I’ve always been fairly middle-of-the-road onTotal Wargames. I like them just fine, and will occasionally return to Empire, Shogun 2, and Three Kingdoms when the urge strikes me, but I wouldn’t count myself as a hardcore fan. Three days of access to a test build ofTotal War: Pharaohmay have changed that.
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The newest entry in the long-running strategy franchisecombines the best elements of the recent hits to create the Total War experience I’ve wanted for the last decade-and-a-half. Combined with added systems that immerse the player in the setting - this time New Kingdom Egypt and its surroundings - next month’s Bronze Age battler will be a hard act for Creative Assembly to follow.
The first thing that struck me upon starting a new campaign in Pharaoh was the updated economy system. Rather than just tracking the number of coins in your treasury like earlier titles, Total War: Pharaoh requires players to manage several key resources; Food, Stone, Wood, Bronze, and Gold.
Food - and lots of it - is required to maintain your armies. It’s the most plentiful resource, but it’s very easy for consumption to outpace supply; especially if there’s a bad harvest. Stone, and to a lesser extent Wood, are used in constructing new buildings. Since you want to fill all your construction slots as they open up, it’s important to have a large reserve on hand. Bronze can only be acquired from cities with a smelting industry, and is required to equip elite soldiers with quality weapons and armor. At least some of your Stone and Wood income will need to go toward expanding your Bronzeworks. Gold is now the rarest resource, and is used for major undertakings, particularly when interacting with new features like Ancient Legacies and Court Intrigue.
Having multiple resources to manage is nothing new in strategy games, but the implementation in Total War: Pharaoh is excellent. Upkeep costs are high and your resources will be limited by geography, so trade is essential to keep your stockpiles where they need to be. AI leaders even track supply and demand based on their own needs, letting you scope out mutually beneficial trade deals.
Court Intrigue lets factions vie for important positions at the palace of either the Pharaoh or the Great King of the Hittites. If you don’t have a position yourself, you may always try to befriend, bribe, or replace the current leadership. While it’s not as in-depth asCrusader Kings, it brings interpersonal relationships into play and gives you new tools for getting the edge in your campaign.
In my campaign, I started by trying to supplant the Pharaoh’s top general. Despite having the Vizier and the High Priest of Ra on my side, I was outmaneuvered and didn’t get the job. I decided instead to cozy up to the Viceroy of Kush, and once I was on his good side he let me skim off the top from the lucrative gold mines of the south, which in turn funded my conquests in Canaan.
Ancient Legacies are a completely new feature, allowing your character to emulate the successes of great Pharaohs from the past. Part quest, part character ability, Ancient Legacies will form the cornerstone of gameplay and determine how players approach each campaign.
Since I was hoping to establish a base of power in Sinai from which to launch my bid for the throne, I chose the Legacy of Thutmose the Conqueror. This allowed me to target one of the world’s major cities - in my case Ashkelon, a religious center of the Canaanites - and spend Gold to make it easier to conquer.
After several turns of sabotage, bribing local tribes to join my cause, and good old-fashioned siege, I was able to activate the Legacy’s ultimate ability, forcing the defenders of Ashkelon to leave the walls and meet me in field battle, where my chariots and Medjays made short work of them.
While the demo only went to Turn 50 (roughly eight-and-a-half years of in-game time), it left me eager to see how the other factions play and how the game changes once you seize the crown of Egypt or Hatti. The late-game challenge, the arrival of the marauding Sea Peoples, evokes the endgame crises ofStellarisor Battle Brothers, which is a system that I’d like to see more in strategy games like Total War.
There comes a point in most strategy games where the player’s faction hasn’t yet won, but has grown to the point where victory is inevitable. Endgame invasions like the Sea Peoples force even the most dominant players into a fight to keep what they’ve gained. In multiplayer, they can even change the political landscape as factions put aside their current conflicts in the face of a greater foe. It’s one of the best ways to prevent the late game from becoming simply “keep playing until you win.”
Pharaoh’s blend of classic gameplay with enhanced mechanics and immersion should make it the new standard for the Total War series. It’s especially good to see the historical side of the franchise getting such a strong title despite the success of its Warhammer spinoffs. In fact, ifTotal War: Warhammerhas been your only experience with the series so far, Pharaoh will be the best way to try the historical games going forward.
