Total War Battles: Kingdom Takes Aim At Medieval Warfare

The Total War series of games is an immersive and highly complex simulation of war throughout several different eras. The Creative Assembly has tried simplifying things with Total War Battles: Shogun, but that game was hampered by its lack of depth and any online component.

Now, the studio's taking another shot with Total War Battles: Kingdom, a free-to-play castle-builder and battle simulator set in medieval Britain, around the 10th century AD. While stopping short of calling it multiplayer, CA says Kingdom is "bigger, deeper, and richer" than TWB: Shogun and that you will play "in an online world," with the ability to switch between mobile, PC, and Mac at will. You'll create your own realm and the cities within it, and the hex map almost lends the game a Civilization-like feeling.

Despite being a Total War junkie, I never tried Total War Battles: Shogun, because of the poor reviews and that it seemed to lack any sense of depth or grandeur. Total Wars Battles: Kingdom looks a little "meatier" to me, so I'll be keeping an eye on it. You can sign up for the closed beta, which starts "soon," with an open beta scheduled for sometime next year.