Customer Reviews

Shogun: Total War

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have been playing Shogun for almost three weeks now. I've read most of the reviews and will comment on some of the common themes and add my own review.

Shogun is an RTS game, and it is done better than Gettysburg or the Close Combat Series. The battle segments are well done. I've read that some people had issues controlling there troops. First, the company promo states that the troops will act independently at times. Troop management in a battle is chaotic at best. Lose your general and your troops will certainly rout.

I have also read comments from people complaining about a lack of strategy guides. There isn't a lot in the manual, but the game DOES allow you to group troops and form them into one of 9 formations. Also, before you begin a battle as the attacker, right click on the leader icon for 7 different battle formations.

Shogun is a combination of Risk and an RTS. In the strategic overview segment of the game, you build your empire by occupying provinces, building castles and other buildings to produce better troops. This takes time, and while some people complain that the economic element of the game is rather simplistic, it is still a challenge to build a large empire and equip it with quality troops.

ECONOMIC STRATEGY

I am in the middle of a campaign and there are only myself and another daimyo left. I was totally caught off guard by the quantity of his troops. I doubt I can hold him off. I thought I had prepared well, but he outnumbers me by at least 5 to 1. It takes a lot of koku, and even more time, to build superior troops.

The great decisions you will face are to wait and build more troops, or to take that neighboring province since the enemy general is rated poorly.

And watch out for alliances. Yes, I have agreed to an alliance only to be betrayed the next turn. I have also had allies show up on the battle field and assist me in a battle. I also made the blunder of invading a province who was allied with a large army, who promptly attacked me. Be wary.

BATTLE TACTICS

It will take a few battles to get use to using 16th century troops, but you don't have to be a real general to figure it out. Attack enemy archers with heavy cavalry or sword bearing troops. Watch as 80 enemy archers disappear in a matter of minutes! IF you have good troops, don't be afraid of defending with less troops than the enemy. Archers can be dealt with severely.

PROS AND CONS

PROS

The game may be conceptually simple, but actually attempting to build a large empire with a great army is not easy. That simplicity makes the game easy to work with.

The choice to have the computer solve a battle for you can save time, especially if you know your troops will win.

The battles are fun, but battles with over 1,000 troops per side can be stressful to manage, use the pause button.

Ever attempt a bridge crossing using 16th century troops. What a mess!

CONS

Rebel troops will cause uprisings, but I haven't been able to create a rebellion in an enemy province, while my enemies have done so in my provinces.

It can get tedious to fight the same battle on the same ground four turns in a row. But I've seen that happen in other games.

The manual has errors, but who actually READS a manual? Trial and error is the only way. If you have a good grasp of tactics and strategy, you can win.

You'll need a ton of memory and a fast processor to play fast.

OVERALL Sure, there are some areas where the game could be improved, but that's the nature of all games. What you DO get is a game that gives you a large challenge, try to dominate Japan. YOU control your expansion as you expand into other provinces, YOU control what troops to build; archers, cavalry, swordsmen, YOU control the quality of your troops and YOU control the battles. What more can a gamer want?

Shogun, despite some minor flaws, does deliver a complete concept of a game which actually works. I've played a lot of games and I doubt you'll find a game that will keep you at the keyboard as long as Shogun will.

I love feudal Japan. I've been editor for a magazine on feudal Japan for over ten years, have made kimono, and love watching Japanese movies for hours and hours. I have the Shogun board game, and play that quite a bit. Since I review strategy games for BellaOnline.Com, it was a natural for me to buy Shogun: Total War as soon as it was out.

While the box makes it seem that the game is much like the board game, where you move groups of units from province to province (a la Risk), the computer game is actually far more comprehensive and intense. To start with, there are actual graphics for each member of a unit - it's more like having a set of forces in Age of Empires II than block-units. While you don't direct the individuals, they still fight on a one-by-one basis, which leads to stunning combat sequences when you're in full attack.

Back to the basics, though. The game's graphics are awesome. If this game doesn't incite you to go buy that P3-750 with a top end sound and graphic card, nothing will. The rolling hills, wisps of fog floating over the individual trees, clouds reflected in the smooth stream before you, each unit with his own armor and banners and colors ... it's stunning. The music is gorgeous as well. The narrator ... well, he sounds like a Russian citizen trying to wander around Tokyo. You can't have everything.

The tutorials are great. They do them in standard tutorial fashion, too: give the objectives you'll learn, step through those lessons, and then recap what you've learned. They are very helpful, and get you used to unit movements and formations.

