I played Age of Empires: The Age of Kings with my bro. because both of us took so long to complete our turns.
I trust my bro. as an ally, even without alliances, because there were several games where we could only beat them as a team when we were kids. But if you don’t completely trust your partner then I would recommend using the unbreakable alliance mode. Or ignore any diplomatic actions by your partner after he breaks your alliance and ruthlessly destroy their empire as punishment.
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GamersGlobal vs Blistered Thumbs - Total War!
It’s a Total War between the German Gaming Site, GamersGlobal and Channel Awesome’s Blistered Thumbs! Watch as Joerg Langer and Angry Joe battle for the honor of greatest Total War critic!
Total War: Shogun 2 Review - ZGR
Known for its realistic strategy game-play, does Shogun 2 hold up to the Total War name?
Total War: Shogun 2 - Angry Review
Angry Joe travels to Japan to discover whether Shogun 2 can bring honor and glory back to the Total War franchise!
Top 5 Reasons Shogun 2 Will Kick Ass!
These are the Top 5 Reasons Total War: Shogun 2 might kick ass! Can the latest in the award-winning franchise return the series to glory? Find out what’s in store for this sequel!
GamersGlobal vs Blistered Thumbs - Total War!
It’s a Total War between the German Gaming Site, GamersGlobal and Channel Awesome’s Blistered Thumbs! Watch as Joerg Langer and Angry Joe battle for the honor of greatest Total War critic!
Top 5 Reasons Shogun 2 Will Kick Ass!
These are the Top 5 Reasons Total War: Shogun 2 might kick ass! Can the latest in the award-winning franchise return the series to glory? Find out what’s in store for this sequel!
Shogun 2 Hands On Preview
Blistered Thumbs gets some hands-on time with a preview build of the upcoming strategy title, Shogun 2: Total War.
Personally I’m still waiting for a Viking expansion pack for medieval 2. Most likely they’ll just update Rome TW next although thats not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe this will be the platform that will finally allow me to express my inner Themistocles
I think a Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Total War game could have some serious promise. War torn Han China creates an opportune time period for the Total War series, and the emphasis on heroes and generals in the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms could certainly open the game up to those more RPG-like elements you are looking for.
I would DIE for a White Wolf’s Exalted Total War …but hey, i can keep dreaming!
And g-dmn is that geisha gonna keep me having nightmares!
No matter how many times I see geisha Joe, it always creeps me out.
Good thing that naval combat was reworked. It was probably the most irritating thing in Empire.
Once again another great detailed video of why a game succeed/fails from Angry Joe~!
My only pet peeve was in video the psuedo Japanese you used throughout the review. (Is it so hard to ask JewWario for translations??)
As for the future, I think they should keep exploring melee combat time periods. I would love a Mongol game or finally have some guts to do some early Islamic Middle East conflicts. (The implementation of the Mamluk aka slave-soldier system alone would give both battle AND diplomacy a fresh take in strategy)
Where should they go next? Different geography/ time-line.
Have very different Army’s from far off locations fight each other.Just change the geography so all these country’s are right next to each other and geared for war!With different army’s you have different but similar units to play as or against.
such as the…
Irish/Celt’s-The Irish have been very familiar with warfare and combat over the age’s, mostly fighting off invading British troops.But due to their small size(meaning mush less troops) they didn’t win many wars, they won a lot of their battles, but ultimately lost their wars.They would make an great underdog army, and I can only see ‘Fiach McHugh O’Byrne’ being the army’s leader.
As a continuation of their war games there’s potential to expand greatly, looking forward to this game.
I’m glad to see you had fun with it. Plus it was funny showing those scenes of ninjas failing after saying they were cool.
Hopefully though it’ll be the last time we see Geisha Joe. Scary yet deadly to look at.
I’m curious, is it possible to use diplomacy to create a Utopian world where nobody has to fight?
I don’t thinks that’s possible. The game has its roots on real life, after all.
OMG GEISHA JOE IS BACK RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!
Great review by the way : )
was the unit pathfinding problems in cities fixed from medieval 2?
Keep up these detailed and critical reviews Joe. Love your great production values.
Hmm…something fresh, you say?
How about a Total War game with Samurais, Knights, Spartans, Musketeers, Maori warriors, Roman soldiers, Rajput warriors, and Native American warriors all fighting for dominance in an alternate universe?
SUPPORT THE ANGRY JOE ARMY OR GEISHA JOE WILL GET YOU!
Oh hell yes. HELL YES.
Angry revew?
Anyway, sweet review, love all your costumes.
That’s just what Angry Joe’s reviews are called. I guess it is a little confusing, though.
The great, important and historic clan Oda dies in turn 1 in every game when controlled by AI.
This is a clear unbalance and a patch by CA or a mod should fix it.
PS Sorry for my bad english
Love this Game at the moment Multiplayer is simply the best i have played in this franchise hands down. i am with you joe in CA next step in the total war games i want to see some king of SIFI total war now.
