A turn based strategy game set in medieval Japan. You control one of the clans and try one way or the other to unite the country under your own clan. You set type of buildings for each area you control which affect type and quality of troops you can build, income, tax, etc. You can also build special units which are very specialized and work solely on the strategic map of Japan. The armies you build face off enemy armies on the field in a real time format where you control each unit with it's soldiers, almost like a commander of the time. Very good long game with a ton of re playability. A must for any strategy fan. Be warned that it runs well only up to XP. On other more recent OS, at least 64bit version that I have tired, the game crashes at one point or another.

DISCLAIMER: I am a Japan-buff and games based on the Sengoku period of the Shogunate Wars have to be really bad for me not to enjoy them.

Now imagine how much I enjoyed one of the BEST strategy games ever!!!

SHOGUN: TOTAL WAR is admittedly such a great game in every aspect it has become a RTS game benchmark. Not to mention it has fathered the TOTAL WAR series!

Alternating between a tactical map (in which units get moved and improvements built) and the battlefield map (in which real-time unit movements and battles are fought) SHOGUN:TW has struck the perfect harmony between Turn-Based and Real-Time Strategy gaming.

The graphics are by now only a bit dated - and, on the other hand, they can truly shine even on mid-range systems today. The units are easily distinguished during battle, controlling them is done via a user-friendly interface and the issued orders are followed fast and effectively (something not true for much latter games, such as SUPREME COMMANDER).

The sounds manage to be both majestic and realistic (even after so many years, I am using them as my main WinXP Sound-Theme). Both Japanese and English is available.

Birth of an heir, earthquakes and assassination attempts by ninjas all add to the unpredictability of the gameplay. The particulars of the terrain and the weather, the troops deployment and the placement (and survival) of the general, all make the real-time battles such a unique experience!

Alliances are made and broken; rebels conquered and their shock troops assimilated; Christian traders allowed or shunted. Every decision has consequences.

This is the Gold edition which includes the WARLORDS Expansion. Do not miss it!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

I'm always a fan of Creative Assembly's iconic strategy games; Total War series. This game goes back to the root of the first Total War series with graphic and gameplay brought from Napoleon, while going back to Total Melee era engulfing chaotic feudal Japan.

Unit variation is less diverse than Rome Total War, but the beauty of individual warrior animation during battle and unit details make up for it. The battle is more fast paced than usual, but it is easy to get used to it. The refined multiplayer campaign, domination, and co-op give this game a great value to play with your friends and kicking other players buttocks as you unlock more units and powerfull veterans during your online battle. You can even modify your online avatar and personal army.

Highly reccomended for Total War and Strategy fans.

Worst of the whole total war series. I can't rate it too low as it is still fun, but not as deep as other games in the series and has VERY aged graphics.

This is the game that started it all for the Total War franchise. It's over 10 years old, but the gameplay still holds up. The graphics aren't great, but they're good enough for an old game. The battles and campaigns are challenging, and the interface, though very dated, still works. It's a bit different than the other Total War games, which offer an improved and easier to navigate interface, but it's cool to see where the franchise began.

Shogun 2 is obviously newer and a bit better, but if you can get this one on sale, it's not a bad buy.

Well worth the $4.00 sale, but $10 is pushing it when Shogun2 will be on sale here and elsewhere for half price now and then. Also, it may not happen to you, but the installer did not work on my two-year-old Dell quad core with XP. It installed fine on my older P4 3.8 though. So I am not asking for tech help. When the game was introduced I don't think the Pentium 4 had even been introduced, but it runs well on that era of machine or earlier ones.

This game is really fun. I've played about a hundred campaigns. The graffics for the battles are not that great. Also the strategy for the battles is pretty simplistic. But the campaigns are really fun and challenging.

I just recently purchased a gaming laptop which has allowed me to play this classic and the first “Total War” game again. It is a great game at a great price. I would strong recommend you to purchase it to add to your “Total War” gaming collection.

This game gives me alot of memories, i havent been able to find the game.

Thanks gamersgate for providing this game for me.

I'm surprised there is no review of this game yet. Shogun Total War is the first game in the 'total war' series, so it kinda inaugurated the format which was to become so fruitful in the follow-ups. Control strategic and economic stances in a semesterly turn-based map, and control yourself (if you want) combat whenever it happens in a fully 3D map.

Frankly the idea is imitated by lots of other games and it is not orinal here. But the 'total-war-feel' is great, way superior to other comparable games, because the scale of tactical combat is perfect. And true-to-scale modeling is not something you see everyday in contemporary games.

Also it's a classic. A must-have.