Total War: Shogun 2

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Mar 15, 2011
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1448 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,144 out of 1448
  2. Mixed: 216 out of 1448
  3. Negative: 88 out of 1448
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  1. Relian
    Mar 5, 2013
    10
    The best strategy game I've played since Civilization. I've probably put more hours into this game than any other, it has excellent replayability. Highly recommended for strategy fans.

    It plays similarly to other Total War games, but with some improvements like better resource management and soldier management.
  2. waterwaterwater
    Feb 27, 2013
    0
    Great game when it came out however since its release CA has actually made the game worse through patches and expansions. Fall of the samurai actually made the graphics worse even if you never purchased it. The fogging issue has never been resolved. They have really done their best to destroy the modding for the game as well. One of the patches made it so adding new units to the game makesGreat game when it came out however since its release CA has actually made the game worse through patches and expansions. Fall of the samurai actually made the graphics worse even if you never purchased it. The fogging issue has never been resolved. They have really done their best to destroy the modding for the game as well. One of the patches made it so adding new units to the game makes bows sound like firearms. Did you purchase the game on dvd because you have poor or limited internet? Maybe like me you wanted to play an earlier version of the game that is not broken? Too bad! Because they have patched the game so much the hard copies of the game (which are still in stores btw) are no longer playable and there is no way to install from the disks anymore. Think they are ever going to fix any of the problems? Why would they? They made their money all while ignoring VERY blatant problems and instead released a bunch of paid DLC's which in all honesty should have been in the game from the start. Also, why fix a game when they could be working on a new one (Rome 2) to do the exact same thing with.… Expand
  3. Xsonic
    Jan 4, 2013
    10
    Truly one of the most addicting games I've ever played, yesterday I spent 13 hours straight in a Co-Op match with a random guy, and he bought the game 2 days ago, and we had a blast! I have been playing Shogun 2 for over a year and they still keep updating the game from time to time, multiplayer connection issues are ironed away. The only drawback for this game might be the public chatTruly one of the most addicting games I've ever played, yesterday I spent 13 hours straight in a Co-Op match with a random guy, and he bought the game 2 days ago, and we had a blast! I have been playing Shogun 2 for over a year and they still keep updating the game from time to time, multiplayer connection issues are ironed away. The only drawback for this game might be the public chat rooms are quiet most of the time : / There are still many people playing it, I logged at 3 AM and decided to play a custom match 4v4, and found one right away.… Expand
  4. NocheShade
    Dec 30, 2012
    9
    It's like Rome but with Japan and co-op.I much prefer the clan choice to all other total war games and I prefer the map even if it's a little small.Still really good.
  5. FramerTerminate
    Dec 19, 2012
    8
    Being a hardened veteran of the total war series since shogun total war 1, I have seen the evolution this series from the start. I will say that shogun 2 brought some improvements to the real time fighting that I could only dream of in medieval total war. The game is beautiful and most all aspects of the game provide a satisfying challenge. If you play online you will later findBeing a hardened veteran of the total war series since shogun total war 1, I have seen the evolution this series from the start. I will say that shogun 2 brought some improvements to the real time fighting that I could only dream of in medieval total war. The game is beautiful and most all aspects of the game provide a satisfying challenge. If you play online you will later find yourself capable of taking on any enemy AI army outnumbered 5 to 1 but that makes you feel good as well. I personally find the siege battles to be less engaging than other total war titles due to the fact that in 1500 Japan a castle was actually just a giant dirt mound with some small walls built around it. Thus siege equipment is almost completely irrelevant. The tech tree is