Lords of the Rising Sun

Lords Of The Rising Sun ranks as Cinemaware’s finest interactive movie yet. It has a superb combination of disparate yet mutually complementary elements that combine to make one of the most comprehensive pieces of entertainment software yet released. Sayonara!

In its day, Defender of the Crown was reckoned to be one of the finest strategy games ever, but Lords of the Rising Sun could be viewed as the next logical step considering the progressions made with the ST and Amiga on the games scene over the intervening years. The challenge, as ever in this type of game, is not one likely to appeal to anyone unprepared to play for a long time. It is very much of a strategy game so the action moves sufficiently slowly to give you time to think. In moments of tension this can often prove to be too slow despite a speed-up option, although a save to disk feature is available. The game spans a wider battlefield than Defender ever did, and as such the gameplay is far deeper and potentially more appealing for the avid strategist. With the long shelf-life of this kind of game it is certain to become the same classic which Defender proudly claimed.

Comprehensive accompanying manuals, save/load options, suitable music, excellent all-round graphics and a high degree of polish throughout. Unavoidable disk access rears its head. A two-pronged challenge is offered from both the fairly difficult arcade sequences and the slow-moving but strong overall strategy game. The elements of Japanese honour and the bloodshed of the ancient Orient are skilfully brought together and wrapped up as one very faithful package. A very good successor to Defender of the Crown in all respects but serving best as an introductory program to the often very complex world of strategy.