The Theban tactic I am referring to consists in fighting only with your strongest flank, refusing confrontation with your weaker one, until your foe exposes enough his flanks in its attempt to close in and fully engage. Considering the Epaminondas tactic that helps him crush the Spartans at Leuctra, I have realized that Creative Assembly forgot to improve on their games mechanics. However, if maneuvering cumbersome and stubborn Total War detachments on the battlefield was a fashion a couple of years ago, this recipe would pretty much fail "on all fronts" now. Their valuable asset is their speed and good charge bonuses (opposed to the slow moving phalanx formations that were also used by the Persians) which - if properly used from the rear of your opponent - will wreak havoc in your enemy lines. The Macedonian Cavalry (including the elite Companions, Alexander's personal guards) is far too weak to smash hundreds of infantrymen and other cavalry alike in reckless charges.
Instead, a thing of vital importance, the original RTW game engine, hasn't been adapted to fit into what this historical setting requires.Īctually, many of the RTW game-elements should have been redesigned not only to fit the player needs to adopt appropriate strategies adequate to the armies of the 4th century BC.įirst of all, the backbone of the army isn't composed of the exploitable Horse Archer or the Heavy Cavalry detachments anymore, but of infantry armed with spears in most cases (like the Macedonian phalanx, the hypaspists or the lighter peltasts and the psiloi). In terms of new, the expansion is a collection of "all new" additions only in those areas that matter least: a new campaign, new unit models and several new historical battles. Maybe someone is looking to revive the " com" fashion of the past as the whole layout feels like nothing else but that. Anyway, whereas the Steam service has a friendly interface and allows unlimited downloads and CD/DVD back-ups (I guess everyone is familiar with the system), to have a back-up for Alexander one will need to search deeper in his pockets for a couple more fees.īesides the "basic" RTW: Alexander download, the distribution system will allow him to choose for one or both of the two seemingly useful rip-offs: a CD or a digital back up option. God knows what sneaky mind came up with the idea, and I guess it will be better if we never know.
To the astonishment of some, the latest Creative Assembly release swims in the same "downloadable-extras" soup. It looks like the fashion started by Valve's Steam distribution service has reached new heights after the recent Oblivion pony-textures (called armor, in the Bethesdian taxonomy). This is the year of downloadable extras for bestseller games, no question about it.
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