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Really good

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If the goal behind Kessen was to create a spectacular-looking display of medieval Japanese warfare, it succeeds and then some. If the goal was to make a good real-time strategy game, however, Kessen fails. While at first it's breathtaking to watch the clash of dozens of incredibly detailed 17th Century Japanese soldiers-riflemen, archers, swordsmen, lancers-accompanied by the roar of battle and epic music, Kessen's focus on eye and ear candy hurts the gameplay. This is most evident in the many beautiful, but repetitive cinemas you're forced to watch that show every little thing that occurs on the battlefield. While the close-in battle scenes-the best part of the game-look amazing, the player has little control there beyond watching them. You exert most of your control at the Battle screen, a wide-angle view with a totally different graphics engine-here your units are scruffy 3D icons. Sadly, the controls in the Battle screen are totally counterintuitive, making it a slow, tedious chore to command your units. It's extremely difficult just to roam around the map, choose a unit, and give it an order. You're also thrown all over the map when responding to your lieutenants' constant queries and reports. You never feel in control of a large battle, but feel like an observer of many small, disconnected battles. If you're looking for a good strategy game, seek elsewhere. If you want to show off the amazing graphics of your new PS2, or if you're a fanatic for Japanese history, Kessen delivers.

If you like watching movies and pushing the X button......

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: January 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I recieved a Playstation 2 and Tekken Tag Tournament and Kessen for Christmas this year. I had never heard of Kessen before, or read anything about it. I popped in the game and watched the beautiful introduction video. Seeing that, I thought...cool game! That thought faded very quickly when the first "battle" started. It wasn't a battle at all, it was just a very long boring tutorial that you have to sit through if you want to understand the game because the manual doesn't tell you how to play at all. Thinking the game would get better, I sat through it for quite a long time. Apparently all that there is to this game is watch a movie, push X, push X, push X, watch a movie, push X, and so on. The actual gameplay was extremely disappointing. The main screen where you see all the troops was poorly made, and the "troops" are simply poorly drawn blobs that slide across the ground. And the DVD videos, while very cool, weren't anything special. I mean, come on, this is the Playstation 2, with DVD videos. Some of the videos I saw on the Playstation 1 looked better than these. So in conclusion, this is a good game if you're into war strategy games, but wait till the price goes down. There are much better things you can spend 50 bucks on than this game. All this game is is a graphical history lesson, so if you're into that, by all means, go for it, but I'm gonna pass...

Amazing graphics, greatp resentation, but requires patience.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: October 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is set in the fuedal times in Japanese History. Basically, it is a strategy game where you must make real time strategical war decisions. The cutscenes and graphics in this game are awesome, but you'll find yourself spending more time watching the cutscenes and cinematic results of you decisions than you will actually pushing buttons. It actually requires lots of patience to go through battle after battle, but if you enjoy the time consuming of nature of role playing games (this is no RPG, but there are many similar elements) you will enjoy this game. I'm just a little too impatient, and like the action type, button pushing games myself, which is why I only gave it 3 stars. Have you ever played Final Fantasy 7 or 8 and wished you could skip the summoning Guardian Force scenes becuase you've seen them so many times? If so, then you're impatient like me =) i get that same feeling sometimes in this games, regardless of the great graphics. All in all, this is actually a high quality game with great graphics. Definitely one of the better launch games.

Rent it first!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: December 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is probably one of the worst I've played on the PS2. There are some cool movie sequences at the beginning, but thats about it. I going to keep this short and just say don't waste your money and rent it first.

kessen, could have been so much more

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 09, 2000
Author: Amazon User

this game is beautiful, and has a great storyline, but is definatly lacking. The first two times through the game(once as east, then as west) are too easy. after this you can choose to replay battles and set difficulty, and the hardest level is somewhat challanging. my biggest gripe about this game is the lack of a two player mode. people have said that the controls are difficult/akward, but they are much like other strategy games. sometimes it is difficult to see what is going on around your armies. still, these complaints are minor when compared to the lack of any multiplayer mode. if they had included such a feature, ease of play against the computer would not be an issue-- you could just play some friends!

Kessen Shines on the PS2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I've run a feudal Japan newsletter for over 10 years now, and am a huge fan of the samurai era. I grabbed Kessen the second I got my hands on a PS2, and started playing it immediately.

