I played some of Creative Assembly's Total War: Attila at a press event in September, and was impressed by how far the developer has cleaned up the systems in Total War: Rome 2, and added visual details to bring this world to life.
This is a series that manages to bring together the satisfying intellectual challenge of empire management with the more immediate thrills of realtime battle strategy. Little wonder that the formula has stubbornly resisted perfection. Glitch and bug issues likes those seen in the roll-out of Total War: Rome 2 last year don't help.
We tend to view the Huns as marauders
But let us at least admire the developer's sense of ambition, displayed in this trailer for the next game, due out in 2015. A game about the fall of the Roman Empire is necessarily a tougher sell than one about its rise and pinnacle.
You could argue that the game is also about the rise of alternative empires in Europe, many of which shape the great nations of that continent today. But we tend to view the Visigoths and the Huns (not entirely unfairly) as opportunists and marauders, certainly in comparison to the glories of Rome.
Perhaps I am showing off my prejudices here. If so, they are shared somewhat in this preview, which gives us Atilla as an invader and a destroyer. You will be able to play him as you see fit, of course. Unless you decide to try to hang on to Rome. Good luck with that.
