1. Surg3on

   9

   Except for a couple of AI bugs this is probably the best strategy game you can get on PC right at this moment. some may complain that it doesnt have as much scope and variety of old total war games but I find that the more concentrated scope has allowed for more polish and its FAR easier to learn and enjoy the game.
   Graphics are great if your PC has the grunt. AI is good and would be great with a couple of tweaks (still waiting on that patch Sega!). Sound is OK, a bit more variety would be nice.… Expand

   • Helpful? 7 of 7 users said Yes.
2. Belvadeer

   8

   Shogun 2 Total War is not really a new instalment in the Total War franchise, more like a polished version of the first one, with a batch of new features and fancy graphics. But thats not really a bad thing, the Total War franchise has been a dominant player in the Turn based strategy gaming world ever since Rome: Total War. This game has no real story, the only objective is very simple....take over Japan. There are a couple of problems with this though, the developers pushed hard to emphasize that you play "however you want" through diplomacy, espionage, or through total military action, but the only way you will EVER win is with total military action. Another lingering problem that has haunted the Total War series is the incapable auto-managing AI, which will constantly raise taxes to the maximum level whenever it is engaged. This lack of any support from the AI to help manage your towns and cities is stressful at times, and doesn't add any real fun to game play, only frustration as you sit their trying to prevent rebellions and not going bankrupt. Another problem is the lack of any diversity between factions, as is, their isnt any...at all, they are virtually the same faction with different coloured armour and a few special bonuses to a select few major factions, unlike other total war games in recent memory, you will get extremely bored with each faction, and sometimes, even forget what faction your actually playing at times, although the developers cannot be specifically blamed for this since, well, it takes place on Japan, and diversity on a secluded island doesn't really exist.
   
   Other than those little nagging issues, this game is almost identical to other games in the series, with nothing really new added onto it, but it's still a damn good game, and will take up hours of your day at a time once you get really into it. And with better looking graphics and a simplified interface, this game should go on any Total War fans "To buy" list.… Expand

   • Helpful? 3 of 3 users said Yes.
3. ScareCrow

   7

   As someone who has never played a previous "total war" title, but HAS played every iteration of Civilization - I have to say everything except the combat in this game is a cheap knock off of CiV5. The voiceover accents, while authentic, are unintentionally comical. Which brings me back to the combat, personally I felt like every engagement became a huge clusterfark and those with the most numbers would win and there didn't seem to be much strategy to it beyond "melee up front, archers stand back and shoot". Perhaps I am oversimplifying it, but even the castle sieges which look like they'll be epic - just turn into complete clusterfarks where greater number of troops win and skill be damned. With all that said, it seems like the developers put a lot of work into the game and i'm sure fans of the franchise can see it as being a step forward but from my roughly 25 hours of play I can't say i've become a fan.… Expand

   • Helpful? 3 of 3 users said Yes.
4. kaltes

   1

   The game has some issues which the developer caused with an early patch and never fixed, making the game unplayable. Issues: (1) Graphical issues, like massive fogging the developer introduced supposedly to help people with low end graphics, yet for some reason many players with high end graphics get their campaign maps fogged beyond belief, making the game an unplayably ugly eyesore. I have wasted a lot of time looking at forums, seeing many other people with the same issue, and yet the developers have never addressed it in over 1.5 years. Oddly enough the game had a work-around for this issue where you could reduce graphics to a low shader model to clear the fog until the first expansion patch came out, which eliminated that work-around. (2) Ridiculously long load times. Seriously, over 30 seconds, and you load constantly with getting in and out of battles, loading saves, and starting up the game itself can take several minutes. My computer boots windows faster than this game can load. (3) Re-used music from Shogun 1, which is a bit lazy. ______________________________________________________________________________ Adding skill trees for generals is nice, but it seems to have largely replaced the traits from prior games, which overall means it is harder, not easier, to develop generals. I liked the old trait system because your actions generated the traits, so you could make a bloodthirsty general or a beloved one. I'm not sure doing away with the old system and making traits rare in Shogun 2 was a good idea. Combat is the same as the rest of the series. Not much has changed. The city-state system is very much like Empire.… Expand

   • Helpful? 3 of 5 users said Yes.

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