Takeda 3

[ShadesWolf]

So I have now downloaded the demo and installed it. Opening of the game was nice, so far quite impressed. Then I came to a halt. How do I raise and army :(

Spend the next 10 minutes trying to find out how to create an army, when I finally found the answer it was a strange one, anyway thats out the way so off to battle.

What a disappiontment, small battlefields, cant tell what unit is what, and the deploymeny screen, dont have a clue wat im doing. So battle side NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL.

Hope the strat side is a little better, has a long way to go if its going the beat a paradox game for strategy.

will report back later then ive had a little more of a play with it

[KukriKhan]

Demo installed easily.

I admit I clicked thru the instruction screens, to see if the game could be played intuitively. It can not. There are no obvious measures to take, except "end turn", and the advisor guy button. So, I hope there is a robust manual.

A neighbor picked a fight, so off to battle. I clicked "auto-select", letting the algorithm pick the armies. Camera manipulation was very sensitive, cursor to the right of the screen taking me very quickly (too quickly) 90 degrees away, and out of sight of my army. Same with left, up and down. I couldn't find a way to creep ahead slowly to see enemy disposition or terrain. Of course fog obscured. So, we had a smash-mouth at the castle gate. I lost. My general who didn't like me (it was reported on the strat map) fought brilliantly, the others (more loyal) not-so-hot.

The music was OK. It sounded vaguely Chinese, not Japanese, to me. But the "you lost" theme was good, a shamisen plucking a sad tune.

On first go-thru, I award 2.5 stars out of 5. Good effort, but it seems more a board game, grafted onto a computer program; like a digital scrabble game: it's on your screen, and you click to make things happen, but it's still essentially, an enhanced board game.

BUT: I'll award an extra star, to 3.5, just because the company keeps trying, and releasing new versions - unlike Shogun:TW, not seeing anything new since 2001.

Overall "Buy" or "No" verdict: "Wait" says Kukri. There's nothing ground-breaking, and it will be available at half-price in 6-9 months. Steam will probably offer it on one of their 'special weekend sales' for $12 this fall.