quite well done in this title which is definitly a plus. However there are two things in my opinion that make the game not so fun to play at times. One of them is the drawn out load times. When you launch the game it takes 60 -180 seconds to get past the initial load screen. Not only that but the load screens in between battles and the campaign map last 20-60 seconds. That is way too long to be left as acceptable. The 2nd problem is that although no longer prominent at the time I write this, the game was released in a state that contained a million and one things that could cause it to crash, desync, or black out on you for no apparent reason. Multiplayer in particular was prone to crashes and corruption every few turns. It took the devs about a year and a half to properly iron out of all these bugs. These may only be 2 problems that I have listed but they were so major I tear up at the memory of how many times my game would crash, force me to load for 2 minutes, and then crash again.… Expand
  6. PlayerReview
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    Not just Strategy; Out of the 10,000+ games made, I think this is the best ever. It takes everything I loved from Rome:TW, and moves it to the current generation... I am so excited for Rome 2 that I just **** my pants.
  7. MrStaggerLee69
    Nov 4, 2012
    6
    I am caught between loving this game and hating it.. it has all the elements of a great game.. graphics are amazing, battles are realistic and challenging, and the multiplayer is a breath of fresh air compared to previous total war games... however the single player campaign is frustrating and impossible to win without playing every single battle in person.. auto-resolves almost always endI am caught between loving this game and hating it.. it has all the elements of a great game.. graphics are amazing, battles are realistic and challenging, and the multiplayer is a breath of fresh air compared to previous total war games... however the single player campaign is frustrating and impossible to win without playing every single battle in person.. auto-resolves almost always end in a phyrric victory with you losing almost all of your army, even when versing an obviously inferior opponent. combine this with the realm divide, when you amass a sizeable kingdom, which in turn forces all remaining factions to declare war on you, even allies and vassal states, and all of my campaigns eventually grind to a highly annoying halt.. i have never been able to complete a campaign, nevertheless i will keep trying however stressful it may be.… Expand
  8. Jacomus
    Oct 6, 2012
    9
    It's nice that the Creative A. went back to japan again, i love that time in which the samurai ruled. There are not many changes compared to previous parts but everything is perfected. I give it a 9 because, like the first shogun, this game draws you into a piece of history, it has great fitting music and the great gameplay. Graphics are nice but I don't think that is a priority to thisIt's nice that the Creative A. went back to japan again, i love that time in which the samurai ruled. There are not many changes compared to previous parts but everything is perfected. I give it a 9 because, like the first shogun, this game draws you into a piece of history, it has great fitting music and the great gameplay. Graphics are nice but I don't think that is a priority to this genre. This game will keep me busy for a while.… Expand
  9. Voukras
    Sep 5, 2012
    6
    I've played all of the Total War games with the exception of the first medieval. I've seen people critically acclaim game after game when there is actually no improvement from Rome Total War to this day. I don't understand what merit the new Total War games can have when they only shuffle around a few features, lose some of the most important aspects of the first Total War game - ShogunI've played all of the Total War games with the exception of the first medieval. I've seen people critically acclaim game after game when there is actually no improvement from Rome Total War to this day. I don't understand what merit the new Total War games can have when they only shuffle around a few features, lose some of the most important aspects of the first Total War game - Shogun and add new annoying things that lower overall quality. In this review I am going to systematically point out the flaws that Shogun 2 has in comparison the older games in the series, so please bear with me, I'm not just here to whine and go all nostalgia about the first Shogun, there are actually important distinctions to be observed.

