Shogun: Total War

DEVELOPER : The Creative Assembly
PUBLISHER : EA

 

System Requirements Pentium 233, 32MB RAM, 600 MB HD space

Recommended Pentium II 350MHz+, 64+ MB RAM,  1.4 GB HD space

Ratings
Code Issues Graphics: 9 - mainly the tactical engine, massive battles in free-roaming 3d, great textures Audio: 10 - great background scoring, dynamic music, intense battle sounds and good voice acting Interface: 8 - intuitive, stays out of the player's way.	Play Issues Solo gameplay: 8 - weak strategic engine doesn't detract too much from a fantastic realtime 3D battle engine. Just the tactical part would rate a 9. Replayability: 10 - Seven different clans with varied starting positions, historical battles and custom battle generator; this is going to sit on my drive for the forseeable future. Multiplayer Gameplay: 8 - As usual, beating up a human is far, far more fun; with a 56k connection lag is a problem with more than 1v1 battles Learning Curve: 8 - it's not more than a few minutes before a totally new player is moving troops around the tactical battle like a pro; of course, using them properly is a little more work...
Other/Notes Documentation: 5 - atrocious manual saved only by on-cd documentation which is really quite good. Without the cd part this would have been a 2. The CD part alone (for what it attempts) would be an 8. Pros: the tactical engine, no question. It has set a new standard. Cons: the strategic engine, no question. It looks nice, but lacks features and really suffers as a 'half-effort' when compared with the tactical portion. Overall: 8.9

It's a classic and easily-recognized hallmark of classical Japanese art; a serene minimalism where a simple curved line represents a mountain, a watercolor brushstroke represents the furious anger of a samurai in battle. Actors and actions are distilled to their very essence and presented without overt detail to the viewer, who is then inclined to contemplate the substance of the work rather than being distracted by the form. Shogun resonates with this esthetic. Set in Japan's turbulent 15th-17th centuries during the chaotic culmination of Minamoto and Taira dynastic wars, Shogun places the player in the role of Daimyo (Clan Lord) of one of the seven major houses of Sengoku Japan - Hojo, Mori, etc. Through the efforts of armies, diplomacy, and not a few assassins, the player struggles to conquer all of Japan and name himself seiitaishogun, or more commonly, Shogun. 

The top level of the game is a rather basic strategic engine wih some nice features. The player is given a map of Japan divided into historical provinces. Counters - not modern cardboard counters, rather chesspiece-style counters reminiscent of something a Shogun would actually be pushing around as he contemplates his next conquest - represent armies and structures of which the player is aware. There are four seasons (turns) at this level of play, and the player makes his moves while the computer or human opponents plan theirs, and all strategic movements and actions are resolved simultaneously when the player presses the "end turn" button. Essentially, the goal is to move troops into enemy-held provinces, eliminate or drive off any enemy resistance, and prepare to take the next one. 

Of course it's never quite this simple. First, the player is limited by an economic structure recognizable to most players of strategy games. Each province has an income, and this income is used to build either structures or units. There are a fair variety of structures, linked in a tree to that one cannot build a "Temple Complex" until one has already built a Citadel AND a Famous Buddhist Temple (which each have their own requirements). Unit construction is entirely dependent on these structures, the most basic level being that no troops can be raised in a province until a castle (even a crummy one) has been built. Similarly, the player cannot build Samurai Archers until they have an Archery Dojo in that province as well. "Guns and Butter" decisions also force themselves on the player - is it too risky to commit 1500 Koku (money) for a port in a few seasons, or is it a worthwhile investment considering the +200 Koku economic boost a port will provide? Should I invest in improved farmland (+20% Koku) for a province, or would a unit of Cavalry Archers prove far more utility against near-term threats?

Army units that are built are also moved around on this map, a single province per turn. The management of armies at this level is really General-based, reminiscent of the old AH game Samurai. Generals lead each body of troops that is created, initially being no-value functionaries but with experience becoming more and valuable both in terms of auto-resolving combats (more on that later) and in the honor they bring to the troops serving them. Units can be combined into armies of multiple units to maximize the value of these skilled Warlords. Units themselves individually only decrease; if you build a 120-man group of No-Dachi Swordsmen (basically 2-handed assault troops) and they get knocked down to 14 men in a battle, that's the most they'll ever be. After a campaign it's very common to see many tiny remnant units left in ragtag armies. While I understand the point that the troops of Japan's Sengoku period were historically loyal to their own low-level charismatic leaders (and therefore not likely to shuffle troops around to fill different commands, as was common in the European paradigm), at some point it's a gameplay issue. Many tiny units are of far less value than one large one; equally, they become unwieldy and hard to control in the tactical battles. At some point, in real life, the Warlord would either disband the troops (which is also not available) or recruit more for the unit. In my mind this is probably one of the only serious gameplay complaints against the game, and it's not THAT critical - more a convenience issue than anything.

