The upcoming Total War: Thrones of Britannia is going to be the very first of the new Total War Saga series. In other words, instead of covering a large amount of territory across an equally large time frame, Thrones of Britannia will offer a much more detailed look at some of the most interesting events and battles that took place after the English king Alfred the Great halted the Viking invasion in 878 AD.

In gameplay terms this means there's going to some major differences between Thrones of Britannia and its predecessor Total War: Rome 2, especially when it comes to the battles. If you're wondering what exactly those differences might be, wonder no more as Creative Assembly has now released a brief preview showing off some of the major changes and additions. Have a look:

While the more realistic cavalry engagements and anti-infantry charges are a welcome change, it is the greatly improved siege maps that are potentially the biggest and most impactful addition. After playing Total War: Warhammer 1 and 2 for over 400 hours now I have to admit I am sick and tired of having to fight exactly the same siege battle, over and over again. As such, the promise of interesting sieges and maps specifically designed with maneuverability in mind is definitely a compelling one. That said, I really do hope Total War's sometimes lackluster AI will be able to actually handle these supposedly more complex and intricate maps.

Total War: Thrones of Britannia will be coming this May 3rd for Windows, while the Mac and Linux versions will be following shortly after. You can learn more about it, or just check out some of the other previews, by heading over to either the official website or Steam.