User Reviews (1 - 11 of 53)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

A MILESTONE IN GAMING HISTORY!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

DISCLAIMER: I am a Japan-buff and games based on the Sengoku period of the Shogunate Wars have to be really bad for me not to enjoy them.
Now imagine how much I enjoyed one of the BEST strategy games ever!!!

SHOGUN: TOTAL WAR is admittedly such a great game in every aspect it has become a RTS game benchmark. Not to mention it has fathered the TOTAL WAR series!

Alternating between a tactical map (in which units get moved and improvements built) and the battlefield map (in which real-time unit movements and battles are fought) SHOGUN:TW has struck the perfect harmony between Turn-Based and Real-Time Strategy gaming.

The graphics are by now only a bit dated - and, on the other hand, they can truly shine even on mid-range systems today. The units are easily distinguished during battle, controlling them is done via a user-friendly interface and the issued orders are followed fast and effectively (something not true for much latter games, such as SUPREME COMMANDER).

The sounds manage to be both majestic and realistic (even after so many years, I am using them as my main WinXP Sound-Theme). Both Japanese and English is available.

Birth of an heir, earthquakes and assassination attempts by ninjas all add to the unpredictability of the gameplay. The particulars of the terrain and the weather, the troops deployment and the placement (and survival) of the general, all make the real-time battles such a unique experience!
Alliances are made and broken; rebels conquered and their shock troops assimilated; Christian traders allowed or shunted. Every decision has consequences.

Do not miss on it!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Watch Out! The Purchase could be tricky

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is certainly on my must own list. I have been playing this game for many years and although the graphics are out dated the game still plays great. It has a turn based element in it much like Master of Magic with a real time battle complete with units and tactics. All the elements are here for a great gaming experience, wonderful historic back drop with the warrior mystique created by Ninja, Samurai, and the Geisha cultures molded into a superb gaming package. I rated it a 4 overall because the graphics are a little dated, but for a great time it's worth the investment. The real issue here is that this is the real "Warlords Edition". The Shogun Total War Gold and Shogun Total War editions both seem to have fatal errors on my equipment. In the Warlords Edition there is a different opening video and there is no Thrown room and I suspect that the errors are based on the programing around this "Thrown room". Make sure that you are buying the Electronic Arts version "Warlords Edition" without the Thrown room interface to get a smooth running program. I had to go back and purchase the Warlords Edition after first making the mistake of buying the gold edition. Although the game would have been better had the Thrown Room actually worked, having to constantly try and trick your computer into playing the game past the fatal errors is tedious and time consuming, taking away much from the playing experience. This version rocks!
My homebuild is as follows: 32 bit prescott core intel p-4 at 3.06ghz, 1 gig of 400mhz (2x512 dual Channel)memory, onboard sound 5.1 surround, Intel 865perl motherboard, Nvidia 6800extreme 256 meg agp, and Windows XP professional. This machine is a budget gamer but with over 50 game titles in my library, from Call of Duty 2 to Dos titles like Ultima 7 The Silver Seed,I have very few games that have problems running on this machine in some fashion. Make sure you get the right version.

A True Classic....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Even though this game is now outdated, for it's day there were no contenders. This a true classic in every sense. If you're still running and old pc that can't handle the later titles in the series I would definitely recommend it.

* The opening cinnemactic is from the movie RAN directed by Akira Kurosawa.

An Atmospheric Classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Shogun is one of those games that would never exist in today's world of high-money publishers going with the same-old-game over and over again. It truly broke the mold of strategy games when it came out. Since then, its ideas have been copied in many different locations, and the maker (Creative Assembly) have gone on to do two more games and four expansions.

Despite the lack of cutting-edge graphics, the atmosphere in Shogun is truly immersive. Steven Turnbull, a professor and expert on the Sengoku Jidai period in Japan, was CA's main advisor as they developed this game. And Steven's attention to accurate detail shows through, from the brilliant battle music, to the lamp-lit cutscene movies, to the authentic names and costumes.

An excellent all-round effort, well worth checking out even eight years after release.

What's up with the reviews?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Why are these reviews for Medieval Total War, while the picture and description is for Shogun Total War? Am I the only one that notices this?

Nice game.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Not a bad game at all. I never got this when it first came out as I into C&C and many other RTS games But I have been going back and trying to catch up on a few games I missed.