    Anyways, let's get into the thick of things.

    One thing that the entire total war series lost from the first Shogun game up till now is the IMPORTANCE OF TERRAIN. You occasionally see a few hills in Rome, fight 80% of the time on plains in Medieval 2 and in Shogun 2 there is a return of frequent elevation but its effect is very reduced. Hills and mountains no longer offer the gigantic advantage they offered in the first Shogun, where a single archer unit could defeat a yari ashigaru unit before they even reached the archer unit. In some cases, it could even defeat two, but only if it had elevation on its side. This is no longer so in Shogun 2, where elevation does confer some bonuses but altogether not game changing. Furthermore forests no longer offer protection from arrows which, again, reduces the importance of terrain. What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? That you lessen the importance of a strategic factor and thus reduce overall amount of strategy that you can use. Literally now the only thing that matters is countering their units a rock-paper-scissors (except some units count as both rock and paper) fashion and surrounding their army. While there is still a hefty amount of strategy involved in fights, I can't help but weep while I witness the diminishing of terrain importance while almost nobody even notices it.

    On towards the campaign map. The problem with how economy is implemented in Shogun 2 is how it forces you to move slowly and build up your economy. Why is this a bad thing? Because it's boring. Literally the only thing you do is click on a farm, market, sake den or mine to be build, then you WAIT a few turns so that you actually have the necessary income to support your army. You cannot individually tax cities so you cannot gain additional income from happy cities who will not rebel when high taxes are imposed. This is in contrast to Rome where building your economy was a much quicker deal and taxes could be set individually. The other problem that impedes rapid conquest is that almost every city you conquer will be very aggressive towards you which effectively means that you have to keep your army there and WAIT. I'm not really that impatient, but this is an unnecessary wait time imposed on the player out of a bad game design choice. What did Shogun 2 again lose in comparison to Rome? The capacity to pacify the population by slaughtering a large portion of it. This was an effective gameplay mechanism to allow players who want to go for fast conquest to be able to do it while still imposing a punishment on it. Your cities would have very reduced income after the slaughter but they would not rebel for a long while. This was an excellent trade-off that no longer exists. Another part where you have to WAAAAIT is an upcoming realm divide. At a certain point the shogun will order all existing clans to destroy you and all of them will obey even if some are at war with the shogun and actually hate him. This is simply how the thing is programmed. If you attract the ire of the shogun by expanding too early and becoming famous enough before being able to take on the entirety of Japan, you WILL die. What is the problem with this mechanic? The problem is that it forces you, again, to WAIT until you have sufficient forces and economy. So you clicking on buildings and units and pressing the next turn. I hope you can see a pattern here so that I can stop putting wait in caps lock like an **** Overall trend with the Shogun 2 campaign map is having a lot less options than you had in Rome.

