Shogun: Total War

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS THE BEST AVAILIABLE
Review: This is the best game I have ever played. I have never seen a better mixture of graphics and gameplay in my many years of gaming. The storyline and truth to history is so wll thoughtout you will think you are actually there. The physics of the game allow you to have several hundred units on the feild at any given time and it doesn't even tax your system. I would recomend this game to novice gamers or experianced RTS players. This game is the best I have ever seen. The interface is so simple to use that you will be kicking some butt as soon as you start playing. I could not and would not recomend anyother game higher than Shogun: Total War

Rating:
Summary: First Review
Review: I played the demo for this game and I just have to say that this game rocks. It has awsome graphics and gameplay. A great game!

Rating:
Summary: The best stategy game ever
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Shogun breaks out of the AOE, C&C doldrums
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Shogun:total war
Review: A game that thrusts the player into medieval japan. He is forced to master the art of war to survive. I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys tactics in games. One more thing, the realism is sensational!