Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic presentation -- mediocre game
Review: I agree with all the complaints below -- weak erroneous manual, horrific camera control, chaotic and brain-dead troop AI, pointlessness of diplomacy (in single-player game) but I had to give the game 4 stars for its presentation and overall feel. I've been waiting about two years for this to come out, and it's basically an update of the old 8-bit Nintendo games Shingen the Ruler and Nobunaga's Ambition. But from a historical perspective, these guys REALLY put some polish on the game. In-game graphics are so-so, but the cutscenes and included "Way of the Daimyo" website are great. I'm also looking forward to messing with the battle editor. Bottom line, it's frustrating at times, but fun and IMMERSIVE. Hopefully it will sell well enough to inspire some more games in this setting!
Rating:
Summary: Shogun is very decent, but not great.
Review: I played the demo for Shogun when it came out, and I couldn't wait to play the entire game. I ordered it the day it came out and when I started the game I thought it would be everything I'd hoped for. It wasn't.First of all the manual was terrible. You have to more or less guess your way through the game. Half the stuff they write in the manual isn't even true. Secondly, the strategic part of the game is way too much like risk. Sure, you can send Ninja and Emissaries around, but mostly it's just moving armies from one province to the next. It seemed to me like the Strategic part of the game was just tacked on to the tactical part of the game. A lot of the things you do will make no difference in the game. For instance, you make treaties all you want, but the computer still attacks you constantly. As far as I can tell, there is absolutely no penalty for breaking treaties. There are times when I'm playing that I sign a ceasefire and the very next season the computer attacked me again. This happened for years: I'd sign a cease-fire and they'd attack again. This would be fine if duplicity was punished by detoriation of relations with the other Daiymos, but it's not. Conversely being a good ally confers no benifits. I played a game where I had been allied with another Daiymo for ten years and the second I had to pull some troops away from our mutual border, he attacked me! And then when I sent an emmisary to patch up our relations he cut his head off! I should have been suprised that my long time ally betrayed me like this, but in fact I expected it. The computer seems to react in a totally ruthless fashion at all times, making mantaining relations with the other Daiymos a waste of time. Also, you can't send money or soldiers to help your allies, make plans together against a mutual enemy or demand tribute. So basically, there is no real diplomacy in the game. The strategy consists of building and moving armies and improving your territory. This is quite well done, in my opinion, but I would have liked to see more in depth relations between the Daiymos. The tactical part of the game is great! My only problem with it is the fact that my soldiers often move around for now reason whatsoever. I spend a long time setting up my troops and when I start the battle they just go where ever they want. This is incredably frustrating! There may be a reason for this, but I couldn't find it (suprise) in the manual. Other than this, however, the battles are great. In general it is a good game. It's easy enough to learn that the lack of a decent manual doesn't hurt it too much, and despite the distinctly average strategic game, the tactical game makes it worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Great Game
Review: Shogun is a nice game with great scenary, but it's camera movement is terrible (you can make it move or look). I always find myself looking at the units at eye level. The unit controls are good, complete with formations and marching speed. Overall this is a great game, but the camera controls can make and break a game, and I feel that it really hurt this one.
Rating: 
Summary: This is the game to get!
Review: An excellent combination of rts with a pretty fun turn-based game as well. The graphics will not dissappoint you. This is what I want to see them do with Age of Kings. It is more involved than point and destroy. Believe it or not, there is real strategy involved here!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Shogun is an amazingly addictive and fun game to play. Although there isn't a whole lot of backstory in the manual, on the CD are pages of Japanese background in HTML format. The unusual controls may seem weird at first, but in no time you'll be used to the turn based strategic map. Think Star Wars Rebellion except about 50 times better. You can send people on missions, send troops into provinces to take over, send out spies, ninja, and emmisaries, and whenever anything cool happens, there is an extremely high quality cool video waiting there to illustrate it for you. You can make and break treaties, fight wars with enemies on three different fronts while dealing with uprisings on recently conquered land and dealing with dutch traders at the same time. While on easy mode this game is easy, on harder modes it gets darn near impossible. But it's also appreciable, because it's fair. You watch the computers tactics, and realize that while it's a tough system with good AI, it doesn't cheat, and it is possible to beat. And believe me, this is one of those games where you really get a feeling of satisfaction once you've beaten it. But it's on the battlefield that this game really shines. You have thousands of troops. All of them are influenced by their skill and that of the general, by weather conditions, fatigue, morale, whether they're defending or attacking. Choke points like bridges literally make it possible to hold off 300 enemies with 30 archers and 50 samurai. But when the archers run out of arrows, you're screwed. The graphics are great, and you can try all kinds of tactics like flanking the enemy, or rushing down a hill at them, or all those cool things you've wanted to try since seeing Gettysburg or Braveheart. And it works. This game is addictive, fun, informative, and slick. I definitely very highly recommend this game to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Great Look , Very tough AI...
Review: Great looking game, if you like battle management games this is for you. It is a good combo of turn-base and real-time game play, with a real short technology tree, and simple resource management... If your looking for a game that can not be beaten in the first five days you have it, then this is it. A REALLY strong AI engine in this game just on normal level, and the coders didn't just beef it up with high tech and more man... the damn thing is smart. Note: If you don't have good graphics card, and big CPU (350 and up)... don't even think about this game...
Rating: 
Summary: tech problems
Review: I have a pentium 2 400mhz with a riva tnt2 vidio card. I cant get the game to work. Neither can my friends who have twice the computer I have. The demo was great, but this game is a heartbreaking letdown.
Rating:
Summary: Saw it, Bought it, Loved it !
Review: 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"
Rating:
Summary: Fun and Realistic!
Review: I really enjoy this game a lot. I got it today and I have been playing it non stop. Why give it 4 stars instead of 5 then? Well, the game is pretty confusing and it is very hard to keep your men doing what you ordered them to do. For instance my army of 120 archers somehow got up and walked into the enemies musket shooter men. I was wiped out and lost. Don't let this get you down. It really is a fun, realistic, and challenging game. It's well worth [the money].
Rating:
Summary: Feudal Japan is the perfect strategic arena
Review: 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!
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