    The A.I. on the campaign map is also worse than in Shogun 1, if you believe me. It's not that it's in any way dumber, it isn't. The problem is that many times the A.I. plays as if its only purpose is to be a roadblock for the player. They will often attack your faction even though they have zero chance of winning the war and zero chance of escaping your faction's wrath. But they will still do it if they can hurt you in anyway even it results in the total destruction of their clan. This ends up as a very frustrating experience for the player.    … Expand
  10. markorply
    Aug 25, 2012
    10
    I was introduced to the total war series/franchise by Rome:Total war and after I bought shogun 2 it felt like I really was the shogunete ruling japan with an iron fist.I honestly think shogun 2 is the best modern graphics and gameplay wise RTS game that players have been waiting for
  11. kane148
    Aug 1, 2012
    7
    Having played and thoroughly enjoyed the last few Total War games (Rome, Medieval, Empire), I expected to similarly love this game. Sadly, this was not the case. The game looks good: the graphics are improved and the Asian theme is well integrated into the general artwork. But it seems that this desire to create a distinctive ambiance went a little too far and subtracted from the gameplay.Having played and thoroughly enjoyed the last few Total War games (Rome, Medieval, Empire), I expected to similarly love this game. Sadly, this was not the case. The game looks good: the graphics are improved and the Asian theme is well integrated into the general artwork. But it seems that this desire to create a distinctive ambiance went a little too far and subtracted from the gameplay. For example, unit formations are now identified by an animal (crane, snake, etc.)--gone are the days of choosing between line, wedge, etc.--forcing you by trial and error to learn which does what. Would it be too hard to make it clear what the formation is? I'm trying to wage a war, not reenact Kung Fu Panda! The campaign in general was rather bland: I started on an island where I quickly overwhelmed my neighbors, then spent turn after turn building up my forces to invade a neighboring island, only to face a half dozen enemy armies full of highly experienced soldiers, ready to squash the feeble armies that I could support with my limited resources. To be fair, there were several interesting innovations in this title, such as talent trees for agents, but many others were just annoying (limited food supplies which can only be expanded through conquest) or simplistic (research is now strictly turn-dependent, with no way to really gain an advantage). I'm sure many people enjoyed this game, and maybe one day I'll try it again and like it more, but until then I'm just going to wait for Rome II.… Expand
  12. BarkSpear
    Jul 30, 2012
    8
    A very solid and enjoyable game. Admittedly, the unit variety isn't awe inspiring. Neither is the replay ability, as every clan is almost identical. Also, loading times are HUUUUUUGGEEEE and the ai is a bit shoddy. It's really incredibly annoying when your guys refuse to turn and fight or fire until they're all in nicely arranged lines......then they're ridden down by cavalry while they'reA very solid and enjoyable game. Admittedly, the unit variety isn't awe inspiring. Neither is the replay ability, as every clan is almost identical. Also, loading times are HUUUUUUGGEEEE and the ai is a bit shoddy. It's really incredibly annoying when your guys refuse to turn and fight or fire until they're all in nicely arranged lines......then they're ridden down by cavalry while they're faffing around. In spite of those problems however, this really is a first rate game. The battles are very fun, particularly with the blood dlc, and can be pretty brutal. The gameplay improvements are good, with the exception of navies which are still a bit rubbish. Campaign map gameplay is challenging and tactical and definately fun. Overall, a good game worth buying, though definately not the best Total war. Or the second best. Buy it, but make sure to pick up Fall of the Samurai because that's excellent. Avoid rise of the samurai, that's just pointless… Expand
  13. dumle
    Jul 26, 2012
    6
    If you are new to the Total war franchise you will surely have a good time with Shogun 2 total war. If not you will probably find the game quite sub-par. They havent bothered to fix the problems that were in the previous games and they even added some more. The AI is awful and diplomacy seldom makes any sense. In battle the enemy behaves moronically on hard difficulty not to mention theIf you are new to the Total war franchise you will surely have a good time with Shogun 2 total war. If not you will probably find the game quite sub-par. They havent bothered to fix the problems that were in the previous games and they even added some more. The AI is awful and diplomacy seldom makes any sense. In battle the enemy behaves moronically on hard difficulty not to mention the siege battles that is plain broken. The building cap in your cities makes building a chore not to mention taking away the interactivity from you the player. The unit variation is also quite slim making most battles feel the same no matter who you are fighting against. Furthermore you will find yourself fighting over and over again at the same battlemap. Shogun 2 Total war is still a decent game but the gameplay is just too much alike the previous games to ignore that shogun 2 seems like a downgrade. The research three, the ability to exchange hostages and arrange marriages, the honousystem and the visuals is a welcome change but sadly the core of the game is lacking.… Expand
  14. Cloppers
    Jul 17, 2012
    4
    You can expect high critic scores when there's nothing technically wrong with the game. The biggest problem Shogun 2 has is the replay value. Sure, most games get old after a while... but TWS2 got old way too fast. Combine that with confusing tutorial that drags on and on without fully explaining the point and bad multiplayer with a terrible community.
  15. addie_ho
    Jun 16, 2012
    10
    In subjective way, I am very interested in samurai and japan history. Regardless of my interests, this game is awesome. What I see is not only about game, it's also about history. Moreover, it makes you feel like you are really running a country or a military clan.
  16. drissht
    Jun 12, 2012
    10
    The game is extremely good on the campaign and could easily become glued to it for hours. The graphics aren't the best I have seen but then again I am playing on a 42" TV, may I add HD for that matter :P

    The only downfall to Shogun 2 is that the online is extremely poor!! The characters are not evenly matched. I had my general with no casualties taken out by Yari Ki, even though the Yari    The game is extremely good on the campaign and could easily become glued to it for hours. The graphics aren't the best I have seen but then again I am playing on a 42" TV, may I add HD for that matter :P

    The only downfall to Shogun 2 is that the online is extremely poor!! The characters are not evenly matched. I had my general with no casualties taken out by Yari Ki, even though the Yari Ki have sustained casualties before battle, I find this extremely stupid as this is like top notch spear men getting wiped out by peasants!! If you want good online play stick to Napoleon Total war (I haven't played Shogun 1), but for a kick ass campaign stick with Shogun 2.

    Another thing I didn't like about Shogun 2 is that melee infantry are pretty useless online (I have won with melee but was extremely hard), it's all about the line infantry just like Napoleon.

    My verdict get Shogun 2 for campaign and Napoleon for online.    … Expand
  17. BeatHour
    Jun 11, 2012
    9
    Brilliant atmosphere, immersing you in Japanese culture. Great and varied gameplay, lots of units, upgrades, and government management.

