"You shouldn't buy this game unless you really want to, but it's worth a rental."

Graphics/sound 10
The graphics are amazing. They may not look like it at the start but it goes into an FMV every five seconds (which is good because there is NO loading in the midst of battle). You can see the lips move on the people as they talk. The 3D animation is very realistic.

Story 9
Nearly every ounce of storyline in this game actually happened 400 years ago. You could read about each character in a history book. The storyline is set in the Edo period when Commander Tokugawa of the eastern Japanese army and Commander Ishida of the west were battling it out over land control. The game will explain this VERY clearly (you wont get bored of the story)

Gameplay 8
After maybe the third battle you get to the specifics. First, you get to check out the enemy team. Second, you select what generals and their men will fight in the battle. Later in the game by the fourth or fifth battle you can change cavalry to riflemen and stuff like that. During battle, you choose where to put each squad and you can have them build a fort, you can set them up behind forests and wait in ambush, etc. There are many special maneuvers, depending on what kind of men you have, such as raid, where your general takes matters into his own hands, and cannonade for leaders and large squads, there is volley for archers, barrage and my favorite triple barrage for riflemen, there is charge for cavalry and many more. I think the best part of the game are duels, where one of Tokugawa's generals (or Tokugawa himself) engage in a one on one battle with Ishida or a general of his where your men cheer you on. The game is confusing but it includes a good and interesting tutorial. The game is fun the first time around and more fun the second time because you can play on either side. The game is VERY hard and challenging near the end and a lot more fun.

Playability 1
You might not care because it is made very well, but according to this game the whole war between Tokugawa and Ishida was about an hour long, so, as I mentioned in the story section, the game is too. It's fun to play twice to use both sides and more if you want to use different tactics or generals, but still, the game is INCREDIBLY short.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/01, Updated 05/05/01