You can choose the formation within a unit and of all your units in your attack force. There are of course different kinds of units - ground troops with swords, archers, horsemen with spears, and many other combinations. As you build your fortress you can create buildings for new and interesting troops as well.

Each unit has its own strengths, and its own morale. They work well on different terrain, and in different weather. Yes, weather affects troops too! Rain dampens the musketeers, while snow hinders other troops. Going up or downhill affects troops, and you can hide in the trees. This is about as close as you can get to some of the historical battles of the 1600s.

Speaking of which, in addition to the fully customizable battle systems, you can fight historical battles as well! Interested in how you would have fared against some of the great Shogun of Japan? Load up the battle and find out. Want to kill off a few close friends? You have that option as well.

Even if I weren't a huge fan of Japanese warfare, I'd recommend this game highly to any strategy fan. The combination of stellar graphics, great sound and quality gaming experience add up to a fun time for anyone!

I've been a student of japanese martial- and cultural-history for over 20 years, and have seen many attempts to make a game like this, and bought most of them. the only other real 'success' i've seen was 'Shingen' for the old 8-bit nintendo system. 'Shingen' was a VERY nice piece of work for a turn-based game, but THIS? This is truly an amazing piece of work! Like everyone else, i've only played the demo, but the demo prompted me to do something i've never done before:pre-order the game! the 'playfields' are devastatingly beautiful, the troops are beautifully detailed and animated, and the donjon (castles) are downright gorgeous! Also, all the pre-set troop formations look like the programmers read the same ancient battle-texts that i have. each and every formation i've viewed on the game is exactly like what i had read about and seen diagrammed in the martial history texts. even the organization of soldier-movement during formation-changes is top-rate: every soldier knows exatly where he belongs at all times, and he moves accordingly. this looks like the kind of game that makes you want to dig out a bottle of properly warmed sake, proudly display your katana and wakizashi over your monitor, lace on your o-yoroi or do-maru, and start screaming war-cries like the generals in any of Akira Kurosawa's great samurai epics! I DO have some recommended reading before playing, however. Obviously, they're not REQUIRED, but if you want to win, they'll help immeasurably. the programmers seem to have used these books(at least 2 of them, maybe more) to program the AI: 'The Complete Art Of War' translated by Ralph D. Sawyer/published by Westview(ISBN 0-8133-3085-8) 'The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China', same trans./pub. (ISBN 0-8133-1228-0) 'The Six Secret Teachings On The Way Of Strategy', same trans./published by Shambhala (ISBN 1-57062-247-7) and of course any translation of Miyamoto Musashi's Book Of Five Rings. Remember: 'Being unconquerable lies with yourself. Being conquerable lies with the enemy.' -Sun Tzu

Shogun is a great game. This game is divided into two modes, the turn-based strategy mode (like Civilisation and Risk) and the real-time battle mode (like C&C and Ground Control. This is actually the first time that this mix succeeds in one excellent game. You have to choose from seven rival daimyos (warlords) and simply conquer all Japan. But the task set for you is not an easy one. This game is extremely challenging with a superlative AI unparalled by any strategy game. This is one of the first games that you have to use tactics to win, by force. The tactical AI is based on the teachings of the great ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu and his book The Art Of War. So, the first hint anyone can give you on this game is to buy and read The Art Of War by Sun Tzu (available in all good bookshops or at amazon on the web). Apply the rules and you'll win. The strategy mode is played on a map of Japan with all the provinces and their wealth listed. You move your pieces (armies, emissaries, spies, ninjas, geishas, priests etc.) into the enemy province and control the empire like that. Now, when two armies clash on the same province you can choose to go to a full 3D environment to fight the battle yourself in fantastic real-time. Here you have to apply all Sun Tzu's teachings and tactics in order to win. For the first time, numerical strength isn't that relevant. Tactics are far more important. The graphics are awesome and every unit has its own banner and armour all in eye-melting detail. This is the first game that has thousands of men fighting and dying at the same time in one battle. The sound is one of the strong points in the game and the English spoken is very appropriate with its Japanese dialect. The gameplay is smooth without glitches but I you have a low-end machine large battles can chug more than a little. Another great feature of Shogun is that it is recreated in the 100% authentic Feudal Japan and all the names, provinces, castles, generals etc. are all true, and this gives the game a strong historical content. Shogun is a very complicated game and if I would immerge myself into detail I could write far more than a thousand words.

PROS:

Excellent graphics, sound, gameplay and strong historical content.

It is recreated in 100% authentic Feudal Japan.

