Shogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War was the first game in the Total War Series.
Contents
Features
Shogun: Total War (STW) is the first of Creative Assembly's "Total War" series. It is a history-based grand strategy computer game that combines turn-based provincial development with real-time battles. The player assumes the role of one of seven daimyos (Uesugi, Shimazu, Oda, Mori, Imagawa, Takeda, Hōjō) attempting to unite feudal Japan during the Sengoku period ("The Age of the Country at War") and become Shogun. Sun Tzu's The Art of War is central to the game; its precepts are quoted often and its strategies recommended.
Battles & Gameplay
The play involves a strategic phase building up armies and moving them into provinces followed by a real time battle phase. During the strategic phase the players (that is including the AI players) decide where they are going to move their forces and then, when the player commits them, all the ordered movements are executed simultaneously. The three dimensional battles are notable for including aspects such as morale that had up to its publication usually been ignored by computer war games and are more typical of table top gaming. It shares, however, with much of table top gaming, the unrealistic feature that the player has control over their units that would be impossible before the age of portable radio communication.
Sieges are played out using the same engine as the battles in the field. The advantage to the defender comes from the narrow gateway to the castles which prevents a larger force attacking with more than a small part of its strength.
There is no naval warfare. Armies can jump across straits without restriction; for movement of armies over longer distances, there must be ports in both the starting province and the destination province is needed, and if the destination province is held by another player, the attacking player must have a spy in that province.
Basic combat units include the yari ashigaru and samurai which are excellent against cavalry units. The difference between ashigaru and samurai is ashigaru have lower morale and will retreat frequently.
