FYI you can now pre order the game at Best Buy. Getting it at Best Buy will get you 1000 koku of in game money that you can use in the single player campaign. I will pre order mine today.
Itâs also available on Steam
Yes it is. If you get it through BB you will get the 1000 koku as a special incentive. Gamespot also has a deal where you get an extra faction to play if you buy from them.
Iâm actualy building my new computer post deployment for this! Hell I might even be able to play empire and naplieon decent after I get it. Already preordered and it will be waiting at the house for me in May when I get home.
LONDON (15 February, 2011) â SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced that the eagerly awaited demo of the next title in the critically acclaimed Total War⢠series, Total War: SHOGUN 2⢠will be available on Steam from 22 February 2011.
SEGA and The Creative Assembly are proud to let gamers everywhere know that a demo for Total War: Shogun 2 will soon be available on Steam. The demo will allow all armchair samurai to test their skills in epic land battles and on Total War: Shogun 2âs gorgeous new campaign map.
Just 2 days before my birthday!
Here are 2 new playable clans, Shimazu and Tokugawa.
Shimazu
The Shimazu are a proud clan, with a long history worthy of their pride. To the Shimazu, loyalty is everything, and their generals are less likely to develop ambitions of their own. Shimazu katana samurai are cheaper to recruit and maintain in the field than those of other clans; they can also recruit superior katana-armed samurai.
The clan can trace its ancestry back to Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate. In 1187, Yoritomo appointed his son, Tadahisa, as military governor of southern Kyushu. The young man took the name of Shimazu in Hyuga province, his seat of government, as his own. Thanks to a well-organised army and administration, abundant local resources, and a certain distance between Kyushu and the Kamakura court, the Shimazu clan became rich and powerful. They did not, however, become hidebound: when their vassals in Tanegashima met a strange, shipwrecked people from the other side of the world, the Shimazu were quick to see that trade with these ânanbanâ Europeans might be worthwhile.
Now, under the daimyo Shimazu Takahisa, the clan has a chance for true greatness. Their home province of Satsuma is secure, and they are at peace with the Sagara of Higo province to the north. Higo, however, is a tempting target for expansion because of the warhorses to be found there. There is the small matter of a war with the Ito clan in the provinces of Osumi and Hyuga, but once these local difficulties are resolved the distance from Kyushu to the shogunâs palace is not so great after allâŚ
Tokugawa
Although the Tokugawa are an ancient family, claiming descent from Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, they have known hard times since those glorious days. They have also changed their clan name, with the permission of the Emperor Matsudaira, to Tokugawa, the place where Yorimotoâs descendent settled.
The Tokugawa have been squeezed between two powerful and ambitious clans: the Imagawa to the east, and the Oda in the west, a most uncomfortable position. By accepting the protection of the Imagawa, the Tokugawa only guaranteed that they were frequently attacked by the Oda. This goes some way to explaining their superior diplomatic skills, their training and use of very good kisho ninja, and the superior metsuke who keep order in their lands. Now, they are at war with the Oda once again. An Oda army has actually invaded the Tokugawa province of Mikawa. In theory, the Tokugawa are vassals of the Imagawa clan to the east in the provinces of Suruga and Totomi. They do not, however, need to worry about the Kiso in Shinano province, as relations with these neighbours are peaceful. That said Shinano has useful stone resources that could prove useful to an ambitious warlord.
Historically, after much struggle, Tokugawa Ieyasu did become the seii taishogun, the âgreat general who subdues the barbariansâ and the ruler of Japan with the emperor as a figurehead. The Tokugawa clan kept control of Japan for over 200 years, shutting the country off from pernicious outside influences. History need not turn out that way: another Tokugawa could quite easily become shogun.
Lastly, 3 cav units have been described.
Great Guard Cav
These elite warriors ride heavy horses, and their power in full charge is focused to deliver a devastating spear attack, crashing through many enemies with ease. Great guard samurai have high morale and great prestige, making them inspiring to nearby friendly units. The guard are vulnerable to missile attacks. Spearmen, the other great danger to cavalry, can be flanked by a careful guard commander and then smashed by the guardsâ heavy charge.
Historically, the Tokugawa created several guard units during and immediately after their rise to the shogunate. The âobanâ or great guard were the personal bodyguards of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1590. By 1600, these guards had multiplied with many âkumiâ or companies in existence. Additional guard units were also raised: the âRyobanâ or âTwo Guards of the Body Guardâ and the âInner Guardâ. There was another force called the âHonourable Body Guardâ who only guarded the shogun at night in Edo.