Tactics are vital for victory.

CONS:

The multiplayer modes are a bit complicated and unfinished. (but excellent all the same!)

Large battles (1000's of men!) can chug more than a little.

Shogun IS Total War.

Comparing Shogun with the other dominant brand of strategy war games recently (i.e. Warcraft and all of its numerous copycats, e.g. Age of Empires, StarCraft, Command & Conquer, etc.) brings to mind the old Sesame Street ditty "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn't the same..." If you're tired of games whose battle and strategy mechanics are exactly the same and merely differ on the setting and names of units then Shogun is the game for you. This is the best combination of battlefield tactics and campaign level strategy I've seen in a long time. Shogun is a truly unique game in a genre that has been sadly complacent for the past few years. And the best part about Shogun is that while these other games focus on improved graphics at the expense of originality, Shogun retains both.

Just a brief list of the highlights of Shogun:

1) The 3D graphics are incredible. The battlefields look real, complete with mist, fog, snow, rain, and changing light levels. Also, each unit has graphics for each individual soldier and, while you direct them as units, you get to watch each individual fight.

2) The battles rely more on tactics, including use of terrain and weather, than on numerical strength. You actually have to be a good general, you can't just rely on a superior force to pound the enemy into submission. I've won (and lost)battles where the numberical advantage was at least 5/1.

3) The strategy component is just as important as the battles. You can negotiate treaties, develop your provinces' economies, choose your realm's religion, and send assassin ninjas to take out your rivals' heirs and top generals. And its all turn based so you can take your time planning.

My only complaint was that the strategy part could have been made even more complex. Rice is the only possible harvest for a province and all income is based only on trade, mining, and rice production. Also the diplomacy is rather simplistic. You can be "at war", "neutral", or "allied" but thats it.

If you want a strategy game that stands apart from the rest go with Shogun.

Shogun is an EXCELLENT game, BUT IS UNPLAYABLE ON MOST OF THE BRAND NEW SYSTEMS OUT TODAY. Due to terrible EA techinical support, and horrible compatibility issues, Shogun doesn't work on my BRAND NEW 900mhz computer. I know for a fact that most people with an Nvidia graphics card CANNOT play Shogun. Electronic Arts (manufacterer of shogun) neglects the problem and refuses to patch their game to work with Nvidia drivers. The game also does not work on Windows Millenium computers. PLEASE keep this in mind before buying ANY game from Electronic Arts. The company obviously neglects to give their customers honest tech support and neglects to make sure their games even work!

This game is great. It runs along lines similar to the games Myth: The Fallen Lords and Sid Meier's Civil War games; real-time strategy over a 3-D topographic battlefield. I found its interface clean and simple, a necessity when commanding forces numbering in the hundreds and thousands. The only problem I found was the unit's tendency to end up several screen inches away from where they were first directed to go. The tactical strengths and weaknesses of the units are somewhat unbalanced in the demo; trying a cavalry assault against a formation of spearmen in this game will never succeed, and light infantry will lose to a group of heavy infantry half their size. I hope that the units will be better balanced in the real game. The battlefields are more detailed than those of Myth, but not as finely sculpted as those of Gettysburg or Antietam; there are forests that can hide your soldiers, unclimbable cliffs, and steep hills that slow the movement of soldiers, but no rocks, no fields, no other types of cover.

In general, if you like real-time military strategy but can't stand the massive emphasis on resource management of most RTS games, this is a good game for you.

Alright, let me first say this: Total War is one of the greatest strategy games I have ever played. Now, I'm not an expert or anything on Japanese history or what makes a good game, but mostly the only games that I play are RTS games and I've never been satisfied with them because they focus way too much on rescouce management and not the thrill of war (leading thousands of samurai across a battlefield to go and totally slaughter the other army). Shogun gets it right. This game is addictive as anything and will be one of the greatest games of the year. Also, I can guarantee that you wont throw the game away in three weeks. This might not be the most helpful review you have ever read, but I just had to get my opinion in here. I love this game and I bet that if you are interested at all in Military/Historical RTS games than you will love Shogun: Total War.

Shogun: Total War both does and doesn't live up to my expectations as an avid fan of 16th Century Japanese history. It's obvious from the start that this game was more than just a product to the team at Creative Assembly, who designed it for Electronic Arts. The presentation is virtually flawless. From the music and sound effects to the cutscenes and menu screens, this game drips with atmosphere. And the "Way of the Daimyo" website included on the CD is an outstanding informational sidebar to the game itself that obviously took a lot of time to create and did absolutely nothing for sales. So it's clear that this game's release was pushed back for all the right reasons, something for which both developer and publisher are to be commended.

