This week I’m going to do something a little different than my usual game review. This week I’m reviewing a game that is not a free, online casual game. I have done this because this is such an awesome game. Shogun 2: Total War is a game that can be bought at any game store or online through Steam. It’s made by Creative Assembly.

Shogun 2 takes place in 16th century Japan. The Ashikaga Shogunate has fallen and it is the age of the country at war. This is a time in which Samurai are still the nobles of Japan and whose only master are great and powerful Daimyos. You play one of these Daimyo leading his armies to victory in an attempt to claim the ultimate prize—the title of shogun.

Shogun 2 has a lot going for it. It comes from a long and successful line of games ranging all the way from Rome Total War to Napoleon Total War. Needless to say, this game has amazing graphics and captures the atmosphere and look of Japan in this time period. When your armies are fighting in the spring you can see the pink petals of the cherry trees flying in the wind adding a poetic element to the battle that is about to ensue.

There are multiple ways of conquering Japan. You can raise huge armies and sweep your enemies aside at the point of a sword, you can use diplomacy to create animosity between factions and then destroy the weakened clans, and finally through assassination and bribery you can buy off your enemies’ armies and cities.

Though this game is amazing, this also means that it requires the best when it comes to technology. If you don’t have one of the very best computers, the game can be slow and glitchy, and when you are trying to execute tactics that require pinpoint timing, a glitch or a lag could cost you a battle.

The only major issue I have had with this game, on a gameplay level, is at the very beginning of the game it is often hard to expand. To get your road of conquest started, it is often slow and agonizing and I can see that being more of a pain for some people, rather than challenging.

Shogun 2 truly lives up to its predecessors when it comes to engaging, entertaining gameplay. Though this game has a price tag, it is well worth the price.