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Monday, January 8, 2001, 15:28
...Shogun: Total War. A game based on the rules of
the Sun Tzu`s book "The art of war" making it one of the
most realistic strategy games of it`s time. If you`ve
ever wanted to take command of hundreds of men on screen
each in it`s own unit formation, and having it`s own
strengths as well as weaknesses, that you, the player
have to use to help over come huge armies then this is
the game for you. Forget age of the empires technology
tree, or resoruce management, Shogun is pure action,
where the words "strategy and tactics" are screaming at
you from every angle everytime you play.
The fog was
thick, unlike anything the general or his men
had seen before. The deadly silence was
occasionally broken with whispering chants from
the monks within the ranks, but even this did
not help calm the nervous atmosphere amongst the
men. It was as if the world had disappeared
around the general and his men. Nothing could be
seen or heard of the enemy and the general knew
the enemy was sure to use the fog to his full
advantage.
The
attack came without warning. Musket fire ripped
through the front ranks dropping the men like
flies. Volly after volly struck the men, but
they held on waiting for their general to do
something. The flashes of the muskets gave away
the positions of the muskets, and the general`s
archers move forward and started there deadly
rain of arrows towards the flashes of light.
Shouts could be heard in the fog as the 3 units
of the general`s heavy cavalry moved forward.
The pounding of the horse rumbled the earth as
the cavalry disappeared into the fog. Sounds of
metal clashing against metal echoed around,
screams from both men and horse filled the air,
and still the musket fire continued, hammering
the general`s now weaken front
line.
Out of the
dense fog came a large wave of enemy units on
the general`s left flank. The general ordered
his reserves to reinforce the left and meet the
incoming assault. As they got into position the
enemy units smashed into the general`s men. The
unit of archers having ran out of arrows and
severally weakened by the musket fire saw this
vast army on the left and with fear taking it`s
hold they ran back towards their own ranks as a
disorganised rabble This unnerved the men whom
the routed archers passed, but the sight of
their general reinsured them and they held their
positions.
The
battle was now truly underway. The general`s men
were holding their own. The musket fire had
stopped due to the heavy rain that had now
started to fall, and the general felt confident
that his tactics were working. If he and his men
could hold out they would break the
enemy.
The
general heard the rumble of hooves to the rear
of his position, but mistaken this for his own
calvary which should of been returning from
their attack around about now. It was to late to
react when the horses appeared out of the fog
showing clearly the enemy colours. They quickly
smashed into the generals own unit of men. The
general himself drew his sword and attacked the
enemy, but was slain, by a sword blow which
knocked his head clean off and it rolled down
the hill towards his men at the front. The sight
of their leader being killed, and seeing his
head roll towards them was to much and the
general`s once proud displined army routed. The
enemy had won...
Shogun is like Chess. Easy to play,
but the real learning comes from trying to master
the game. Flanks have to be watched and
reinforced. Men have to be rallied in the face of
strong opposition. Your general has to be
protected at all costs, and knowing when and where
to strike can bring victory or a crushing defeat.
Knowledge is the key and after each game you play
you absorb more and more until you start to win.
As the man Sun Tzu himself said:
"Now the
general who wins a battle makes many
calculations in his temple ere the battle is
fought. The general who loses a battle makes but
few calculations beforehand. Thus do many
calculations lead to victory, and a few
calculations to
defeat..."
Make no
mistake, rushing in will see your army ripped to
pieces, but careful planning and positioning of
your men and being ready for anything will yeld
it`s rewards.
:
Linklord
is well known in the Shogun Community, and is a
member of the highly respected Chain
Clan.
Before
I joined the Chain Clan, I was known within the
Shogun community as Lord Akechi, so when I joined
the Clan, I choose the name, LinkLord Ii. The
Japanese family name "Ii" is given to all Chain
Clan members when they join. The "Link" part of
the name comes from the fact that our Clan
membership is world-wide, and is therefore
"linked" together by the Chain Clan.
SAS: Shogun has a wide
playing base. I have played against players from
korea, USA, Japan, and although these games
where pinging around 400 the game still plays
very well. The shogun clans are recognisable by
there tags. If you spot a number of players with
the same word in their name i.e. Clan Fear =
JstFeared, then chances are they are in a clan.
Playing against a clan player is a whole new
kettle of fish compared to games against
non-clanned players
:).
The game of Shogun is simply
great fun. It has fantastic graphics & sounds
effects, which are far ahead of the competition.
The gameplay and the format of the game are also
easy to learn. One big reason for my enjoyment of
the game is that the community spirit within
Shogun is excellent. This spirit is enhanced by
online international tournaments arranged by other
Shogun players.
SAS: Nearly all Shogun
players are honourable, and willing to
help with any questions players may have.
A lot of them will also share tactical info, and
give you tips if you ask nicely, but don`t
expect them to reveal to much :). The best way
to learn is to play a lot of friendly battles
(these are not recorded by the total war stats
table).
 My choice of troops within an army
depends on many different factors and my choice of
troops will change for each game. Some of the
factors which influence my choice would be the
type of terrain, the weather I can expect in the
game, the tactics I intend to use, and last, but
not least, my opponent. All of the above factors
are very important when forming an army. I prefer
to have an army, which can be used effectively in
a defensive and attacking role.