    The online play, though, can be dodgy: with people farming their avatar level by rigging siege matches (for example, they will take nothing but gunmen on a multi-tiered castle and take infantry moral reducing abilities).
  18. jeffro45
    Jun 10, 2012
    8
    brilliant game,keeps you hooked for hours,tick drop in on campaign for other players to drop in as opposition in your battles, waiting for new pc before going live so i can play at max settings do not want to upset pros with slow computer loading & connection once i have im sure my score will go closer to 10
  19. jteplitz
    May 30, 2012
    9
    Excellent game. The blend of turn based and real time strategy is incredibly addictive. The battles are extremely fun, and the AI is well thought out. Multiplayer is fun too, but really just for playing with friends because the balancing in online match play doesn't really work.

    Would be worthy of a 10, but it's got a few annoying bugs.
  20. Tick
    May 29, 2012
    4
    This game is single-player only. I loved shogun Total war, Medievil total war etc. when, and so I bought this sequal. It was pretty much the same game with some minor tweaks. capturing the European ship = complete sea control. Combat is the same. Graphics are a tad better. You can use questionable strategies, but vs the computer AI you win 100% of the time. Even when greatly outnumbered. IThis game is single-player only. I loved shogun Total war, Medievil total war etc. when, and so I bought this sequal. It was pretty much the same game with some minor tweaks. capturing the European ship = complete sea control. Combat is the same. Graphics are a tad better. You can use questionable strategies, but vs the computer AI you win 100% of the time. Even when greatly outnumbered. I could fight off an army of thousands of enemies with mearly 4-5 groups of units inside a basic fortification. I also found it odd that any upgrade to your fort beyond the 3rd upgrade made it harder to defend... So I never bothered to upgrade past a certain point. What a waste! Multi-player is botched, and the company does not listen to customer feed-back and churns out DLC until it's not longer profitable once they've alienated enough of their customers. I bought a DLC, I never received it though an error,and the customer support was LACKING! They agreed I bought it, but the content was not in my game once installed through some glitch. they basically said.. too bad. Not our problem. I will not be purchasing anything from this company ever again.… Expand
  21. Hibryd
    May 28, 2012
    4
    5000 word limit, so I'll just knock this game straight in the face even though I'd like to get into the nuance of things.

    I'll start with the good, which I will admit, justifies buying and playing the game for a couple of weeks. 1)The battles are very entertaining to watch in replay mode. 2)The loading screens are actually very enjoyable and contain an encyclopedic library of cool    5000 word limit, so I'll just knock this game straight in the face even though I'd like to get into the nuance of things.

    I'll start with the good, which I will admit, justifies buying and playing the game for a couple of weeks.

    1)The battles are very entertaining to watch in replay mode.

    2)The loading screens are actually very enjoyable and contain an encyclopedic library of cool quotes and poetry.

    3)The interface is well-thought out and easy on the eyes.

    4)The music is fantastic, I suggest checking it out even if you don't buy the game.

    The offline mode only really has one flaw I can see, but its huge. Huge enough to single-handedly flatten the offline game.

    1) AUTORESOLVE THE BATTLE. BAM. GAME OVER.

    You know all those months we spent coding this cool flocking engine? You know those awesome siege battles you wanted to play? Why bother? We've created this button to let you skip past them! Push this button, get your special hat. The princess isn't in another castle, she's in this one, and we've created a warp pipe straight to her at the beginning of 1-1 so you don't have to wind yourself out getting to her.

    But multiplayer mode, which is nothing but tactical battles, must be good, right? Nope. Multiplayer is the coup de grace.

    1)The Morale system does wacky things much more often than it should, mostly when Calvary or ashigaru units are involved.

    2)The vet system is horribly, horribly broken. The extra stats you gain via it actually punishes you for slowly working up units in rank, because the extra stats they gain never....I repeat.....NEVER justify the extra money they require to deploy. 3)Calvary can be spammed in a variety of ways to give players an unfair advantage. The most obviously broken one is when you make them turn sharply, any units en route to attack them simply disengage and stand in place.

    4)Naval battles are loooooooong for no good reason. The first 3 or 4 minutes of every.....single....match....is routinely spent just running your ships into the center of the map.

    5)My personal favorite: if you lose connection to the game, you and your opponent both get full points for the match. It's actually more efficient to join games and keep disconnecting than it is to play out the entire thing.

