Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition

1. ArekusuS.

   Jul 24, 2004

   10

   Wow. This game r0x. The onbly problem = Bad multiplayer settings. I can't seem to get it to work.... oh well, this still is one of the Wow. This game r0x. The onbly problem = Bad multiplayer settings. I can't seem to get it to work.... oh well, this still is one of the best made games I have ever played! :D -----------------------Teh Kekkers has made teh vote.… Expand

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2. BobJ.

   Sep 18, 2002

   10

   It's amazing.

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4. BerndR.

   Sep 30, 2002

   10

   Perfect?!

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5. thequillguy

   Apr 12, 2011

   9

   Shogun Total War is one of those games that allows you dream of how to gloriously command thousands (or, at least, dozens) of screamingShogun Total War is one of those games that allows you dream of how to gloriously command thousands (or, at least, dozens) of screaming samurai. By allowing devious flanking tactics, or encouraging heroic frontal assaults, STW was the first game to depict the frantic action of real time strategy with mainstream success.
   
   Which, when you consider that the game was originally intended as a 2D strategy game, makes this game a definitive milestone of the RTS genre. The strength of game is its simplified unit interaction: like paper (spears), scissors (cavalry) and stone (archers) ever unit beats and counters an other unit. Unlike the expansive RTS units of SupComm or SCII, mastery of unit types should be expected in hours rather than weeks. There's no seeking for the 'overbalanced' unit combination or the perfect build-order in this game; only blood and thunder battlefield fighting.
   
   Ten years after first release, the gameplay still holds up surprisingly well. The kill rate of units is low (perhaps too low!) but this places a greater emphasis on the paper-scissor-stone principles by which the game runs. Add into this the significant effect of hills (archers will beat infantry with a height advantage in melee) and flanking (even now tying an enemy head-on with infantry and flanking with cavalry is the RTS staple tactic) and you have warfare that is satisfyingly expansive. By expansive I mean there is a real feeling that a smaller army can defeat much larger numbers with superior tactics. Such victories exploit the game's excellent morale model. You don't need to kill every soldier to win a battle. Even now I can remember battles a decade imprinted on my memory - the enemy ushered through a valley to attack my weakened archers; the hidden charge from woods; and the routing of one flank that rolls down the rest of the enemy until a fresh force flees from my emergent (and no doubt grinning) general. The campaign mode itself was pleasingly simplified. I always played as Shimazu (the green ones) not least because they were tucked away in the corner. As always in such strategy games, no-one has yet devised a way to counteract strategic AI. In the end game, I always faced off the Hojo clan who had horded dozens of armies into a few spaces. While something that I accepted at the time, these days such a gameplay facet would (rightly) demand a patch, or simply recognise that the campaign is won when 50% of map is yours.
   
   The expansion pack (part of this game) goes some way to addressing these problems but it still lets slip with the overpowered brutality of the mongol heavy cavalry. Having spent 100s of battles watching body counters drop a man at a time, the shock at seeing multiple people die at once is enough to make the mongol expansion feel like the challenge of countering a truly warmonging race with what are essentially a civilised people. So should you own and play this game because it defined a genre? The graphics are, admittedly, pixilated with a 680 resolution. The campaign can drag on. Heavy cavalry aren't my first choice when I have infinite money. And the bridge battles are immensely arduous tests of attrition.
   
   But the immersion is still there. The sound is evocative of the Sengoku period and the battlefield principles are still refreshingly straightforward and effective. If you win a battlefield, you really feel a sense of control. Even more so than a ctrl + A then right click on their general. I've owned three copies of this game - you should grace your collection with one.… Expand

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6. aaron_

   Sep 9, 2017

   9

   In spite of the fact this "new trailer" doesn't hold a candle to inspiring any kind of mood deserved of this classic and revolutionaryIn spite of the fact this "new trailer" doesn't hold a candle to inspiring any kind of mood deserved of this classic and revolutionary computer strategy wargame -- in great contrast to the original dreamtime interactive intro movie which featured a clip from the very fitting, critically acclaimed 1985 Akira Kurosawa film "RAN" overlaid with music by BAFTA award winning game industry instrumentalist Jeff van Dyck, this title will always maintain a prominent place on my shelf.… Expand

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7. Deadfirefly

   Nov 30, 2011

   9

   Near perfect! One of the best strategy games available!
   Graphics are still good for a game of its time.
   Captures the intense strategicNear perfect! One of the best strategy games available!
   Graphics are still good for a game of its time.
   Captures the intense strategic decisions on the battlefield in feudal japan very well.… Expand

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8. ErikS.

   Aug 1, 2002

   8

   Really good, sh..loads of fun.

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