Total carnage!

Shogun: Total War is the first instalment of the Total War series that would go on to create an intriguing new procession of mixed genre games. Shogun is set in the Feudal Era of Japanese history and the overall premise is simple. You must take control of one of the several warring factions battling for ultimate power in Japan and defeat all the others that stand in your way. I have to say, slaughtering my way across the land of the rising sun in order to unite the people under one banner was every bit as enjoyable as it sounds.

The first aspect of Shogun to master is the 'world map' screen. It is in fact a map of Japan split into various territories, each governed by different warlords, your own army or masterless rebels. You can only see territories adjacent to your own provinces, so the goings on elsewhere in Japan are completely unknown to you. Occupying your provinces are armies - each one represented by a single troop marker bearing a banner, the more red the banner, the more troops you have. You can divide your troops, combine armies and bolster them with newly trained recruits at leisure. Your armies are obviously the most important part of your campaign. You need them to keep the peace, defend your lands and carve a trail of destruction into enemy territory.

Provinces ripe for the taking!

Along with the warlord's armies, other features of the map include representations of emissaries, priests and military strongholds which often designate areas of extreme technological advancement - or killing fields for your assassins. You must decide whom to ally and wage war with, whilst splitting your wealth and technology across your ever growing territory.

The second aspect of Total War to master is the combat. Someone dropped their army into your territory? Prepare to do battle with whatever army you have on hand to fight the threat. The battle screen is completely different to the world map. You have the opportunity to arrange your troops into formations and strategically reposition them before a fight if you have the luxury of defending. If you're on the attack it is up to you to destroy or rout the opposing force before the time runs out (which is usually more than ample). Each unit represents around 50 men and it is up to you to tell them who to attack, when to retreat and keep their morale high. If your archers are charged by horseback then they're going to die - and your other troops might not be so confident after seeing your army take so many losses.

In comparison to later Total War games, Shogun does have a fairly limited number of different troop types, which make tactics easy to master. Stick your warrior monks in a forest on top of a hill and watch the bodies pile up as they destroy everything that comes to face them. The troops also react to the experience of your general in battle. If he is a combat noob with more chance of killing himself on the green grasses of Japan, then the troops will not be inspired and higher ranking units will be more likely to charge without being ordered to. Conversely, if he's a bad ass, they'll receive huge morale boosts. This feature was again elaborated on greater in latter releases, but the fundamental elements were trialled here.

In foggy conditions, the drunken farmers you call archers are probably even less likely to hit their target. They'll need a lot of practice before they can knock a samurai off his horse from a thousand paces.

The devastation that can be inflicted on the field of battle is immense in scale. With a total of approximately 1100 troops population cap for each army, the pulses are there for the ceasing. Memorable moments often include any skirmish on a map with a bridge, in which a unit of poorly trained spearmen, backed with peasant archers can usually hold of a marauding army of far greater prestige. This could arguably be considered a bug, but these Goliath kill counts never cease to produce the laughs.

Finally, as you work your way along a timeline, Japan suffers from the introductions of Christianity and gunpowdered weaponry and you may decide to change your tactics accordingly. I've nothing but fond memories of this game and it's simplicity and multitude of features made it an excellent predecessor for Medieval: Total War to build on.

9/10

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Added by Grand Assault 10 months ago on 27 January 2009 07:07