As far as actual gameplay, S:TW is as good as it can be, which is not to say perfect, but I can't realistically imagine it being better. If you've ever played "Nobunaga's Ambition" or "Shingen the Ruler" on the old 8-bit Nintendo system, you have played a scaled-down version of S:TW. Even if you haven't, if you've already read the other reviews on this page, I don't need to tell you the basics of the game, so I'll cut straight to the gist of its strong and weak points.

First, the strategy game is entertaining and addictive enough in its own right, but it has a tendency to settle into the standard "build lots of the best quality troops and move from chokepoint to chokepoint" fare long before you reach the middle of the strategic map. Without getting down and dirty in the tactical screen, all the Sun Tzu-based AI and fascinating tactical decisions about troop types, honor, weather, terrain, etc. happen behind the scenes, giving the whole strategic game the feel of "go for big numbers of troops and roll the dice."

The other problem with the strategic game is the diplomatic model. Treaties will only last more than a turn or so when you have the military strength to back them up, at which point you don't really need to use diplomacy. Granted, this is very realistic for the period in question, but it doesn't add much fun to the game (and, lest we forget, games should be fun, not just history lessons).

Once you drop down to the tactical screen, the game gets both more interesting and more frustrating. The really great battles are the really BIG ones, and S:TW lets you get it on in huge scale, with literally thousands of troops going at it. Unfortunately, these almost always disintegrate into unmanageable free-for-alls, where you become a sort of awed spectator, mouse limp in your hand as you watch your samurai ignore you commands and either charge or flee in a big ugly clump of all-too-similar-looking 2-D sprites. Even in the small battles, I had a hard time getting archers to join the fray in melee, even when their help would have overwhelmingly turned the tide of battle in my favor. Close Combat 2 had troop morale worked in, where panicking soldiers would disobey you, and it was only mildly annoying on occasion. The rampant disobedience of my samurai - I'm talking samurai here, not simple peasants with spears - led me to finally give up the tactical game in favor of the straight strategic approach, which has the aforementioned limitations.

If I sound negative, I don't mean to. The game is, as I said, addictive in spite of its limitations and its art design and animation are unparalleled. If you are a fan of feudal Japan, you absolutely have to buy S:TW. If you are a fan of computer wargames, you really should add this fairly innovative title to your collection. Otherwise, you may want to try to get your hands on a demo first and see if it's your cup of (green) tea.

Shogun Total War - Well what do i think of the Game? Well I gave it Five stars so obviously I think it is great. This RTS game will be the best game available of its kind on the market for a while to come. If you are not the sort of person that gets thrills out of commanding vast Samurai Armies in what is essentially mass slaughter, then don't even think about purchasing this game. The game requires a great deal of thought, whether it be, do I attack or not? should I assasinate him or leave it for fear of being caught? Should I build a Sword Dojo or a Horse Dojo? What will benefit me in the future? These sorts of choices may sound a little stupid, but they are exactly what one will be thinking. The game provides four levels of difficulty, each substantially different from the other, however one will obviously not experience the true art of playing Shogun in a serious and involving way unless they play at the herdest of levels. Only then can one expect the levels of realism in battle and in the economic struggle to be truely realistic. The two levels of play (that being the overall turn based strategic map, and the real time battles) have been well amalgamated, without making the game too tricky, or for that matter too simple. The game on the overall strategic level is indeed very simple (When I say simple I mean simple to understand). Units are moved between provinces by a simple click and drag process. The quality of the fighting force you can put in the field will depend highly on the strength and quality of your economy. Upgrades and improvements are constantly available. Oh decisions, decisions! On the RTS side of things the game is perfect. Everything about the battle simulations will make you want to fight more and more of them.The exceptionaly presented environment with climate hazzards ranging from Fog to Snow one could not ask for anything more real. With thousands of accuratley presented Samurai, ranging from No-Dachi Samurai (Double handed swordsman) to Heavy Cavalry, from Warrior Monks to Musketeers one has a trully amazing choice of. The trade with the foreign barbarians (The Dutch and The Portugese) bringing guns and new technology, whether you except their help is up to you, however do not expect you people to approve of your Christianic ways. Well from reading this review I hope I can convince those strategists of you to purchase this game. Shogun Total War is certinately the best game of the year, and is certainatly the best RTS game ever. "Easy to Learn, Hard to Master"