[antisthenes]

I love the Total War series, but clearly some games in the series are very derivative and were just created to fill a certain historical time slot.

The first games seemed pretty unique (Shogun/Medieval/Rome) as they coincided with significant graphic and gameplay improvements.

Most games after TW:Shogun 2 in 2010 seem pretty derivative, with the possible exception of Three Kingdoms, and the game loop is still essentially the same (get early advantage - build up provinces to advanced units - steamroll everything).

Having spent hundreds of hours in that gameplay loop earlier, I just can't bring myself to play it again, despite better visuals.