Games similar to Total War?
I know this has been asked before, but from years ago and might be out of date. It can be any price, but has to have the replay feature, the pausing feature, and the zooming in feature to see the close details. The graphics have to be good or above, and it can't have too much glitches or bugs. The AI has to be challenging. The troops have to be realistic and diverse. If there are any mods, preferably free, count that as part of the game.
You'll not find many games that have all these features. That's why Total War does not have any real competition in this category of strategy games (most follow the Warcraft/Starcraft formula of small squads and buildings, such as the Dawn of War and Age of Empire franchises).
If you like fantasy, I'd recommend "Battle for Middle Earth 2". It has aged really well and is an excellent strategy game. As for historical games, I've heard that Ancestor's Legacy is not that bad. Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 shares also a lot in common with the Total War formula, although it's spaceship battles rather than individual armies.
However none of those compare with the scope of Total War games, I'm afraid.