The graphics in the game are startlingly lovely. From the cut-scenes to the campagin setup to the reactions of commanders to your decisions, it truly flows like an interactive movie.

It's not just hack-and-slash, either. There are personal triumphs, anguished losses, generals who you convince to join your side, warriors who show their nuances of personality in how they react to your commands.

The game is a strategic combat between the two great warlords of the early 1600s, recreating a series of battles that put an end to the fighting era and brought in over 200 years of peace.

The level of detail is great. You can see exactly how each group is put together, the loyalty of each leader, their weariness, and much more. You can choose to ignore details if you want, but a true strategist will find ways to shine by taking them all into consideration.

You can also use political influence to sway your enemies, and sometimes they'll even watch how the battle goes for a while before determining which side to take.

The cut-scenes are beautiful, but if you want to skip them, just hit a button and you're back into the overall battle watching. Perhaps the only downside is that since this is based on real events, you don't have as much flexibility as in a game that could randomly create situations and encounters. Perhaps this same engine might be used for that in the coming months!

Repetative, yes. Otherwise, great game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First of all, one should have at least a bit of knowledge in Japanese culture/history to enjoy this game, in my opinion. The one who wrote "SOOOOOOOOOOOO Dramatic" review made it apparent she/he doesn't. Ieyasu's granddaughter didn't marry Hideyori out of choice; marriages were arranged in feudal Japan to form "alliences" between families, which is exactly what happened here. But anyway, that's not my main point here...

Yes, there are too many things to remember. But, as I've discovered, you can ignore half of them and still get along fine. The battles do get repetive, and you are limited in your battle choices, but, if you can put up with this, this game has great replay value.

You first must beat the game as the Eastern army, then as the Western army, before you have a choice in which side you want to play. And, contrary to what a few have said, you CAN lose. In fact, sometimes you may want to on purpose (After you've beaten it, of course). That way you can stray from history and see some interesting cut scenes, from both armies' points of view. For me, this was a great feature, especially with the wonderful quality of the graphics.

The voice acting is superb, but can get a little annoying during battle when a general says a phrase you've heard 300 times already; thankfully, by pressing Triangle, you can skip these. Also, as many have pointed out, there is no blood (Well, there was a tiny bit on Yi's mouth in a cut scene, but I won't count that). Now, I'm not exactly a "BLOOD AND GUTS!!! YEAH!!!" kind of person, but it does make it seem very unrealistic when your general sticks his spear through an enemy, and he never bleeds.

All in all, I'd say buy it if you can ignore the flaws and put up with repetativeness (is that even a word?) because of its good reply value. If not, either rent it, or just don't play it period. It's your buck, not mine.

Good at first but too repetitive

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Graphically this is a nice game, but the gameplay becomes repetitive and boring. The cut-scenes, while visually impressive, become annoying very quickly. Also winning battles is far too easy, and there is little story line in the game.

boring!!!!!!!!!!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I first played this game I was excited to play it but when I did it got so boring. First of all I like strategy games but in this one all you mainly do is watch. If you like to watch how your directions and orders come out you'll probably like this game but if you prefer games where you fight and you control the characters try the game Dynasty Warriors 2 which is one of my favorite.

Simply fantastic!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: November 08, 2000
Author: Amazon User

My 4-star review in NO way takes anything away from this game because KESSEN is eye-candy for the senses. Kessen is TRULY Koei's "sleeper" pick for the Playstation 2, and it's more than easy to see why. I picked up this game because history of Japanese battles are epic in nature and I wanted a game that in the wee hours of the night, I could fully enjoy as much as I enjoy my Madden 2001 and DOA2. I enjoyed this game from start to finish and what I enjoyed more than anything was the fact that I purchased mine at 1/2 price! Some kid rushed in and bought this last week and because it requires a degree of patience, he sold it to a video game rental place and took a loss. His loss was TRULY my gain because I enjoy the battles, the cinematic views and the storyline. Ornate war robes and intricate detail make this game a TRULE enjoyable game. I will warn that you DO need some patience to get the "full effect" of the game, but if you're adult enough to hang in there with it, it WILL pay off!

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