As an owner of every Total war game in the series i picked this up to finish my collection and see where it started. Although the graphics are hugely dated the mechanics and playablity of this are just as good as the other games. It just not as in depth because they have obivously added as they went along the series. I woul say if your intrested in seeing where it began buy it not alot of money anyway.

The expansion pack also adds alot to a already good long campaign and there is hours and hours to spend here.

I have owned this game for years and it is easily one of my favorite games I have ever played. Its graphics may not be the best but this game has a charm to it that keeps me coming back every year.

This is the second time I have owned this game. I bought it again because my first disk got damaged (probably from over use). Here is a quick overview:

Campaign- If you are a fan of board games and real time strategies, this storyline is for you. You start off by picking from seven Japanese Daimyu. Each clan starts out with a different chunk of territory. You move your men across a map of the Japanese mainland. At first, other Daimyu will send their emissaries to create treaties and alliances. You can choose to accept these or not. Making war early on is difficult because you have so few units to defend your territories. Once you advance and train elite units, war becomes more ideal. Some battles can be won automatically, but others need to be fought with your personal touch. The real time battles are fun and can be difficult at times. The detail of the units isn't great, but it paints the picture. Quick decisions, and the ability to rally your troops, can be the difference between victory and defeat. Total domination is my favorite way to play.

Custom Games- Basically, real time battles, without the turn based campaign map. You set the stage with the number and type of units on the battlefield. You can even set how high a unit's morale is before they go into a battle.

Historical Battles- Actual campaigns from the age. You will fight real time battles, but you won't be able to adjust your units before hand.

I liked this game to buy it a second time. The Gold Edition made the game a little more streamlined. I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys RTSs, and some history mixed in. Overall, a great game.

If it wont play, first turn on Windows XP mode. Second, run as admin. Third, turn pixels as low as it will go. Took me doing all three fixes, others I read about online got this to work simply by turning on XP mode.

It is very similar to romance of the 13 kingdoms, except the battles are different. The similarities come in that both have a 'Risk' like map that you need to take over and you need to grow your provinces to continue to supply you with resources. The difference in battle is that instead of fighting on a grid system (or in a city as with Dynasty Warriors), you fight in an open field with your armies against your enemies army. Each unit can be moved separate or they can be formed into an army of up to 60 (60 army size makes more sense then doing it 1 at a time). On that note, don't attack rebel castles until you have 5-6 60 unit armies.

It may not have weathered well with regards to graphics, but it doesn't stop this little game being an absolute blast! And at this price, what's stopping you? Take a look at how this awesome franchise started.

The first in the series and the simplest.

But it is also the best one I played yet. You are not bogged down by all the window dressings in the sequel.

the gameworld is not much more then Risk, and is easy to manage (it is not the civilization management sim that the sequels become). But the battles work pretty much the same.

One of the best strategy games ever... What more needs to be said? It has a few bugs, and the interface hasn't aged particularly well, but still one of the best. And it costs less than 4 euros. You have no reason not to buy it.

This game was good at its time. The setting was also unique in Western game at that time. Now a day, strategy games has evolve so much, this game just does not hold at this time. (You can't really expect that) It still worth a try if it is on sale, but if you just want a good strategy game experience, you should consider later games in the series.

Unfortunately, it gets such a low score mostly because it's just about unplayable on modern hardware and there's no fixes to be found.

A great strategy game! Create large armies and attack your enemies. The game is about japanese warlords fighting each other for territorial supremacy. It's one of the few strategy games i ve played where you must use tactics to beat your opponent and not just by creating an army with powerful units and attack at once. I din't like the graphics very much since i m more attracted to games with good graphics, but as you can see from some trailers of the game it has excellent graphics for his time. If you have played and liked the other total war games, especially shogun 2, then this game is a must have.

Some games do not age well. I remember playing this game when it first came out and finding it lots of fun. Alas, this is no Rome: Total War or Civilization IV. Shogun's biggest downfall is not its graphics- we can't expect games this old to be particularly cutting edge- but rather the interchangeability of the clans, the frustrating user interface, the lackluster (and hilariously aggressive and treacherous) AI, and the fairly repetitive gameplay. I wish I could say this game could explain the rise of the Total War franchise but, honestly, only nostalgia and the novelty and innovation demonstrated in its design keep me from giving Shogun a 1 star. If you can get it for $3 it's probably worth grabbing, but otherwise I'd say stick to the newer Total War games. They are much more polished, and with appropriate mods can look and feel like Shogun (or, you know, just get Shogun 2; it's on a steep sale at the time of this review's writing).

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.