Players start off by choosing a Greek, Roman, or Barbarian commander from the past (Cynane and Julius Caesar are two of them) with three groups of units to control. In the matches I played, the round timer was roughly 10 minutes, ending either after all units had been vanquished or one side captured the enemy's base. If you have been intimidated by the time commitment required for past Total War games, Arena is a refreshing change of pace. At the same time, there are some issues that will hopefully be addressed before it is eventually released. This change is significant, and after playing a handful of matches this weekend at an event in Taipei, it seems that Arena's changes to the core formula are both well-executed and smartly designed for a new audience.
Made by franchise creator Creative Assembly and announced more than four years ago, Arena pits teams of 10 against each other in a real-time experience that moves faster than past entries in the series.
As a free-to-play, online-focused game, Total War: Arena is a step in a new direction for Sega's strategy series.
