Shogun Total War: Battlefield Tactics

If you are unfamiliar with the game, then let me explain it a little.It is a strategic and tactical game that takes place in Feudal Japan in roughly the 15th century or so.

In Japanese history it is referred to as "The Age of The Country at War." It was a civil war that lasted lasted four centuries. During that time the Warlords of Japan tried to conquer the rest of Japan and have themselves declared the Shogun,or military ruler, of Japan.

When you play the game, you are assuming the role of one of the warlords (called Daimyos)and taking control of one of the major clans in Japan to attempt to conquer your rivals. The game offers both a strategic control and tactical, or battlefield control.

In the strategic role, you make decisions regarding each province's disposition. The meaning here is is what facities to build, what defenses to build, and what economic developments to have in each one. It also means what troops you wish to produce.

The latter is important as different troops have different price tags in both the costs to produce and their respective upkeep.

The tactical mode allows you to command your armies on the battle field. The game is quite unique in the detail and quality the it entails in each battlefield creation.

You command what formtions you use, whether your men stand fast, hold formations, etc.You can move your units around the field and even change their formation depth, depending on the situation.

Each unit type has its respective weaknesses and strengths. For example, Yari Ashigaru (peasant spearmen) are good as back up troops and can be useful at defending against cavalry, but they will not last long in combat against other foot soldiers. On the other hand, the Warrior Monks, are extremely deadly in their ability to fight other foot soldiers, but cannot stand against a concentrated archer defense or cavalry charge.

With this in mind, here a few general tactics that can work to your advantage, though they may take a little refining.

When possible, use height to your advantage. It gives your archers better range and there are advantages when attacking down hill.

Place your archers in front to form skirmishing lines. They can thin the ranks of the enemy byshowering them with arrows and cause then to flee should they lose sufficient strength. Always try to support them with spearmen (Yari Samurai) and other foot soldiers. Move the spearmen up to meet the enemy advance and pull back the archers, but do not withdraw them.

When possible, use shock troops to break up enemy formations. The Warrior Monks or the No-Dachi Samurai
(swordsmen) work better.The use of cavalry is good for lightning swift attacks on flanks or fleeing enemies and can rout whole units or cause the entire army to break and run away.

Using Horse Archers to harrass attackers won't win the battles, but it might be worth it to use them to thin the enemies numbers.

Finally, don't over extend your self. In the number of times I have played this game, the one mistake that has often cost me the battle was to over extend my forces and lose them to enemy reinforcements or regroupimg enemy units. It is far better to keep them together and let the enemy come to you.

This game is highly involving and can be very addictive. When I firstwas introduced to it, I could not put it down. It is the first in a series of succesful games under the Total War logo.