just because you’re waiting for
samurai to finish their training.
The civics layer occasionally feels
like busywork, because as important
as it is to improve the stats of my
troops via a skill tree, I get most
excited whenever I acquire a new
unique unit or successfully pull off
small manoeuvres like sending my
ninja to assassinate an enemy monk
in the night. It’s just more
entertaining than sitting in trade
meetings with other daimyo. I realise
I would’ve loved all this back when I
was the kind of player who funnelled
all of her time into one game. I would
give a lot to have statistics telling me
how much time I used to funnel into
Starcraft way back when, but now I
lack the patience for alliances and
playing nice. I’ve become the villain,
intent on just taking what she wants.
Thankfully, Shogun 2 excels at the
type of grand, Hollywood-style
warfare I’m looking for. Get close to
your armies and you can relish in the
sound of their footsteps across the
plains like rolling thunder. There is a
lot of walking (good God is there a lot
of walking!) but this is the way to
enjoy the spectacle. Each landscape
has traits that are both beautiful to
take in and can affect battles quite a
bit. Sometimes it’s nothing more than
a rice field, or cherry blossom petals
floating in the wind. At other times,
it’s a hillside slowing down your
advance or a forest hiding enemy
troops. These are characteristics of
the landscape that Japanese people
are very proud of and that I readily
associate with the country. Watching
soldiers battle each other one-on-one
on these fields is as entertaining as it
is startling. It’s a real back and forth
until suddenly one of them finds an
opening.Itfeelsreal.learninGCurve
Shogun 2 is a neat package of
features. The amount of things to do
in a single game and the way they
interconnect is a feat I can’t help but
marvel at, but it’s a curious mixture
of micromanagement and
helplessness that constantly leaves
me unsure of how well I’m doing.It’sjustmoreentertaInIng
thansIttIngInmeetIngs
wIth other daImyoThatauthenticitycomeswitha
steep learningcurve.Fromnaval
battles (whichShogun 2 bringsover
from TotalWar:Empire),tothe
multi-tieredforts,battlesinShogun 2
are aboutfarmorethanjustnumbers.
Unlikelyoddswonthroughclever
strategisingarewhatmadethemost
memorablebattlesoftheSengoku
period suchstandouts.
In Shogun 2 ,Ineedtocarefully
study myunitsandbuildabalanced
army, yettherearemanythingsI
don’t knowabouttheenemyeven
as I slowlychipawayatthemwith
the helpofespionage.Ienjoythe
historicbattlesthemost.I’veread
about themforyears,andtheyhavea
clearly recognisablestrategytothem
that myownadhoccommandstill
lacks, suchasOdaNobunagataking
out smallcampsonebyonebefore
chargingattheenemygeneralatthe
battle ofOkehazama.
Shogun 2 isbeautifuland
ambitiousandvaried.It’salready
eight yearsoldanddoesn’tfeeldated
at all. Rather,itfeelslikeyoucoulddo
pretty muchanything,andthat
inspiresalevelofdevotionandtime
investmentthathasbecomedifficult
for me tojustify.Shogun 2 regularly creates
standout moments such as this.eXtra liFe
nOWPlaYinG I UPDateI DiarY (^) I REINSTALL (^) I WHYilOVe (^) I MUst PlaY