0:10

Hello, fans of Creative Assembly,

0:12

Total War and video games generally.

0:15

My name is Dominic Perry, I

0:17

am the host of the History of Egypt

0:19

podcast, which for the past ten

0:22

years and counting has been chronicling

0:24

a history of the Nile Valley, from 3000

0:26

BCE and

0:28

the emergence of their kingdom, all

0:30

the way to the death of Cleopatra.

0:33

Over the past decade I have explored tales

0:35

of the pharaohs, their gods and their society

0:38

in great, even agonising detail.

0:41

I am approximately halfway through the

0:43

chronological history, and we have a long

0:45

way to go, but it is an exciting

0:48

journey, uncovering the wonderful tales

0:50

and secrets of this ancient land.

0:53

When I heard that Creative Assembly was about

0:55

to release Total War Pharaoh, my

0:57

heart skipped a beat. Growing up,

1:00

I was immersed in strategy games from an

1:02

early age, beginning with Age of Empires

1:05

1 and 2, Civilization 3, and

1:07

of course, Total War. Ever

1:09

since I first played Shogun Total

1:12

War on a public display computer in

1:14

an electronics store, I have been hooked by

1:16

the visceral real-time battles and

1:18

the grand strategic campaigns.

1:21

I lost more hours than I care to admit

1:24

to the original versions of Rome Total

1:26

War and Medieval 2, and

1:28

since then I have visited every single

1:31

entry in the series, to one degree or

1:33

another. Of course, as a historian,

1:35

my heart tends to lie with the historical

1:37

titles, but I certainly did

1:39

not ignore the Warhammer games, and

1:42

in a special episode I took the opportunity

1:44

to explore the history of Nehekhara

1:47

and the rise of the Tomb Kings. You

1:50

can find a link to that in the episode description.

1:53

Suffice to say, me and Total

1:55

War go way back, and for

1:57

the past 20 years I have spent countless

1:59

countless hours, building emplayers and

2:02

crushing my enemies. As you can

2:04

imagine from my chosen field of expertise,

2:07

I have always hoped for a game set

2:09

in Ancient Egypt. Now by

2:12

the blessings of the creators, either the

2:14

gods or the assembly, we have it. And

2:17

as soon as I heard about it, I reached out to Creative

2:19

Assembly to arrange these episodes.

2:22

What you are about to hear is not a

2:24

review of Total War Pharaoh. Instead,

2:27

it is a series of sponsored episodes,

2:30

which I have planned in coordination with Creative

2:33

Assembly. I want to introduce the games'

2:35

factions and cultures to you, and

2:37

give a greater sense of their place

2:39

in history and their mighty deeds.

2:42

My goal is quite simple. Over

2:45

the past couple of decades, I have spent many,

2:48

many hours immersed in strategy

2:50

war games.

2:51

Some of my fondest memories come

2:53

from playing games like Rome Total

2:56

War and listening to podcasts about

2:58

the specific time periods. My all-time

3:01

favourite memory is playing Rome

3:03

Total War while listening to Mike

3:05

Duncan's The History of Rome. It

3:07

was captivating to re-enact the

3:09

battles and slowly build the Roman

3:12

Republic according to its historical paths.

3:15

Now I would like to do something

3:17

similar for fans of Ancient Egypt.

3:20

Total War Pharaoh places you in a very

3:22

specific time and part of ancient

3:24

world history. Around 1200

3:27

BCE, many cultures of

3:29

the ancient world were beset by

3:31

calamity. Abundant historical

3:33

records testify to wars, conflict

3:36

and devastation throughout Egypt,

3:39

Hati and the Near East. The

3:41

great empires, once mighty, started

3:44

to crumble in the face of climate

3:46

change, economic collapse and

3:48

external threats. And across Egypt,

3:51

Canaan, Syria and Anatolia,

3:54

archaeologists and historians can piece

3:56

together a picture of widespread

3:58

devastation. This is the world

4:01

of the late Bronze Age collapse. With

4:04

the following episodes, I would like to introduce

4:06

you to the faction leaders that rule

4:08

their various territories as the game

4:10

begins. We start with

4:13

Mernepta, the Great Pharaoh, whose

4:15

rule is aging but who still

4:17

commands great respect in the Nile

4:20

Valley. Then we pick

4:22

up with the faction leaders themselves,

4:25

Remeses, Amen-Messi, Seti

4:27

II, and Tawzret in Egypt,

4:30

Mai and Ersu in Canaan

4:33

and Syria, and Korunta

4:35

and Superluliuma in Anatolia,

4:38

the Kingdom of Hati. Over

4:40

the following weeks, I would like to introduce you

4:43

to each of these leaders in turn to

4:45

share tales and stories that are left

4:47

in their historical monuments, and

4:49

to give you a greater context for their

4:51

deeds and how you may approach

4:54

the battlefield. Once again, these

4:56

episodes are not a review of

4:58

Total War Pharaoh. Although they are

5:00

sponsored by Creative Assembly, they

5:03

are my own initiative in historical

5:05

storytelling. They are simply designed to

5:07

add more historical context, and

5:10

maybe enhance your playing. I

5:12

hope you enjoy both them and the game.

5:16

Now then, let us begin our journey

5:18

through the late Bronze Age collapse,

5:20

the time of great pharaohs, great kings,

5:23

fearsome raiders, and devastating

5:25

threats. This is a world of Total

5:28

War.

5:51

Thank you. Go

6:11

to Beadaholique.com for all of your beading supply needs!