A Total War Saga: Troy will lay siege to your PC in 2020
Enough horsing around.
Sega has now officially announced A Total War Saga: Troy, the next in its line of strategy games focused on a specific place and point in time. In this case, its the setting of Homer's Illiad, featuring the Trojan war between Troy and Greece.
Due to launch on PC in 2020, it's the first game in the series to have its development led by Creative Assembly's team in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Its existence has been something of an open secret, after popping up in a trademark listing last month.
Many of the period's legendary figures act as leaders in battle, capable of turning the tide one way of the other.
Achilles, for example, is able to recruite some of the most elite warriors in the game, but has a unique Hot Blooded faction mechanic which sees his rage affect diplomacy and trade if insulted. On the upside, this will mean his people are spurred on to create more resources to make up for his shortcomings.
Hector, meanwhile, is more of a defensive hero. While Achilles is skilled in rapid strikes, the prince of Troy is suited to longer conflicts. His mechanic, Priam's Benevolence, means he must complete tasks set by his family or face negative consequences that impact progression.
In a demo of the game I was shown back at Gamescom, developers explained how combat during this period was largely infantry-based, with few units available on horses. So don't expect much of them.
I also saw how "mythical units" will be utilised in battle - such as the Minotaur. This interpretation of the half man half angry bull beast has the Minotaur as a beefy bloke who wears smelly cow skins and a skull on his head. It's enough to instil fear in other units in battle.
Here's how the game will set up that fight between Brad Pitt and Eric Bana.
