So you played Total War: Shogun 2, but felt the strategic mode could use a little…more. Well, you’ve come to the right place, as Paradox Interactive’s Sengoku takes their grand strategy pedigree and applies it to feudal Japan. Scheduled for release a scant two months from now, let’s see how it’s shaping up in this preview.
Sengoku charges you with leading one of the clans of Japan toward the goal of holding half of all the provinces in Japan for three years. There are two scenarios in the game, highlighting different starting characters and both starting on May 26, 1467: the Onin War between Hosowaka and Yamana, and the Kanto War between Uesugi and Ashikaga. You can also choose any character in the game to start with. There isn’t a tutorial, but hints for each of the screen display once you access them. As with previous Paradox titles, Sengoku will offer online multiplayer for those who enjoy that sort of thing.
The interface offers many options, directly accessed from the main screen: your court, clan, military, plots, diplomacy, characters, ninjas, and religion. There are also multiple map modes for displaying clan borders, your domain, and diplomatic ratings. Notifications are separated into “high” and “low” priority items, and pop-up with detailed information when appropriate.
Sengoku, like the previous and upcoming games in the Crusader Kings series, places more of an emphasis on your character and the interaction with others, as opposed to simply running an entire country. Your ruler is rated in several areas: age, fertility, health, military skill, diplomacy, and intrigue (for performing plots and recruiting ninjas). You can also earn traits (both positive and negative) over time. There are many other characters to interact with: heirs, vassals, a spouse, your parents and children, and lots of other members of your clan (and other clans as well). There are eight titles that clan members can attain; three of those are manually bestowed by you, which form your court (the others seem to be granted automatically as you capture new territory). While Sengoku offers the typical diplomatic options present in most grant strategy games (declare war, grant titles, send gifts, peace treaties), you can also plot to secretly attack other clans or unseat the clan leadership. Decisions to form your own clan or ignite a civil war are also available.
There are three main resources in Sengoku. The most straightforward is wealth, earned from taxes. You also have demesne, which is a limit on how many provinces you can directly manage. As your clan's territory increases, you will have to designate land titles to subordinate members of your clan and give up control. This means you'll only have to worry about improvements in five provinces, with the rest under your domain being handled by the AI. In addition, your AI clan members will raise armies of their own and fight alongside you, although you can levy armies in any territory your clan controls and pay the upkeep for them directly. Honor is earned from granting those land titles or converting wealth into honor by sending gifts or holding a ceremony, and used for diplomatic actions. If you have zero honor, you must commit suicide and leave the clan to your heir.
The three members of your court are responsible for provincial improvements, which have two advantages: it’s interesting to tie it to real people, and it prevents “building spam” (since they can only do one action at a time). The master of arms improves castles (adding moats, gateways, and guard towers), hires troops, or restores order in unstable provinces. Interestingly, each province has a single army that you can raise and disband when needed, so your military size is more restricted since you can only have one traditional army unit per province. You can, however, recruit ronin and retinues (which act as mercenaries) to supplement your basic units. The master of ceremonies improves villages (adding inns, marketplaces, toll booths, roads), improves relations, or collects additional taxes. And finally, the master of the guard improves manufactories (enabling spearmakers, swordsmiths, and gunsmiths), sows dissent, or hires ninjas to assassinate, protect, take hostages, weaken defenses, undermine relations, burn manufactories, or cause competitors to lose honor.
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发表于 2011-9-7 01:34
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