Fall of the Samurai, the first stand-alone expansion for Total War: Shogun 2, is set during Japan's Boshin War of the 1860s, a civil war that began as an ideological struggle over the shogunate's pro-Western policies. Clans opposed to these policies fought to overthrow the shogunate and return power to the emperor, and over the course of the war, both sides were compelled to embrace armaments like Armstrong guns and ironclads. The result is a unique setting: a maelstrom of sword-wielding samurai, Gatling guns, railroads, and ancient Buddhist temples. That setting also adds some new dimensions to the series with naval bombardments, railroads, and the ability to take direct control over artillery units. If you wanted to see the Total War series cover more recent conflicts, then Fall of the Samurai is a major step in the right direction.
While Fall of the Samurai does add plenty of new content, it retains the distinctive traits of the Total War series. For instance, the single-player campaign emulates a handful of real battles from the period, and follows the series' tradition of combining turn-based strategy and real-time battles. The real-time battles focus on crushing your enemies' morale before running them down. Factors like terrain and weather play a large role on the strategic map and in tactical battles. The multiplayer options remain essentially identical to those in Shogun 2. You can play the campaign with a friend or play the Avatar Conquest mode where you improve a persistent avatar through online battles. The result is a game that feels instantly familiar to anyone who has played a Total War title.
The turn-based, strategic portion of the campaign receives the bulk of the improvements over Shogun 2. After picking one of the clans allied to either the shogun or the emperor, you must secure victory for your liege (or yourself, if you feel like fighting for a republic) by conquering enough of the new, and staggeringly immense, map of Japan. The map contains 75 provinces, including Hoakkaido Island, which was absent in Shogun 2. Fall of the Samurai's campaign covers a longer period of time than the Boshin War, but it is still a fairly short era by Total War standards.
The campaign spans only six years, but the turns have been modified to represent shorter increments of time than in Shogun 2. Seasons now last for several turns, and the attrition caused by long winters can force a temporary peace until spring. Special agent units and generals are back to add character to the game, but their skills, retainers, and traits have been changed to reflect the new setting. Familiar agents like the geisha and shinobi are joined by newcomers like foreign military advisers, who can train your troops and increase unit production, and political commissars (Shinsengumi for the shogunate and ishin shishi for the imperials), who can root out dissenters and increase popular support for your faction. Additionally, the AI is more capable of managing agents than before, so keep your generals loyal lest a geisha seduces them into betraying you.
Navies have been significantly improved as well, making them more useful strategically. For the first time in a Total War game, navies are now able to bombard cities and armies, damaging critical buildings and decimating the enemy's forces. Meanwhile, oceanic trade has been revised so that navies no longer have to capture and occupy strategic points to ensure foreign trade. As a result, no one can monopolize foreign trade, but navies can occupy trade routes to siphon off enemy profits. The AI has adapted well to these changes and generally makes more capable use of its navy to bombard your armies, raid your trade, and even pull off significant amphibious invasions.
Much of the campaign's challenge stems from the need to carefully modernize without alienating the people. Certain technologies and buildings can increase your modernization level, which improves your research rate and opens additional research options. However, you have to balance modernization with keeping the populace content (or at least repressed), because people are quick to revolt when their traditional way of life is threatened by these newfangled factories and railroads popping up all over the place.
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