Total War: Medieval 2’s matched combat animations were brought to us by Spartan: Total Warrior

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Creative Assembly is right now marking 25 years of the popular series, Total War, with celebrations that will continue until the end of 2025 when they plan to share details about future installments in this franchise. As part of these celebrations, the studio has been releasing reminisces about past games, and a recent one on Total War: Medieval 2 highlighted some intriguing connections between this renowned strategy game and Spartan: Total Warrior, a spin-off title focusing on hack ‘n slash gameplay.

In simpler terms, when the animation team for the hack ‘n slash game completed their earlier project, Greg Alston, director of the art team for Total War, noted that these team members transitioned to work on Medieval 2. They brought a wealth of knowledge gained from their previous endeavor with them.

He mentioned that it was there where we began creating synchronized animations. As we progressed, our understanding of animation’s readability grew.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that the combat animations in Total War: Rome were largely based on methods CA used for their older sports games – essentially, they’d do some motion capture and make minor adjustments. But playing Spartan: Total Warrior opened my eyes to the importance of adding a touch of theatrics. The team learned a lot from that experience, making me excited to see how future games will incorporate more dramatic, immersive combat sequences.

The team nostalgically recollected the infantry charge animation where the soldier jumped high, reminding them of its use in a promotional video for the game.

As an avid fan, I’d like to share a fascinating discovery about Medieval 2’s improved animations. The developers cleverly enriched the virtual soldiers’ movements by incorporating additional bones into their digital skeletons. Previously, troops in Rome seemed to be missing shoulder bones, which might explain why their attacks appeared quite rigid. But now, with these extra bones, the soldiers move with a more fluid and lifelike grace on the battlefield. Isn’t it amazing how attention to detail can make such a significant difference?

Although Spartan: Total Warrior, initially designed as a console version of the popular strategy game series Total War but eventually transformed into an action game, isn’t frequently remembered nowadays, enthusiasts might consider paying tribute to the title whenever they launch Medieval 2, one of the most widely played strategy games in history.

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2025-09-02 18:18