Now Playing: Attila

I’ve already written a lot about Attila, so I’ll try to keep this short. Total War: Attila, in many ways, is the game we wanted Rome 2 to be. But it’s also the game Rome 2 could never be. This is because Attila builds heavily upon Rome 2, expanding and refining its mechanics, but also addressing many of the problems with those mechanics.

Rome 2, although improved since release, is still a game plagued by various design issues – features such as the political system which simply isn’t very interesting or in-depth. Attila doesn’t simply discard this flawed system, however. It builds upon it, combining it with the return of the family tree feature and creating what is the most interesting and engaging family/faction politics of a Total War title yet.

As I said, Attila feels like the game we wanted Rome 2 to be, but without the mistakes and missteps of Rome 2 to fix, develop, expand and refine, it wouldn’t be half as good as it is. To be frank, without the f**k up of Rome 2, we wouldn’t have Attila – which, having sunk more than 80 hours into the title already, I now regard as one of the best in the series.

 

But Attila is more than just a refinement of Rome 2 and to describe it as such, I think does it a great disservice. It’s a game very much with its own identity, and another reason why it stands apart from Rome 2. As I’ve said in my previous posts, Attila is a game of survival and it plays very differently compared to previous entries in the series. Obviously, it shares the common setting of the old Rome 1 Barbarian Invasion expansion, but that title never quite captured this period to such a great degree.

I’ve always felt some of the best titles in the Total War series are ones which focus their mechanics and style around a particular period or theme. Fall of the Samurai, for example, had this wonderful theme of traditional style versus modernisation. It captured the style and tone of the period perfectly, not only in terms of art or sound, but in gameplay mechanics.

Attila, set during the decline of the Roman Empire and the onset of the Dark Ages, also benefits from a focus on a particular theme – survival. Playing as either the Western or Eastern Roman Empires offers very different challenges, yet each share a common goal – simply to survive. To survive the onslaught of hostile migrating barbarian tribes, of the advancing Hunnic hordes, of rebellions and outbreaks of disease. Oh, and climate change.

This is a world where everyone is fighting to survive, to escape the rapidly spreading cold to seek fertile land and safety. It’s a world where crumbling Empires are desperately clinging onto what they still possess. In short, it’s a perfect setting for a Total War game, one which plays very differently, one with a lot of character and its something Attila captures brilliantly through its style, tone, sound and mechanics. It’s this character and focus I felt Rome 2 lacked, which is perhaps why I could never grow particularly invested in my campaigns.

 

Attila offers more than simply playing as empires struggling to survive, however. Although the factions are somewhat limited on release (expect DLC) they do offer a great variety of styles of play. As I said, even the two Roman factions offer very different experiences. Then you have the migratory factions, each with their own strengths and weakness as well as the more traditional ‘expand and conquer’ factions. In terms of styles of play, Attila offers a small, but surprisingly diverse roster of factions.

So let’s talk performance. In over 80 hours of play I’ve had no crashes and seen practically zero bugs. I do think performance optimisations are needed, but it’s certainly solid enough already and can only really be improved upon. It’s one of the most stable and polished TW releases yet, at least in my experience.

In terms of AI, Attila may just be the best yet. It’s solid and remarkably consistent in both Campaign and Battles. It’s use of units, especially cavalry (flanking, threading through gaps in your lines, and using hit and run charges), is the best it’s ever been. It also handles the new fatigue system quite well, cycling units in and out of combat where necessary.

An experienced player will always find ways to exploit it, but the Attila AI has some neat tricks up its sleeves and is remarkably hard to fool. I was always impressed when it pulled its General out of a fight to keep him safe, or diverted cavalry to counter my own and protect its flank. There are still a few pathfinding issues here and there in relation to some settlements and it can sometimes get confused by the new barricade feature but overall, it’s quite impressive.

On the campaign side, it’s far more aggressive than in Rome 2, and will attack with multiple coordinated stacks. You won’t see many ‘small’ battles in Attila. The AI will hit you hard and in numbers. A few of the diplomatic issues carry over from Rome 2, but on the whole, it works fine. And with the political/family system, you have the most in-depth Total War campaign game yet.

Graphically, the game looks great. Its darker style may not be to everyone’s tastes, but it fits well with the the overall tone of the period. The new fire mechanics are a fantastic addition and hard to imagine playing without. It’s clear that the feedback and criticisms of Rome 2 were taken into account for Attila. It feels like a game aimed squarely at the hardcore fans. As a result, I’m not sure I’d recommend it to a beginner because they’d probably find even the tutorial prologue campaign a struggle.

 

Attila is an unforgiving game, and an inexperienced player may just get smashed by the AI and frustrated, even on Normal settings. But after Rome 2, a game which felt far too streamlined and easy for new players, it feels like this approach was necessary to win back the veteran fans. For me, at least, they’ve succeeded.

But is it perfect? Well, no. As far as criticisms go, aside from improvements to performance, I’d say the biggest issue Attila has is one of balance. It’s a game that really does feel like it needs balance adjustments in terms of units and campaign economy. The new unit ‘tier’ system is something I like, but unit stats feel a little off, with some units rendered effectively useless and others seriously overpowered.

This is something that can obviously be tweaked through mods or patches, but as I said in my Rome 2 review, I can’t review what may happen in the future. Right now, certain elements of Attila don’t balance well in either battles or campaign.

Another issue is the lack of diversity between certain barbarian factions, especially the (currently) non-playable factions, such as those in Britain. Once again, this is an issue that will be improved over time through mods or DLC, but when one such faction DLC releases barely a week following release, it is a bit irritating that these factions weren’t more fleshed out on launch.

I was tempted to give Attila a 9, but I do feel it’s being held back by these issues at the time of writing. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend playing Attila as it is right now. Over time, it should only get better. It’s the game we wanted Rome 2 to be and more. It’s unforgiving but fair. It also has one of the best soundtracks in the series.

Overall, Total War: Attila is a fantastic return to form for the series following the bitter disappointment of Rome 2. It’s the game we wanted it to be, yet could never be. And despite the age of the series, Attila, with its focus on survival, is remarkably refreshing, offering a new twist on an old formula. Recommended.

8/10