Sparta: War of Empires vs Total War: Shogun 2
Sparta: War of Empires
Sparta: War of Empires is perhaps one of Plarium’s most successful MMO strategy games. In this game, you’ll get to take on Xerxes and the Persian Empire and leave your mark among the greatest heroes in Hellas! Assume your role as the Archon of a growing city-state and develop it into the mighty empire it can become. Amass your armies and send them to crush your enemies, be it a fellow player or the Persians themselves. Forge alliances with your neighbors, but be careful – you’ll need all your wits and military strength to ensure they won’t stab you in the back when you need their help the most.With quality and engaging gameplay, superb music and graphics, as well as a strong community of players who will go to great lengths to hold the frontlines against the Persians, Sparta: War of Empire is definitely the sort of MMO game that you can fully immerse yourself in.
Total War: Shogun 2
Total War: Shogun 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the groundbreaking original game, Shogun: Total War. Set in the darkest age of Feudal Japan right after the collapse of a unified government (in 16th century to be exact), many warring clans have risen through the chaos and out of them, 10 legendary warlords, or Daimyos, have their eyes set on the coveted position of shogun, but only one of them will be able to reunite a warring island.The gameplay is pretty similar to the original game. The campaign map features a turn-based, Risk-style gameplay while the actual battles themselves (rendered in glorious 3D) are played out in real-time. However, this time around, the game is filled with a ton of new units, including massive warships, as well as a more in-depth strategic gameplay based on the ancient texts in Sun Tzu's Art of War. There are multi-stage sieges, unique hero units who can be improved through standard RPG methods, and that the campaign map is now in 3D as well and can be rotated whichever way you like.
The campaign in Total War: Shogun 2 can also be played cooperatively (2 players), but if you truly want to test your skills, you can engage in epic online battles with up to 8 other players.
This game does the very first Total War game justice and is the sort of game that fans of the series would greatly enjoy. Also, considering that the game came out more than 5 years ago, the graphics in the game is still pretty relevant today... so I guess, that's another bonus.