Today Sega and Creative Assembly released a new trailer for their latest instalment of the Total War strategy game franchise, Total War: Three Kingdoms.
The video, which is nearly five minutes long, introduces the twelve warlords fighting for power over Ancient China, as well as giving us a good look at the campaign map.
Set in 190 AD during the rule of the Han dynasty, the game takes place with warlord Dong Zhuo using the child Emperor Xian as a puppet for his oppressive rule. Out of this turbulence rise new warlords to challenge him, each belonging to a different faction of the land. Players control one of China’s twelve factions in a bid to take over, through invasion or alliances, and unify the country.
The trailer goes into a lot of depth about your choices in the game, especially when choosing your warlord. For example, the gentle Liu Biao takes a more methodical approach to the conflict, though it makes him an easy target for the more aggressive factions, like the master manipulator Cao Cao, out for revenge against the death of his father.
For an in-depth look at what each warlord brings to the table, you can watch the video below. Here’s a brief rundown of the 12 warlords you can play as:
- Sun Jian, the Tiger of Jiangdong
- Cao Cao, the Puppet Master
- Liu Bei, the Leader of the People
- Zheng Jiang, the bandit queen
- Dong Zhuo, the Tyrant
- Gongsun Zan, the Knight
- Yuan Shu, the Pretender
- Kong Rong, the Master Scholar
- Liu Biao, the Aristocrat
- Zhang Yan, the Soldier of Fortune
- Ma Teng, the loyalist
- Yuan Shao, the Alliance Leader
The trailer gives us a great look at the campaign map, showing how at the start of the game it’s mostly dominated by the crumbling Han empire and vulnerable to takeover. It also warns of the dangers of taking your campaign into the hostile center of the map, which is surrounded almost constantly by conflict.
Total War: Three Kingdoms is set to launch on PC on May 23.