Total War: Arena Preview

Despite the Total War series being a rather impressive 15 years old, the basic formula has barely changed over the course of its nine full games. The fantastic mix between turn-based campaign maps and real-time battles first introduced in Shogun: Total War is still the core principle behind Total War: Attila, and indeed the upcoming Warhammer iteration. Total War: Arena marks the first time a core PC title in the series has broken away from that traditional gameplay. Where all previous games have been deep and complex, Arena trades those out for a much leaner, fast-moving version of Total War that’s quite unlike anything the series has produced before.

While games past are famous for granting players singular control of dozens of units, each comprised of hundreds of little soldiers, Arena pars back the role of the individual in favour of a team-based game. 10v10 player battles, with each player controlling three separate units, are the core principal behind Arena. It’s an unusual prospect for a strategy game, with the multiplayer battles in the Wargame series perhaps being the best point of reference, but it’s especially unusual considering Total War’s previous focus on the individual player both online and in the array of fantastic single player campaigns. While it may be a little odd, it certainly works well.

As a veteran Total War player, I was more than a little sceptical of Arena, a feeling clearly shared by many other fans of the series. My initial impressions of the most recent alpha version of the game didn’t help that mindset. Without a proper tutorial to speak of, things are a little daunting to begin with (admittedly that is in classic Total War fashion), and only get more complicated when you traipse through the long string of menus. Then, once you’ve figured those out, it’s straight into a battle with a bunch of equally perplexed players in a game mode that, while simple, boggles the mind at first. Seeing so many troops across the battlefield that aren’t under your control is a real pincher for those familiar with the series - controlling only three units sure takes some getting used to.

Once that first game has passed, and you start to get a feel for how Arena operates both on the battlefield and as a free-to-play title, it’s all upwards from there. The battles are simple affairs on paper, each team must take an enemy base at the other end of the battlefield while protecting their own. Those early games have a tendency to devolve into pure madness, but once you start playing alongside more experiences generals, strategy comes to the fore and teamwork becomes more prominent than it ever has in a Total War game. Being a small part in a large battle is actually a fantastic feeling, and it didn’t take all that long for my scepticism to turn into unadulterated admiration and addiction.

In the current alpha, you can choose to lead either Greek or Roman units under legendary leaders like Cesar, Alexander and Germanicus, with each leader having differing abilities and therefore specialties. You’re then free to mix and match with your three units between the likes of infantry, archers, cavalry and others. At the moment, players tend to favour missile troops as they’re in dire need of nerfing, but most games are usually pretty well balanced, with wins and loses coming as a result of good/poor teamwork rather than poor matchmaking. Of course, those accustomed to winning or losing based entirely on their own ability will have to adjust to the fact that losses can often be completely out of their control. What’s arguably more important in Arena is how you performed individually - as that’s how you’re judged when receiving XP and other goodies.

Indeed, alongside the surprisingly fun battles is a robust and perfectly-formed free-to-play system that allows players to gradually improve their generals and units. Thankfully, most of the game is accessible through playing the battles, and even the rarer units that require gold (which will be purchasable with real money in the final game) can be accessed through hard graft. Special cosmetic changes to units will also be accessible with real money. Apart from those rather minor additions (and of course the ability to simply save time and effort), the whole game is easily playable and accessible without having to pay a penny - and hopefully your enjoyment of the game will be the only thing encouraging you to spend money.

Upgrading units with the silver and XP earned in battle is a great idea, and slowly moving your little army up from a bunch of militia to hard-nosed legionaries is a thrill akin to the standard Total War games. Of course, the fact that you only have three units in battle means you’ll probably spend a lot more time worrying about how they’ll function individually. The fact that you can change between commanders also means you can work on different armies as you play. The Greeks and Romans do function quite differently, so it’s well worth trying both factions out. The Creative Assembly hasn’t announced anything concerning more factions, but hopefully we’ll see even more added as the game progresses.

Which is a key point that’s well worth reiterating: Total War: Arena is still a work in progress - yet it’s one of those Early Access games that’ll keep you playing right up until the game is released. New maps are unveiled periodically, alongside constant bug fixes and gameplay changes. There are certainly plenty of improvements that need to be made; for instance the UI in battles could be better organised, and the camera really needs to be able to zoom out much further than it currently does. Yet these issues are minor and not exactly numerous. Arena is a surprising success, at least in its current form. The idea of 10v10 Total War battles was somewhat horrific when first revealed, but this is clearly an idea The Creative Assembly has been toying with for a while. It really works, and fans of the series should definitely give it a try. Plus, given the streamlined gameplay and free nature, it could well draw many more eyes to the series at large.