    I really want to like this game, I truly do. I've spent weeks and weeks trying to like it, clearing my mind, letting its finer points filter into my being. But the more I play multiplayer, the more I lose admiration for even the good things going for this game, because I began to wonder how anyone could make a game with such great assets but still have the scope of bugs and unevenness the multiplayer had. I thought surely I must not be understanding something, the game is just too subtle and I'm missing some major aspect of the gameplay.

    But then I understood the pettiness of the problems that were left in. And then I realized, "Oh I see, they're just pulling it out of their ass" after hundreds of hours of gameplay, and I uninstalled it for the last time.

    Shogun 2 is very much like being shown a grand, 5 bedroom 3 bath house with an island in the kitchen on an acre of manicured, terraced property, but when you try to turn on the water you realize the faucet doesn't connect to a pipe...and in fact the whole house doesn't have any plumbing. It's so incongruous with just basic everyday horse-sense that you sort of wince and think to yourself, "Maybe the house gets water in some unconventional beyond my peasant's understanding of the physical world." Unfortunately, its simply that the house, despite being modern and beautiful, has no plumbing. The emperor has no clothes. The game is a wreck.    … Expand
  22. RDonnell
    May 26, 2012
    4
    One of the best games ruined by lobby dropping and debug camera cheating.Most people are not aware the developers known about 1% of users using a secret camera to get an advantage online and people dropping from game lobbies by pulling out the network cable to strand users in an emtpy lobby requiring a retstart and a huge load screen wait time.This can happen and can make getting games aOne of the best games ruined by lobby dropping and debug camera cheating.Most people are not aware the developers known about 1% of users using a secret camera to get an advantage online and people dropping from game lobbies by pulling out the network cable to strand users in an emtpy lobby requiring a retstart and a huge load screen wait time.This can happen and can make getting games a 15 minute process.There is also a huge change recently to the graphics engine due to the Fall of the samurai game changing graphics and breaking features such as gloss,HDR,DOF and draw distance alonside leaving many missing textures graphical bugs.So far 2 months on the only thing they fixed was the blood pack dlc which the patch also broke.There is no sign of the game being restored to how it used to look and how it looked when reviews were based on that content which sadly users no longer have access too.Simply awful work and a great RTS or probably the best RTS there ever was is now ruined by amatuer patch system and bad beta testers.… Expand
  23. TIZ
    May 18, 2012
    10
    Amazing game overall. Graphics best to date DX10 or 11, Gameplay slow but that's the fun of it, Story elements are like most strategy games good and satisfying when completing. Lots of new and extra features, amazing 3D rotatable map, actual night time fighting and amazing fight animations. This game deserves nothing less than a 10/10
  24. MalcomGTX
    May 17, 2012
    6
    Serious technical flaws mar this otherwise fun game. I really enjoy the complexity and flavor of the Civilization-esque over-map, though the battle map could use much more work. While it is impressive to see so many units on the field, the combat is dull an uninteresting with little tactical significance.

    The game is buggy, and can have issues loading. I haven't ever experience a crash in    Serious technical flaws mar this otherwise fun game. I really enjoy the complexity and flavor of the Civilization-esque over-map, though the battle map could use much more work. While it is impressive to see so many units on the field, the combat is dull an uninteresting with little tactical significance.

    The game is buggy, and can have issues loading. I haven't ever experience a crash in game, but loading the game up I have many times.

