Confirming what has become one of the worst secrets in the PC gaming industry, IGN has just posted up a first look preview at the now official Shogun 2: Total War. The latest game in the historical RTS game series from developer The Creative Assembly and publisher Sega is also a sequel to the first ever game in the Total War series which was released way back in 2000.

Set in 16th century feudal Japan, the new game will be designed to be a bit different than more recent Total War games with a smaller amount of units and more of a narrative and story to the game's single player campaign. Also look for hero units to be introduced as well as naval warfare. The AI is also being programmed to follow the rules of the classic book The Art of War by Sun Tzu. No release date for the game was offered in the preview.

Update: Sega has posted up a bare-bones info page on the game which says it is set for a 2011 release.