Total War

Which one?
And Why?

Shogun 2, because my geisha advisor calls me master

Shogun 2 is peak Total War. It's all downhill from there.

Medieval because it has the best mechanics and tone.

Shogun 1 and Medieval I are underrated.

Medieval 1 has the best strategic aspect, and playing white medieval Christians is way better than the gooks of shogun

Rome or Medieval 2 if the graphics of Medieval 1 offend your underage sensibilities

Nah it got stale after 20 hours. Medieval 2 is the peak of Total War.

CA's 2D art was better than their 3D

Warhammer is unique, fun and free faction dlc at the end of this month.

Rome 2 has improved greatly since launch

Shogun 2 is real good

shogun 2 is the best game in the total war series from a mechanical standpoint.

thematically it might be the game that gives the best treatment of the sengoku jidai and it also features heavily the conflict between christianity and buddhism during that time period.

going christian is the better choice, incidentally. nanban trade ships kick ass.

>Medieval 2 is the peak of Total War
this. R1 is my fav and it was a massive leap, but M2 is the best of the series.
R2 is/was my last

Want Japanese Pike & Shot? Play Shogun 2, gets even better with FotS. Want fantasy shit or just like warhams? Play Warhammer. Like Rome during its glory days? Rome II with mods. Like late antiquity and the fall of Rome? Atilla.

In terms of campaign mechanics, Atilla is often considered the best and Warhams is considered one of the worst as its so simplified. Units in Shogun 2 die really fast and tends to be more brutal than other games. Magic and shit exists in Warhams, and your leader units are badasses who jump into the fray themselves. Honestly there are so many differences between each game you might as well just play the one with the content you are most interested in.

If you want the most perfectly balanced one, there is no way around Shogun 2.

Other than that, really just whichever you prefer, eventhough Medieval 1 and Shogun 1 are both obsolete and not worth playing over their numerical successors. Except for nostalgia and old time's sake.

Never played Rome II, but Rome 1 is still a lot of fun. But, Shogun 2 is better mechanically.

>it was a massive leap
More like a massive fall. The AI was absolutely retarded and incapable of dealing with any of the new changes and the campaign map was ass.

Same, but for SHAMEFUR DISPRAY

Attila, specifically for the Age of Charlemagne expansion. It is very entertaining, covers a very a specific time period that no other game really touches in earnest with those mechanics available.

It has more map variety than Warhammer as well as town sieges, and more nuanced land management systems.

It has the most recent iteration of naval combat and matched combat. Thus fighting is both varied and interesting to watch.

Attila's arrival and the winter mechanics also make for interesting additions to the Grand Campaign map, making late game just as interesting as early game.

FINAL VERDICT:

Attila > Shogun 2 > Warhammer > Rome 2 (Post-Patches) > Medieval 2

Medieval is great but honestly its just a really old game at this point, and it is starting to show.

Except Medieval plays and holds up way better than M2 where the AI can't even properly attack castles with more than one wall.

It's not even that old. Do you think Age of Empires 2 or Warcraft 3 are too old to enjoy as well?

I haven't played vanilla Medieval 2 in a very long time, so I can't say anything about that, but it's no less competent than other TWs with AI mods.

He said nothing about "too old to enjoy".
S&M (heh) are definitely showing their age.

When not showing your age generally involves being a DLCfest or streamlined shit, that's a positive.

Now you're just being a dick about it.

Truth hurts. You can't even control taxes in Warhammer.

I wouldn't know, I never played the Warhammer one.

But that's irrelevant anyway.

Hot opinions
Med 2 (with mods) > Atilla > Warhammer > Shogun 2 > Rome 2 > Empire
Have played R1 and Med1 but don't really have enough playtime in them to have an opinion about them.
Mostly, just take the setting you like the most and you'll probably be able to have fun in it.

Rome or Medieval 2? I like the theme in those two more than the others.

If you get Medieval 2 get Stainless Steel or the Third Age mod.

Medieval 2 is best overall personally, due at least significantly to my nostalgia
Rome 2, Shogun 2, and Rome 2 are all definitely worth playing for anyone
Warhammer is absolute fucking trash, and this is coming from someone who loves the source material

Medieval 2

Attila

Why it's trash? And what about rome 2 - is it worth playing?

Bump

>"obsolete" predecessor is more fluid, strategic, and complex than its sequel
gets the noggin joggin

I think Shogun2 is the best overall. Japan gets really boring after a while but Medieval 2 is a lot more complicated to play and all the micromanagement for everything just makes me want to play something else. Rome 2 is pretty bad and possibly the worst int he entire series. I haven't played Attila or Warhammer but I imagine they are both pretty bad.

I've been thinking about reinstalling Empire or Napoleon since I like the era but I don't remember either of them being very fun to play.