Late Fifteenth Century Japan may not have been a nice place to live. Japan`s 1477 to 1615 is called the Sengoku Period, which translates as "The Country at War".
It is a pretty fun place to visit though, especially through the safety of a PC. Shogun Total War, a new game from Electronic Arts, takes us back in time to that period of upheaval in Japan`s history.
The game is pure strategy, and those who can remember as far back as Centurion will find the look-and-feel of Shogun very familiar. Alliances and peace treaties are set off against the bloody battles waged on very realistic terrain.
Apart from crushing the enemy, you can also build a variety of buildings that will give you extra options. Buildings range from guard towers through to gun factories, although they are not as interactive as the Sid Meyer Civilization-style outposts.
Most of the game play occurs on a map of Japan, revealing the variety of provinces from which you can attack. Attacking is where the fun - and the real strategy - begins. The fighting strategy is based on Sun Tzu`s teachings, and the game is almost reminiscent of the classic Sun Tzu`s Ancient Art of War, which was a huge hit on the XT. Fortunately there have been significant improvements in computing since the 1980s.
Contemporary Confucius
Sun Tzu was a contemporary of the great philosopher Confucius, and lived around 500 BC in the kingdom of Qi, which is roughly the modern Shandong province in Eastern China.
His book, The Ancient Art of War, is more than just a "how to win" strategy and tactics handbook on Chinese warfare. Although a study of warfare, The Art of War applies to situations on every level from the interpersonal to the international. Its aims are invincibility, victory without battle and unassailable strength through understanding every aspect of conflict.
Sun Tzu taught to attack from high ground, and the dimension of height that the game provides creates a very realistic and dynamic feel beyond the strategic implications.
Using the correct troops to leverage your enemy`s weakness is another Sun Tzu teaching. Always appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak, said the Japanese philosopher, and you do this in the game by hiding forces in forests and ambushing your opponent.
Buggy bits
The game is a little buggy. The sound died in the tutorials, probably because of too much memory strain on my low-grade sound card. It also decided to randomly kick me out just when I was getting somewhere. Fortunately there is an auto save feature, so all was not lost.
The game is huge. With a minimum install of 500MB and a maximum of 1.4GB, I suggest you run it on a fairly high-end machine.
A good video card is also recommended, if not required. I used a Voodoo3 and it performed well, but a GeForce2 or Voodoo5 would help. The game looks terrible on lower-end video cards, and it would be a waste to run it on one. Minimum memory requirements are 32MB RAM, but I suggest at least 64MB to get the most from the game.
A very nice value-add is a rich history lesson on ancient Japan. Although not light reading, the Way of the Daimyo is very informative and interesting, and interspersed with quotes from Sun Tzu. Another freebie that comes with the game is 50% off any meal from the Chop 'n Wok.
If you enjoy strategy games, then this one is a definite must-have. The excellent realism combined with the strategic thought makes it a great addition to any collection.
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