Shogun: Total War

The Good
I remember the days of KOEI games and highs of PTO and the lows of Operation Europe. KOEI also make several horrible asian games that would try your patience. So when I first saw this title in stores I overlooked it. When I saw it in the used game section with a hint book for 15$ I gave it a chance. (only because there was nothing else to choose from) When I got home and first saw the intro I was totaly hooked. Just the campain alone was enough for me but then I tried to command the soldiers directly. WOW!! I loved the background and the easy controls. I took me a while but when I became the undesputed shogun WOW!! again. The ending movie was great. Now time to take my armies ON-LINE.

The Bad
Overall the problems of this game in no way detract from the game. They are only just possible ways the game could have been even better.
1.better use of diplomacy 2.more options on throne room 3.A way to elimate poor talent generals

The Bottom Line
This is a great stratigy game. If you loved the age of empires series then give this a try.

The Good
"Shogun: Total War" is a beautiful game. Visually, it's a feast for the eyes from the menu screens to the blood-soaked fields of battle. The Japaneseness of the game is pretty and immersive. The battles themselves are a feast for the eyes - soldiers march, fight, and die on remarkably well-rendered battlefields. Arrows fly through the air and horses balk in fear. The voice acting is excellent.

The tactical battles are simply outstanding; you can play them for hours. They're substantially better than the tactical battles in any other historical game of this type. The game is much helped by a pretty decent set of tutorial missions.

The Bad
Despite the fine tactical simulator, the game is very shallow. Strategic play is boring and largely devoid of depth; to be honest, a linear set of battles to play wouldn't have been any worse. That's unfortunate, because with a really good strategic system like "Europa Universalis" or the old Koei games, "Shogun" might have been a true masterpeice.

The Bottom Line
Pretty good, but not much long-term interest.

The Good
It captures the feel of the board game "Shogun" by Hasbro (currently renamed Samurai Swords) very well. The visuals are stunning and the mood is decent. I loved the look of the strategic map, which looked like a rice paper map of Japan with the provinces outlined and army markers deployed.

The Bad
After playing three games, I've come to the conclusion that you always start the campaign mode with exactly the same setup. This just KILLS! replay value. It's virtually the same game every time. If they put out a patch to fix this it will truly be a great game. I haven't tried multiplayer yet, but it looked like from reading the manual that there is no strategic game, just one tactical battle, but i could be wrong.

The Bottom Line
If you played the similiar board-game by Hasbro and enjoyed it this game is worth picking up. It's only $20 bucks now too.