Shogun 2

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I've played Shogun 2 and enjoyed it a lot. My campaign was Shimazu (going Christian very early), mostly based on seaborne trade and vassal relationships. I sat on two provinces for a very long time, making cash from trade.

I've also played the Rise of the Samurai expansion, as Kiso Minamoto (I don't like Yoritomo's personality), also somewhat unusual in that I've traded a lot and in fact I've bribed a number of armies instead of defeating them (myself actually being somewhat behind technologically, while Minamoto is supposed to be the army tech groundbreaker).

I look forward to playing the Fall of the Samurai expansion but I don't know if I will be revisiting the main campaign as a different clan. The game is very basic, actually, in single-player, and I don't have what it takes to join the competitive multiplayer scene the game is in fact about (including more units, more whatever, very cool clan options etc.). Diplomacy is very schematic and rudimentary, trade is better but nothing too fancy, armies... well, depends on how you play. But you'd better have a strong computer for intense battles with a lot of units (remember to turn down unit size in the options if you're having problems). Without strong tactical skills on my part, I autoresolve probably most of the battles anyway (and definitely ones where reinforcement mechanic matters), except for the single nanban trade ship vs a whole bow navy kind of battles.

If you need tips, don't shy away from PMing me.

 

So far, I've played Shogun 2 a few times. I've won it with Shimazu (Christian), Uesugi, Chosokabe, Mori, Date, Ikko-ikki and Hojo on normal, and Oda on Hard. I plan on trying Chosokabe on very hard; I did it once and more or less got shikoku, but had to reinstall my windows and lost my saves. I have Rise of the Samurai and played through it with one of the Fujiwaras (Kubota, I believe - the one that starts with the two upper provinces and has a research bonus) on medium. I was planning on playing with one of the Tairas (the naginata-focused one) but didn't get very far with it.

The big issue with Shogun 2 when it comes to gameplay is the realm divide. When it hits, it hits hard - the next turn anyone who's not your ally will declare war on you (so your trade income will likely plummet) and your allies get a mounting per-turn penalty on diplomacy, iirc declaring war when your diplomatic score reaches -20 or so. Vassals don't get that, but still get the penalty you incur from rapid expansion. In fact, I had a case where after I had the realm divide, I got a few vassals, then took Kyoto, and afterwards got the RD penalty with the vassals as well!

Naturally, imo this makes a short game a lot different from a long game. A short game you can rush after the RD - all you need are 25 provinces, and your vassals count. You should have 15-17 by the time the RD hits, so you are not too far away. So get a few vassals (you'll need them for trade too, and you don't have to waste good troops holding their lands), take Kyoto, have the vassals take a few more provinces, take a few yourself and you might hit the 25 quite easy. 40, though - that's a bit harder. There's going to be a bit of a slog through a Japan where everyone hates your guts, even if you spend thousands on making nice. I've yet to try playing a domination campaign and getting 60.

 

I found that realm divide was one of the more innovative changes in Shogun 2. I'm sure the mechanics could have been better, but this was a good device to keep the late game challenging. As great as it sounds to run an unstoppable empire, fighting a few meaningless skirmishes here and there to expand your already ridiculously huge borders becomes, well, boring. Realm divide gives a nice later game kick, that had me sweating in both my Chosokabe and Shimazu campaigns. I tried to do a Christian Hojo next, but ultimately found that there wasn't enough variety to keep me going for a third campaign.

 

I feel the same way. I won't buy a game where I have to ask permission of the publishers every time I want to play it. I have lots of older games that I've played for years (the original S:TW being one of them), I've reinstalled them on older machines without major problems, and I'd rather have the ownership control I've always had than surrender those rights to some online company - no matter how benevolent they are at the moment.

My understanding is that M:TW2 came out originally through STEAM, but was later offered in a compendium on disk (that's how I got the game). I assume in time both E:TW and S:TW2 will be offered in similar formats a few years from now. If they are I will purchase them without hesitation, but in their present distribution format I'm simply not interested.

Best games in the series:

1) S:TW (original)
2) R:TW (but I didn't like overpopulation problems and the plague workaround)
3) M:TW (conquering Europe for England is rather silly)
4) M:TW2 (never really got into the idea of archery outranging/outperforming muskets; had other issues with the game)

Haven't played E:TW and S:TW2, but I've heard bad things about the former and good things about the latter. If you can tolerate STEAM, I'd suggest both.