This game reminds alot of Lord Of The Realms 2. You do basically the same things except for a few differences.

This is a turned based game (like Lords 2 and Civilization games)with real time battles. You could either have the Computer resolve the battle or fight it yourself. The thing I didn't like about the battles was it seemed half the time, the other general would run away (a few times mine did and these 3 amd 4 ranked generals with many victories). Some of the generals are your sons. As the game continues, you play through the 4 seasons. Eventually, a son will be born. When he reaches age 16, he is ready to lead one of your armies. Depending on how many years this goes, your leader (Daimyo as they call it) can die. If you have no heirs, your game is over. Otherwise one of your heirs takes over.

There are many buildings you can build and upgrade that affects what kind of units you can create, how good their weapons and armor is, and how much honor and moral they have. Some buildings will only show up once one of your generals is of very high rank.

the resources of the game are Koku (money) from alliances, mines, Koku's pillaged from victory in war, and farming. You have to keep your people happy to stop revolts also.

You also have special units such as emmisaries that spy and offer alliances and Ninja's who are used to spy and assasinate other generals and emmisaries (the cutscenes for this are pretty cool).

Graphically, this game is pretty good for a 4 year old game, the sounds are good, and the music is pretty good. Replay value isn't very good, but there is alot more to this game than what I just told you here.

No that this is over, it is off to start Medieval: Total War. Good luck and enjoy a pretty fun game while it lasts.

BUY IT!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

As the battle scene opens, the 3-D landscape, the hills and the mountains, present a majestic setting. The enemy armies marching towards you in organized military formation makes you feel like you're a general in an actual battle; in that very moment you feel like you're out to conquer the world. Undoubtedly this game is the best war game on the planet. If you want guerilla warfare, get Starcraft or Warcraft. If you want real battles, get Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition. You won't be disappointed, believe me.

reviews all wrong

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 31
Date: January 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Notice that all of these reviews are referring to the wrong game??? I'm looking for reviews on Shogun Total War and these reviews are about Medieval Total War. Hey, Amazon, get it together!

SHOGUN IS THE BEST!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: November 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is simply the most realistic strategy game ever. It requires real strategy that includes makeing up for morale or using it to your advantage. The gameplay is awsome, fighting with samurai, ninjas, kensai and a whole lot of other stuff. The "risk style" strategy map is actually interesting and you may spend hours trying to get a ninja to a high honour to kill the enemy daimyo while battleing off his forces. One of the most awsome times in this game is when you are in a massive battle with many troops and multiple enemys! The sound and music are awsome and the music actually gets you in the mood of the game. The sounds of charging troops is also very awsome. The graphics are very good, especially the movie (NINJA ASSASINATION!!!) graphics. the many commands for your troops such as fast movements and good formation are also good. All in all this is one of the very best strategy games ever and ranks in the definate top ten, if not the top three (might even be #1).

This is worth every penny

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you thought the original Shogun was as good as gaming got, welcome to the Warlord's version of medieval Japan. The expansions have truly done Shogun justice. If you were sick of starting out with the same Japan before, you now have four different time periods to choose from, as well as the Mongol scenario. New units are the battlefield ninja, the kensai warrior, the crossbow ashinguru (only in the Mongol scenario!)and the naginato cavalry. A big plus is that the buildings are cheaper to build and go up much quickly--no more 16-season citadels! The rebels are slightly more aggressive. Hojo isn't the Big Bad anymore. In many of the scenarios I've played, this clan gets bumped off early. The emassaries are much more useful now. They not only can propose more effective alliances, but can bribe other units! Ports now appear visible on the map so you know which clans have sea power or not. This is pivotal, because you can send a spy, shinobae, or ninja into someone's port and then invade next turn. As far as the tactical goes, I never had a problem with it before, since I'm not that good at the tactical part anyhow--so I have no complaints. If anything the graphics are more colorful and improved. As for the Mongol scenario, it was kind of disappointing for me. If you play the Mongols, it will be easy to win, even on hard level. If you play Hojo, prepare to get b***h slapped across the country. I would have liked to have seen the Mongols get integrated into the regular game and get made as part of a clan choice. Still, y
u can't have everything, can you?

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next 

Actions