I’ve never actually played any of the Total War games. While I’ve certainly heard of them over the years, I never got around to playing them. So, while I can’t tell you much about changes between this game and previous ones, I am delighted to talk about this one.

Shogun is a combination of real time strategy and turn based strategy. You switch between active battle and passively managing your growing kingdom. More than anything else, there is a taste of the classic Sid Meyer’s Pirates! I particularly enjoy the battles. There is clearly a lot of thought that went into the game. While there are a few small points I could complain about, it’s only because they show up in sharp relief against a beautifully polished game.

Visually the game is excellent- although it does require a reasonably powerful computer to run. My computer, Optimus, coughs and wheezes over it even on low settings. Which is the first time I can recall that happening since I built it.

Two really neat aspects of the game. The first is that every single enemy and ally that falls leaves their bodies behind. You get a real feel for the brutality of the battle from this. The second is that you can save and replay every single battle you play, which allows you to re-watch all of your strategies and learn what you did right and where you went wrong, improving yourself. I am a big, big fan of the ability to watch replays in video games.

Rather than controlling individual warriors, you controls regiments of troops. You have to deal with the confidence levels of the troops. The more they lose, the harder they are hit, the more likely they are to break and run. And if they do break and run, you only have a fairly small chance that they will calm down enough to reclaim. This means that you have to be very careful in your strategy, as being hit hard enough will drive off even your most resolute of troops.While fighting you must keep things like the terrain in mind. Charging up a hill into the enemy is a bad idea, while charging downhill into the enemy is a very good one. Attacking an enemy head-on is a good way to lose a lot of troops, leaving you with a Pyrrhic victory. Wheeling your men around to attack enemies from behind is very satisfying, however.

It means that you need very delicate and precise control over your troops. And the only complaint about the game I have is that the troop control does appear to be ever so slightly wonky. I’m not exactly sure why, but sometimes units will either deselect themselves, or just halt in their tracks for no apparent reason. This can be frustrating. But the sheer elegance displayed in the game means than while it can ruin the occasional battle, you’ll still love playing whether you win or lose.

Total War: Shogun 2 is available to buy now from Green Man Gaming.