Total war could Be the Strategy SIFI i have been waiting for Epic Space battles like homeworld and world battles like Warhammer 40k/ Starcraft 2 with control points and a Epic campaign map smiler to Sins of a solar empire and the rest of them but. CA could pull it off and it would be something that has been missing for a while in the sifi statergy area
Oh no! Not the Geisha Joe! Noooo!!
I hope you didn’t cut your finger too bad there Joe, playing with the katana
I’ll be buying a new gaming PC next year so this will have to wait but I’m glad it was so good.
Great vid Joe, I’ll recommend this to my Dad!
Ahhh, Shogun 2. Ever since I first heard mention of it, I have been keeping an eye on it, even though I’m not the biggest fan of strategy games. It really does look entertaining and if I decide to get a strategy game, it will probably be this one.
I’m glad that the game lived up to your expectations Joe. It’s good to see a series that had lost its way a bit come back strong. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to drink some tea
…
GEEEEEIIIIIIISSSSSHHH – *dies*
07:50 WOAH. AJ totally channelling Milo Kerrigan, there.
Joe gave it a 9, but the grin on his face reveals a 11/10 xD
But if you guys think this review was EPIC (and it was), wait until you play the GAME! (seriously, go buy it!)
I pre-ordered it and now I can slash people with my katana in TF2 too, now that’s fun!
What? Where’s the Blue Geisha? She should be…
NO! NOT THE ANGRY JOE GEISHA!! MY EYES!! THEY ARE THE BURNING!!
The game has problems at launch. I’d put off buying it unless you had a top of the line PC with an AMD or one of the newer nvidia cards. There is no DX11 support and the game only runs 1 core. I’ve read lots of people with older nvidia cards are getting choppy frame rate unknown if this is a graphics driver or CA problem.
I have only played the demo of this game so far and quite honestly haven’t played any other total war title before it because I’m not actually a big fan of strategy (mainly because i straight up suck at RTS games) but I really loved this game. I think it provides a level of actual strategy that your average RTS game lacks. Again I want to say that I have no experience with other Total War games so i will just compare this to RTS games I have played:
In this game it actually matters how and where you position your troops, becasue they need time to maneuver and their different abilities matter very much, like for (a very simple) example placing a unit of Yari bearers (what were they called again? Ashigari, or something) in front of a unit of archers to ward off incoming charges. In most games it doesn’t matter where you have your guys, if your shooters are being assaulted, you can usually quickly send in a counter attack and retreat the shooting unit. But here units can’t always react that fast or are actually better if they have been waiting for the enemy to charge.
It also makes a difference when your cavalry comes in for the charge, as they have better chances charging into a unit that is already tied up in combat with your samurai infantry, and thus change the tide of the whole fight, without having to worry about excessive casualties. While in other games units would usually shoot and hack at everything in their reach, no matter where and when it would come, reducing strategy to “send in as much as you can at the same time and you win” instead of “send in the right unit at the right time to turn the battle in your favor – oh and make sure your enemy doesn’t get to do the same”. So these things might have already been there in Shogun 1 and other total war games, but here i saw them for the first time. (first time in RTS games ever actually)
Also the map based campaign mode is wonderful, I love map based campaigns, they’re much more fun than just going from mission to mission, and having the army buildup system integrated in that too. I don’t like base building, it’s weird from a realism standpoint and it also watered down a lot of RTSes in the past to the guy who makes his base fastest wins.
I’m actually considering buying it, although im generally not into RTS. This game actually seems to have the parts i usually miss in these types of games.
Also I like feudal japan themes
About future total war titles:
Maybe something fantasy themed would be fun. But something really new, not just standard Lord-of-the-Mill, Run-of-the-Rings fantasy.
Adding spellcasters could put an interesting twist on the game, but it definitely should be carefully implemented.
Would be interesting if these guys could make a deal with Harry Turtledove to make a game based on his Into the Darkness: A World at War series.
run away from the geisha joe!!!!
this game just catch my attention
i will try it
where did the Angry Joe computer go?
In my opinion, if no one had built nuclear weapons before the end of WWII the way that the United States did in our time line, as a result of Einstein sending a letter to FDR, the world would already have seen a nuclear war. The “world without Einstein” plot device might work if CA is planning on making their next game a thermonuclear war. You would have to get over regularly losing entire cities and armies in order to enjoy the game, though.
This is defenetly must buy game for me.
Direct X 11 will be added post launch, its already running on DX10.
I had to play this game. I will take It as soon as i finish Dragon ade 2. Tnx for the review that vanish most of my fear.
13 hours spent on one game and then crushed like a dog… my Oda clan demolished in near seconds. I wept for my empire. But, on the other hand, a good game…
I knew this game would live up to the hype, and be badass. i am definatly going to pick it up as soon as my computer gets shipped back to me from Toshiba. And when i do. Joe, i hope your clan will be allied with mine. Good review.
Very cool armor Joe, damn How I wish I had a good PC, I have an XBOX but PC has very good games also, and Shogun is an example, salutes from Mexico
Very fun review – I must say, while I enjoyed Empire a bit more than you did, Joe, I was unsure whether I would be getting Shogun II or not. After seeing this, I’ll be kicking your *ss online this time next week!