When you think of what a teenager might like, the first thing that pops into your mind probably isn’t history. But for one reason or another, the History Channel was my jam in high school. I loved watching old documentaries about World War II and learning about Rome’s dominance of the ancient world. Something about all of the double-crossing and covert operations piqued my interest, which then put me on the hunt for some historical gaming.
World War II shooters were big at the time, but other parts of history were somewhat underrepresented. I liked Age of Empires fine enough, but when Creative Assembly announced Rome: Total War, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. The wait wasn’t helped by the fact that the History Channel was running the show Decisive Battles, a program that utilized the Rome: Total War engine for battle re-enactments. Talk about being a tease.
With my older self being more engaged with Eastern civilization, then, it should come as no surprise that Total War: Three Kingdoms has been on my radar for quite a while. I love the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story, I’m a big fan of Dynasty Warriors, and I’ve enjoyed the Total War games for roughly 15 years. Of course I was going to be on this.
While not everything in Three Kingdoms is an improvement to the Total War formula, the game does a great job at catering to both ends of the strategy fan spectrum while providing an absolutely amazing historical setting that is perfect for this genre.
Source: Destructoid Review in Progress: Total War: Three Kingdoms