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Summary: The future of RTS, C&C, heres a lesson....
Review: All I can say about Shogun is that this game is pure strategic excellence. People say this game is a mix between Civ2 and C&C, but in my eyes its in its own league. Its like Civ2, to a point, but thats the boring bit where you send your forces to battle and watch silly bars go down when your getting beaten or winning. In Shogun, these bars are yours. Like Civ2 the enemy moves its piece on your square and you think hey, what the **, you cant do that!! So what do you do, you wanna fight, then you've got it. This is where you take control!! Picture this.... you have a poxy army of about 500 men, and your facing a strong force of 1500 men. You think..... what chance have I got, lets retreat, but wait, you are behind a bridge over a major river and you have plenty of archers. So you settle your archers to cover the bridge with your spearmen behind but then.......... Here comes their cavalry, they have reached the bridge, but you have already set your archers to cover the bridge and as the cavalry crosses your archers are having a devastating effect. The cavalry is wavering, send forth your spearmen, but they retreat in fear........ get the picture??? For once in a RTS you are in control and the outcome is up to you. Take my advice, go and buy it, its a new experience and the future of wargames. Even Earth 2150 does not come even close to this masterpiece.
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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.
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Summary: Computer Cheats, with Bad User Interface
Review: The good thing abut this game is its impressive graphical controls and scrolling in combat mode. But this good is overwhelmed by the directly human to computer observed combat decisions on a high level, specifically when the human and computer moves combat groups into contact with each other to initiate attacks. The game attempts (tries) to go beyond a turn based alternate action (which is a plus) so that both parties attack simultaneously, but the result is that the computer waits for the human move, and then ambushes the human attack for its own optimum win. The human does not know anything about the enemy's armies in adjacent provinces, except by building special watchtowers or spies, but the computer knows exactly what the human has (no fog of war) and makes attacks against small garrisons of human defenders with armies of 140% or 150% size to make quick wins. When the human makes a full scale attack from one province to another with a large army. leaving a small garrison behind, the computer jumps past, over, or through the large human army to conquer the denuded provence, something that normally cannot happen without helicopters. And all this is in normal node, I could accept this in impossible mode. About computer strategic cheating behind their own lines where humans cannot detect it, I have no firm evidence, but when I finally win or finish off my half of the board and meet the last opponent, I am surprised and shocked to see an army of 10 to 20 times my size facing me. Not percentage, Times!! No way. I really think the various computer players are really not fighting each other, but are ganging up on the human, which violates the spirit of the game. The user interface is cumbersome and difficult to work with. It is hard to keep track of your wealth when you make improvements, or to remember that a province finishing building is idle, without checking, rechecking, and endlessly looking again. When a human attacks an enemy general with a ninja in normal mode (not easy mode) nothing happens (not failure - not success), while the computer sends many ninja attacks. There are a fair number of new product bugs, but we can ignore them until hopefully the next bug release comes out.
Rating:
Summary: The best stategy game ever
Review: Shogun is a great game. Its mix of turn-based strategy and real-time strategy is unparalleled. Do you like Civilization? Do you like C&C? So you'll adore Shogun. The two faces of Shogun: Total War although different are integrated very well with each other. First you manage your lands, construct buildings and train units on the strategy map and then, when your armies clash with the enemies', you can choose to go to a full 3D environment to fight the battle yourself in fantastic real-time. Superb, but that's not all. There are two other small (?!) things that make this game better than others. First comes the unprecedented massive scale of the battles. Thousands of man fighting and dying for their lord and for their honour. The second is the impressive A.I. Shogun: Total War boasts - one of the most challenging games ever. A true classic.
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Summary: Great game! Bad manual.
Review: Everything is great about the game, but the only way to learnhow to fight with the armies is to fight with the armies. The manual is limited in info, does not explain HOW to use the commands in any detail and in some cases is just plain wrong. On the other hand, the game is very flexible, allowing you to pick and select what kind of game you want; from picking your clan to deciding if troops will have unlimited ammo. Warning: real time battles MEANS real time battles. While you sit and think, the foe's troops are moving into position and getting ready. END
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Summary: True Test of Leadership
Review: This game captures the art of warfare better than anyother ever made. It's combination of economics and conquest along with realtime strategic play make it a truly must have game. The part that I found the most fantastic and im sure many others do are the battles. Terrain is amazing from cliffs to steep hills, bridges and gulleys. This game has truly made me appreciate the neccisity of high ground. The weather is also stunning. From clear skies to a misty morning to perhaps 10 foot visablitity. The formations look perfect. It can actully look beautiful to see the perfect formations of the enemy in the distance as they close in on you. Morale is also key in winning these bloody and brutal fights. The elements of terrain, weather, moral, the seasons, and your leadership all come together in these epic battles. These are also Sun Tzu's 5 principles of war. Master them and you will achieve victory and perhaps Shogun.
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Summary: hey
Review: how do u get the view to close up 3d, u know, when u can see their feet and eyes
Rating:
Summary: At Long Last
Review: I have been waiting for a strategy game like Shogun for years. I have purchased numerous strategy games to replace my all-time favorite, Lord of the Realms II, and they all lacked something. Shogun brings it all to you with top-quality graphics in the battle scenes. I recommend it to anyone who is a strategy-game enthusiast.
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Summary: One of the best games i've seen this year
Review: This is a really good game. The graphics are very good, it doesen't lag up during the battle parts of the game, and the strategy section of the game is great. In addition, the battle area of the game is actually realistic, not like the fight to the death things of Starcraft, but it is realistic concerning how the battlefeild works. Buy this game, because it's really worth it
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Summary: Patience is a must
Review: As a resident of Japan, student of Japanese culture, language and history as well as a devout Kurasawa fan, this was the one game I've been eagerly anticipating for almost a year. If you scroll through the many reviews presented here, you will find one complaint that everyone seems to agree on: the manual. Let me get my one complaint out of the way and agree with the other reviewers. The manual isn't very helpful. That being said, you don't need to buy the strategy guide to learn to play. It did take me a while to master the many facets of the game, but after a couple of false starts and a little patience, this became one of my all time favorite games. It even inspired me to go back and read "The Art of War," and the "Book of Five Rings" which are excellent books even if you have no interest in this game. The realism is your friend and you must learn to use the weather and terrain to your advantage or you will get nowhere. Also, be patient (an ongoing theme) and choose your battles wisely. Learn the teachings of Sun Tzu and do not raise an army twice. Do it once and get it right. The Ninja element is one I especially love. I am a student of Taijutsu which is the fighting art of the Ninja, so I have a fondness for the original "men in black." Proper use of Ninja and Geisha can be decisive. Learn how to raise their kills and take out crucial generals and Diamyo for maximum results. I managed to eleminate several factions through assassination alone. Your impulse will probably be to rush if you're used to playing games like Age of Empires and Starcraft, but you're going to have to wait and ensure you have the upper hand before attacking. This isn't the RTS you're used to, so don't be frusterated when you don't conquer the interface in a day. The music and graphics of the game are excellent and the historical elements give it a level of class that no other game can come close to. The play takes some getting used to, but as I've said, be patient and learn through trial and error. Don't be afraid to start a new game even if you've been working with the same faction for a while.
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