A generation after the Sengoku Jidai, the âGoshinbanâ or âHonourable New Guardâ were added to the roster, although this may have been to keep troublesome younger members of samurai families out of trouble and under the shogunâs eye!
Samurai Bow Cav
With both hands occupied by aiming and firing a bow, these men must use their knees to control and steer their mounts. Japan has a long tradition of mounted archery and these troops remain invaluable despite the introduction of gunpowder. Matchlocks may be powerful, but they are also unreliable and inaccurate, and the ashigaru who use them simply lack the skills and mobility of mounted samurai.
These cavalry archers can quickly move to the flanks of an enemy, or harass the enemy at a distance. If caught in melee, they have enough training to defend themselves, but they should avoid fighting spearmen or heavy cavalry. The introduction of arquebuses in the Sengoku Jidai threatened the Japanâs ancient tradition of mounted archery. Guns meant that a daimyo could bolster his army with large numbers of arquebus-armed ashigaru rather than relying on the skilful, but less numerous, samurai. Fortunately for the samurai, horse archery was too important a tradition to die out, and the art survived.
Katana Cav
Cavalry warfare is traditionally the preserve of the samurai. Only they have the skill to wield a sword while steering a horse into battle. Katana cavalry are extremely well trained and the weight of their steeds adds to the power of their charge. After a charge, they remain mounted and can engage the enemy with their katana keeping a height advantage over foot soldiers. However, they are vulnerable when facing spears, whether as a wall of spears or a lone, brave enemy thrusting at the belly of a horse.
The Sengoku Jidai saw Japanese warfare shift from the ritualistic, single combat fought by honour-hungry samurai to the kind of indiscriminate, larger battles that were taking place in medieval Europe. Less skilled troops such as the ashigaru were introduced and then armed with matchlocks, but mounted warfare was still for samurai alone. Bows, spears and katana were all used from horseback and, if a samurai was wealthy enough, he would have an assistant to carry and hand him his weapons as needed. The katana, although traditionally used with two-hands, could still be effective when used in a one-handed grip by a horseman. Swung downwards onto an enemy foot soldier, the sharp, curved blade could easily cut through a man.
http://www.totalwar.com/videos?cid=3379&mtype=video
I donât know about you but my general is getting a BIG ASS HAT!!!
Just pre-ordered on Steam. Iâm so down for some coop campaign
The demo will be released next tuesday on Steam!
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/02/10/hands-on-with-total-war-shogun-2/
I am looking forward to the coop as well. I pre-ordered at Gamestop.
I just found another unit that was introduced- the Yari Ashigaru.
These ashigaru are armed with long spears for use in close combat or to make an almost-impenetrable defence against cavalry. The spear is a remarkably flexible weapon in tactical terms. It can be used in single or mass combat and is equally effective for attack and defence. Yari ashigaru are armed with very long spears that are almost pikes, and can be used to lead a battle charge into battle or act as pincers. They are well-drilled, but lack the skill and dedication of samurai. Yari ashigaru are most effective when they work together as a block, forming a wall of spears. Any cavalry that charges into a well-managed formation of yari ashigaru will be wiped out as the horses and riders are skewered. By the sengoku jidai, the yari was the most common weapon issued to ashigaru and samurai, although they used different fighting techniques and tactics. The ashigaru would use spears in formation, particularly against cavalry charges. Each would take a kneeling position and form a line, laying their spears on the ground in front of them. As the charge grew nearer they would be ordered to raise their spears and, at the last moment, thrust the spears upwards into the belly of the horse. Once a spear was in a target it was to be held firmly in place until otherwise ordered.
Ashigaru ( meaning âlight footâ in Japaneseâ ) were peasants compelled into military service by their lord. In Shogun 2 I will play as the clan that has the discount on the construction of Yaru Ashigaru units. I donât know which one that is yet.
The Demo should be available through Steam after 11AM US central time today!!!
Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffff work is gonna suck today
PC Gamer gave the game 92 out of 100.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/11/total-war-shogun-2-review-224/
IGN also gave it a positive write up, and there is a mp tutorial video to see.
Iâm going to see if I can nab a last minute limited edition copy tommorrow on the release date. If not, I guess that means no Hattori clan for me 
Hattori clan for Shalashaskka
There were limited editions on sale here at Best Buy so you should be able to snag one where you are.
I am playing as the Date on hard difficulty level. First battle was against rebels and I smashed them!
Nice gif by the way.
Iâll be installing it on the desktop in just a couple weeks when I get home, if anyone wants to add me on Steam my username there is flager.
Wouldnât mind co-op sometime once I get the hang of it.