Shogun: Total War

Campaign play is divided into two portions--the strategic overview map where you manage your armies and provinces, and the tactical combat mode where battles are fought. The strategy portion isn't too deep. There aren't many buildings or unit types to build, and the diplomatic options are limited. It merely serves to provide a frame for the battle sequences, and that's where Shogun really shines.

Battles are fought on beautiful 3-D landscapes, with forests to hide in, fortifications to storm, and rolling hills to climb. Weather effects like rain and snow aren't just there for looks--they have a dramatic impact on gameplay. Wet conditions will render the match-lit guns useless and also decrease the range of archers because their bowstrings get wet. Troops get bogged down by wet gear, and high winds push arrows aside. Even the seasons affect battles, as longer or shorter days in the summer and winter determine how long you have to defeat your foe (or how long you must fend off an assault).

But weather and time are the least of your worries. Effectively managing your troops is the key to victory and also the toughest aspect of the game. There are dozens of formations to choose from and hundreds of tactical tricks to exploit. Keeping your archers, cavalry units, and various types of foot samurai all pointing the right way and effectively supporting one another is half the battle. The game interface and keyboard shortcuts make things easier, but Shogun's manual is just terrible. A simulation this fast paced and complex deserves thorough and accurate documentation, but you'll have to buy the separate strategy guide to get any worthwhile information. Fortunately, those with a little patience and an interest in the game should be able to figure things out, and they'll be rewarded with one of the most realistic and fun real-time war games available. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Realistic terrain and weather have an actual impact on gameplay
• Control thousands of troops at once using historical formations
• Strategy elements in the campaign mode complement the tactical battles and add to gameplay
• Includes footage from Kurosawa's classic Ran

• Worthless manual
• Weak tutorial missions

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!


best i've ever seen from EA or anyone else!   May 4, 2000
daniel j collins (Palo Alto CA/Stanford University)
34 out of 37 found this review helpful

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


The best stategy game ever   September 9, 2000
Keith Spiteri (Malta)
28 out of 31 found this review helpful

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.


Shogun breaks out of the AOE, C&C doldrums   December 28, 2000
Michael P. Clawson (Austin, TX)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

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.


Finaly a game that is addictive and fun   June 13, 2000
24 out of 28 found this review helpful

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.