So there are probably two games in the TW franchise that are considered to be the best. One is Medieval 2 and the other is Shogun 2. Both being sequels certainly raises an eyebrow but that's a topic for another time. Lets talk about Shogun 2 which I would consider the peak of the series despite its shortcomings. Ambition like Empire was not the point here but a laser sharp refinement of what a TW game should be.

Set during Japans most ubiquitous era, this is what most people imagine when someone mentions Samurai. So much about this game is just impeccable. Its art-style and graphical fidelity and its beautiful UI still look great today. The sound design is flawless. From the various battlefield sounds to the Japanese voice actors speaking English with a heavy accent. This was also Jeff van Dyck's last hurrah for the TW series. The music is incredible and the franchise would never have music that good and memorable again. The battles also changed quite a bit due to its lighting pace and a rock-paper-scissors system. Most obvious is also the scope since the units pool is quite small. Nothing is perfect of course and Shogun 2 also suffers from some glaring design decisions. Clan bonuses are mostly boring and useless and don't enhance the replayability of the game. Combat balance has some quirks like the Yari Ashigaru, basic spear infantry, having an ability that beats most melee infantry. There is also the infamous Realm Divided mechanic that activates during the campaign and more or less forces you to fight all remaining clans. But overall the game feels great to play since there are no superfluous things and most issues just stem from a lack of fine-tuning and balance. The biggest omission regarding the main campaign the the absence of the Imjin War, the Invasion of Korea, which probably has something to do with the strained relationship between Japan and South Korea and SEGA being the publisher here.

Before I talk about the DLC, which compared to its predecessors is rather important, lets talk about MP. Online battles are here as always was the case but this is also the only game in the franchise that made a heavy push towards MP. There is an Avatar mode which pits players against each other, trying to conquer the various provinces of Japan and assembling a personal army with different abilities. Such a unique and good concept that was also executed well, CA never implemented something similar which is a shame.

Now, Unit packs are back but they actually serve a purpose in this game. They try to enhance the unit pool making the clans and battles a bit more interesting. We could have used a couple more, which I never could imagined to say regarding a suspicious business model. There is a small campaign depicting the Rise of the Samurai but it suffers from its smaller scale and other Shogun 2 related issues (unit variety).

Now for the big one, Fall of the Samurai. I often heard and read that a lot of people consider the expansion to be the better Shogun 2 and pinnacle of the series. The most modern TW in terms of history, which probably will remain so for the foreseeable future, set during the big civil war between the Shogunate and the forces trying to restore the Emperor. Everything incredible about Shogun 2 applies here to with mostly the same smaller issues. The best implementation of gunpowder/ modern combat the series has ever seen. Graphics and Sound on the same high level if not even better than the base game. Neat little details like the building of railways facilitating the fast movement of armies or adjacent naval forces enabling naval bombardment.

This is the quintessential Total War game. Everything that helped establish the series is here and with an overall polish that no other entry has ever achieved again. CA at their prime and the only title in the series that you need to play and one of the best strategy games ever made.