    Overall I am happy I bought the game while on sale, but would not pay full price due to the technical issues.    … Expand
  25. Jimbobbrown
    May 13, 2012
    2
    Well that was disappointing. How has the series moved on since Rome and Medieval total war? Not a lot really, same game different lick of paint. Adds nothing new what so ever. I have to say something about the engine too, there has been no improvement as far as I can see, It runs like a dog. If they released the same game but optimized it so that you could actually have the epic battlesWell that was disappointing. How has the series moved on since Rome and Medieval total war? Not a lot really, same game different lick of paint. Adds nothing new what so ever. I have to say something about the engine too, there has been no improvement as far as I can see, It runs like a dog. If they released the same game but optimized it so that you could actually have the epic battles that would be forgivable. Multi-player just turns into a slide show. Got this on a steam sale and really wish I hadn't. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Rome or Medieval 2 cheap, they beat the heck out of this re-skin.… Expand
  26. RangerGxi
    May 10, 2012
    9
    This game is the best Total war game to date. This Total war game does not have the best campaign to date but I can't explain why. The map has stunning visuals and a large variety of factions, maybe Im not as interested in Japan's history as I am in Napoleonic history. The actual battles are the what make the game. Shogun 2 has removed all of the problems of all the other total war games.This game is the best Total war game to date. This Total war game does not have the best campaign to date but I can't explain why. The map has stunning visuals and a large variety of factions, maybe Im not as interested in Japan's history as I am in Napoleonic history. The actual battles are the what make the game. Shogun 2 has removed all of the problems of all the other total war games. The game rewards attacking over defending(Crippling noob campers in multiplayer) by adding Keypoints in the centre of the map which give bonuses to the player that captures them. If a player captures all of the keypoints a counter begins which stops campers completely. This encourages players to rush for the centre, pretty much throwing all idea's of corner camping into the garbage. The sieges are just epic. Seiges have been limited to 20 minutes and attackers have been given more money to spend allowing the defenders to attack quickly instead of bombarding castles for an hour. Graphics are 5/5, Campaign 2.5/5 and gameplay is 4.5/5.

    Also get Fall of the Samurai.    … Expand
  27. Sparhawk42
    Apr 29, 2012
    6
    In all my multiple games the AI never lived up to the challenge of the old total war games.
    Battles do not need much planning. It is just holding your position. I have never encountered any surprise attacks by the AI.
  28. Tridus
    Apr 8, 2012
    8
    Fun game. The tactical side of it is great. I tend to autoresolve a lot, but there's also RTS stuff for those who like it. Multiplayer is really fun when it works (I play in co-op games), but I had a problem with turns getting stuck and had to get my friend to send me his autosave file before we could continue. Worked fine after that. This far after release that kind of quality issueFun game. The tactical side of it is great. I tend to autoresolve a lot, but there's also RTS stuff for those who like it. Multiplayer is really fun when it works (I play in co-op games), but I had a problem with turns getting stuck and had to get my friend to send me his autosave file before we could continue. Worked fine after that. This far after release that kind of quality issue really isn't acceptable, and I'm docking points for it.… Expand
  29. FanthCcP
    Mar 18, 2012
    10
    Total War series game is the best of the best strategy game in human history,not one of ! I love Total War more than anything!Been playing since release, what can i say...i havnt slept...its pretty awesome, best total was since medieval 2! Looks amazing even tho theres no dx11 untill they patch it, then it'll be a 11/10!
  30. Insomnium0212
    Mar 13, 2012
    10
    The best total war game as of yet. The Japanese settings sucks you right in. Unlike empire total war the game offers a more rounded set of units. There are less units but the game is better for it. Shogun also brings something new to the table in the form of an online avatar which you can customize and level up. Once you level up you can select different retainers and skills which haveThe best total war game as of yet. The Japanese settings sucks you right in. Unlike empire total war the game offers a more rounded set of units. There are less units but the game is better for it. Shogun also brings something new to the table in the form of an online avatar which you can customize and level up. Once you level up you can select different retainers and skills which have effects in the online battles you play. All in all:

    Sound: 10
    Gameplay: 10
    Graphics: 10 (You do need a beast of a PC to appreciate the full scope though)    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PC Game of 2011
21
#21 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
10
#10 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 62 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 62
  3. Negative: 0 out of 62
  1. Game Over Online
    Jul 14, 2011
    89
    There is a je ne sais quoi elegance on how the game is presented and how well put together the game as an entire corpus is. Although it's still mired by some version 1.0 bugs, Shogun is highly playable and deserves a place on any Total War fan's hard drive.
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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    May 22, 2011
    90
    Beautiful, complex and varied historical strategy which offers hours of fun in single player and multiplayer modes. [Issue#203]
  3. Computer Games Online RO
    May 1, 2011
    93
    The mix of turn based strategy (with economical, political and diplomatic ramifications) and real time battles is still wonderful, but the need to balance timing and aggression is more important than ever. Aggressive players will feel a little cheated, while diplomats will hate Realm Divide stage. Still, Total War was always about realism and the AI's scripted actions make logical and historical sense.
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