As mentioned before, the resolution of issued movement orders takes place at the end of the turn simultaneously. This must be kept in mind, as it presents a couple of difficulties. First, of course is the classic "we move to each others' places" event, which is a pain in the ass. Typically, bringing an enemy unit to bay will therefore take the coordinated efforts of a pincer of multiple arms to prevent the enemy from slipping into some accidentally-left-empty adjacent province. Secondly, it's been noted on USENET that - especially at higher difficulty levels - the computer seems to resolve its strategic movements after the players' turn. I haven't noticed a difference in the difficulty levels (since for me it seemed to happen frequently at ALL levels) but I have very frequently noted the computer 'coincidentally' reinforcing the province I attack from the one that I could have but didn't. That bears clarification: with two potential targets for my major force, I notice that once I've committed to attacking one, the computer seems to be inordinately lucky in picking which province they should abandon as undefended and which into which they would best consolidate.

Additionally, the strategic map has a fog of war function in place. Players really can only see what's happening in their own provinces, or one in which they have an emissary performing spy duties. Another structure, the watchtower, provides a similar view into all adjacent provinces. The map isn't blacked out as in most games of the type (the costal map of Japan was very well known to all at this time) but areas outside your observable zone are simply shown as a text name with no boundaries delineated; this is a far more atmosphere-inducing method. There is one awkward side-effect: when you send an emissary to another area to offer an alliance, you are only allowed to deal with the Clan's Daimyo. Unfortunately, nothing I could find tells you even where this Daimyo (or, more simply, his lands) can be found. Too much time is spent with an emissary blundering blindly through provinces 'hoping' to find the Daimyo. Perhaps to some degree this is realistic; a Daimyo out on maneuvers WOULD be trailed by emissaries trying to talk to him. But at least they would know where the heck he (approximately) was.

Diplomacy and its alternatives are also played out on this map. As mentioned above, you can build Emissaries, who are your ambassadors to other clans (and casual sources of information about the provinces in which they are currently standing). Moved otherwise just like armies, Emissaries have the sole function of offering alliances or begging for peace - a pretty shallow diplomatic model. Fortunately (or not, I guess) alliances mean basically nothing in Shogun. Make an ally, keep the peace (despite a really, really tempting ability to crush them out of hand) for more than ten years and then DARE to leave an adjacent region ungarrisoned? Wham, your erstwhile ally occupies your province and wrecks everything you've built there. [Note: at this point it might be useful to know that Ima-imashii! or Chikusho! are AFAIK Japanese terms for DAMN YOU!]

Seriously, its possible there's a finely tuned diplomatic and political model in there, but I couldn't find it. Allies routinely turned on me at the slightest provocation (or none, for that matter) and since there's really no way to say "attack here", "fight this guy" or "defend this for me", then, really, what's the point of an alliance? After a few hours, I gave up and happily used my Emissaries only as spies (or more frequently, used the Koku to buy Ninjas instead). It certainly didn't hurt the single player game, in my mind. The alternative to diplomacy in Japan has always been subterfuge, and here the Shogun engine has a bit more texture. Shinobi (professional spies) can be used to incur uprisings in your enemy's lightly guarded rear area provinces. Given the tenacity and quantity of the rebels that can be created, this can end up being catastrophic for even a well-financed and well-armed Daimyo. [Tip to players: keep this in mind; it's a nasty tactic that can be very effective against another player. Similarly, one MUST keep either a small garrison in every province or a decent-sized 'ready reserve' in a centrally location to respond to such events.] But of course the most famous agent of directed policy in historical Japan would be the Ninja. Famed for nearly magical abilities of stealth and secret murder, skilled Ninja can be hired once you build a Ninja Dojo. Ninjas can be sent against pretty much anyone, but talented and high-value Generals are naturally prime targets. Shogun advises you of what's happening with a brief popup and then one of a collection of brief videos showing what happened - your emissary shot down by arrows in the dark, or your General slashing the assassin in half through the wall of his tent. I found this a surprisingly entertaining alternative to the simple "NINJA SUCCEEDED; GENERAL FUJIWARA IS DEAD" message I expected. There are more agents of surreptitious policy, but their value is in their surprise factor, so I'll leave that to you to find out.

I haven't even gotten to the best part yet. I'd say that while the majority of activities are conducted on the strategic map, the game at that level is pretty simplistic. The heart of Shogun is - without a doubt - the tactical resolution engine.

When opposing armies are in the same province (and the enemy general doesn't retire immediately due to your superior numbers) the game kicks to the tactical resolution engine for you to play out the battle in real time, full 3D action.

Your units are rendered in reality. A 120-man Yari Ashigaru (Spearmen) unit is no longer just numbers. You see 120 men standing there in formation, waiting for your command. Did they get whittled down to 53 men in the last combat? You'll see - and manage - 53 men. No placeholders for the missing guys, no managing the unit at its 'original' numbers. The patterns and formations are those of the men in the unit, no more, no less. Likewise, these are not simple blocks of unit sprites - these are fully rotate able individual entities, which execute your orders through normal, believable real-world evolutions. If you order a formation change, the unit standards will immediately proceed to where they need to be. Individuals (yes, individuals in the unit act separately) will respond, with the guys furthest from the standard responding with a distinct and realistic lag based on their distance from the command of the unit. Send them up a hill and the unit loses some cohesion until they get to the top and redress their lines. Send two formations on intersecting courses and and watch as the figures go totally FUBAR while they sort out which rank and which file they belong to. It's a beautiful sight.

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Reviewed by Steve Lieb