SAS: Choosing an army in
Shogun depends on how much Koku (currency) your
given to play with. Each unit has its own value,
and your allowed to choose up to 16 units, each
can hold 60/80/120 men depending on what the
host has set the unit limit to.
The game of
Shogun accurately depicts all the weather types
you would expect to experience in Japan, i.e.;
heavy rain, showers, fog, snow and wind. The
weather changes depending on which province you
are fighting in and the season of the year.
Obviously provinces with mountainous terrain have
more drastic weather changes than those which
consist mainly of flat open plains. For example,
in the hilly province of Ise, you can often have
very heavy rain, even in summer.
Using the
the weather to your advantage in Shogun can
seriously change the outcome of a battle! For
example, in fog or heavy rain, you can attempt to
outflank or confuse your enemy. You can use a
small force of cavalry as a decoy force to make
your opponent think that you on the left flank,
when you in fact, you are on the right. Damp
weather also effects the use of muskets and bows.
Muskets are useless in rain and archers are badly
effected by it. The weather also effects the moral
and tiredness of your troops. How would you like
to stand around for hours on a cold and wet
hillside waiting to be attacked by a ferocious
enemy, who just wants to forcibly remove your
head?
 I have about 120 different battlefields
(or maps) on my PC. Many of these "maps" were
designed by other Shogun players. So there are a
wide choice of battlefields available.
Yes,
I start the battle with a set strategy, but you
have to be flexible in Shogun. Your enemy rarely
does what you expect him to do, so you have to be
ready to change a battle plan very quickly. I tend
to pick a strategy and an army, which can cover a
number of possible deployments and actions by my
opponent.
Personally, I prefer a
battlefield, which is fairly flat, with a number
of small hills and woods. I select troops which I
feel will fight well on that particular
battlefield. Two of the most formidable units on
the battlefield are the Heavy Cavalry and the
Warrior Monk, but these can be defeated easily if
your opponent does not use them correctly. Even
the lowly peasant spearman can defeat these
formidable warriors if the correct tactics are
used to counter them on the field of
battle.
My playing style varies with
each game. Even when defending, I am always
looking for a good opportunity to attack and
weaken or destroy my opponent. In essence, my
playing style is fast, flexible and aggressive,
and I play to win.
 My strengths in the game are without
doubt my flexibility, a good knowledge of the
battlefield, and good use of my troops. The only
weakness in my army is perhaps that I do not
always select enough archers and muskets. This can
cause problems when playing against some players
who use a lot of highly mobile horse archers. They
simply stay out of range of a counter-attack
whilst at the same time they decimate your units.
As said before, all troops types have a weakness,
and that is if you manage to get to grips with the
horse archers, you can destroy them
easily.
Battle:.LinkLord
Ii versus Longtall (on Ise)
I was
attacking the experienced warlord, Longtall
Yamamoto, in the hilly province of Ise. I choose a
very foggy summers day to attack him. I positioned
4 units of spear armed (yari) cavalry on the right
flank. All the rest of the army (infantry) was on
the left flank, hidden in or behind the woods. He
positioned his army along the low ridge and around
the small hill behind the buddist temple in Ise. I
began the battle by advancing my cavalry on the
right flank. On seeing this, he redeployed his
army to face it (thinking my whole army was
advancing there). This was just what I intended to
happen. Hidden by the fog, I then advanced on the
left flank with all my infantry and stormed into
the rear of his army. His army tried to turn to
face my infantry, and was charged in the rear by
the 4 units of yari cavalry from the right flank.
This resulted in an absolute bloodbath with only
about 10 men escaping!!! His Taisho (warlord or
general) was also killed in this battle and my
victorious warriors removed his head as a trophy.
His comments were "awesome", what a fantastic
game!!!
 Play the excellent single player part of
the game first. This will get you accustomed to
the gameplay and the different types of units etc.
. It is also a good idea to try out the single
player campaign game before entering the jaws of
the dragon (the online game).
Once on-line,
new players will quickly discover that the
computer AI from the single player game is no
competition to the many online players they will
meet on the field of battle. I suggest you play
friendly games to start with, and tell other
players you are a "newbie". Be prepared to lose
battles, especially at the start. Many players are
very willing to help and coach new players, so
don`t be afraid to ask.
The only other
advice I would like to give, is about the use of
"cheat" codes. Unlike many other on-line games,
this is not encouraged at all in the on-line
Shogun game. The use of "cheat "codes is classed
as dishonourable in the game. If discovered using
"cheat" codes, you will very quickly find yourself
being ignored by the Shogun community.
Personally, I would also not recommend the
use of "cheat" codes in the single player game
either, because if you can`t beat the computer AI
without the help of a "cheat " code, you aren`t
going to last long in the Shogun on-line.
Links to
Shogun: Total War related sites
http://www.totalwar.com/
- The official (and best) totalwar website
www.totalwar.com/default.asp
- The ranking system
www.totalwar.org
- News from the community
http://www.chainclan.homestead.com/
- ChainClan web
site
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