I can remember some time ago, in fact many years ago now, watching the trailer for this game. One of the first things to grab me was the sheer cinematic scale of it. There was a scene that showed easily a thousand men charging across a battlefield in perfect formation and the reaction of the opposing general as his units fell back in perfect order and opened the way for a counter charge by his cavalry. It was done with such timing and such precision that it seemed more like a sublimely choreographed ballet than a pitched, bloody battle. I knew I had to get this game, this was going to be a well put together and thought out strategy game that could see the end of the "tank rush" in the face of superior tactics. It was, in fact, so well put together and so well received that it spawned an expansion pack, then a sequel and another expansion pack and soon one of the most eagerly awaited RTS releases of the year with Rome: Total War. So why am I harping on about a game that has been replaced by its sequel already? Because those truly wonderful people at Sold Out have just re-released the Warlord Edition for a fiver.

The Warlord Edition of Shogun: Total War was basically the name given to the package that included the original Shogun: Total War and its expansion pack Mongol Invasion. It also had a few tweaks here and there to deal with some of the more annoying traits and some of the more frequently suggested alterations to the GUI. The original Shogun: Total War was easily one of my most favoured RTS titles for several years after its release. The mix of turn based chess like strategy in controlling your forces across Japan to the real time strategy of the massed battles when two armies met; it was all done with such style and aplomb that I just could not stop playing. In fact, take the game apart and just give me one of the two modes of play and I would have been a happy gamer for ages.

Gameplay breaks down into two distinct styles; the throne room from which you handle all the micromanagement of your army and base building construction in a turn based environment, and the battlefield where you personally take control of your forces to see off the opposing Daimyo. The chess-like nature of the throne room micromanagement is inevitably the place you spent the majority of your time trying to gain a decent tax income whilst building up the facilities in each region you control and the armies that defend them. At the same time, you move your forces into a position that allows you to strike at the exposed underbelly of your opponent, sending your intelligence gathering units such as Shinobis into enemy lands to cause unrest or Ninjas to attempt to assassinate the enemy commanders or Daimyos. The level of thought that can go into the play here generally will decide the entire campaign, as little or not enough forethought and you will quickly be sinking in an ocean of little problems. Even with careful planning it is all too easy to find yourself struggling to make your way through the game, as the computer can readily and almost happily ruin your parade with a seemingly endless list of unexpected little events, even including the weather.

Once your armies meet one of the opposing Daimyos it's off to the battlefield to resolve your differences. All the initial forces in Shogun get access to the same units, so it will come down to who has the better tactics and uses the land best to his or her advantage. Making the most of your units is not always an easy thing and it is possible to make a simple error that the computer will leap on, to very destructive effect. There is a wide range of cavalry, foot troops of all flavours and a few novelty ones like warrior monks. These battles are much the same as you would expect them to be, very cat and mouse, very tactical, very quick when combat does start and very, very bloody.

There are, of course, different modes for singular play. There is the campaign where you fight to control all of Japan, a historic battles section where you can take control of a force from a battle long ago and a few others besides. All this and I'm yet to cover the Mongol Invasion aspects of this title.

The Mongol Invasion expansion pack gives you access to a 'what if' scenario based on historical events. The mighty warlord Kublai Khan, who historically managed to conquer most of Asia, sent emissaries to Japan declaring him their rightful leader and emperor of all Asia. Naturally having had their own emperor for some centuries, the Japanese where none to receptive of this idea so sent the emissaries packing and in response Kublai Khan embarked on a massive naval assault to land his armies on Japanese land and conquer them. History states that due to some very bad weather, the great Khan never made it to Japan but Mongol Invasion decides to play out the scenario as if he had. Aided by Korean foot troops, you can take control of the mighty Mongol cavalry and try to conquer Japan. Unlike the previous campaign in Shogun, you do not get to build any structures or build up your armies once landed in Japan. You get your income from pillaging and ransacking the place and your reinforcements from the Khan if he so pleases in the form of additional forces landing along parts of the coastline that you have conquered.

Should you wish to play as the Japanese and repel these foul barbarian invaders, and why shouldn't you, since it has probably taken you the best part of a century to gain control of the place (though admittedly this takes place before the normal Shogun campaign), then feel free. Taking control of your clan and all of the facilities you should by now be familiar with you can bring the full force of the ancient Japanese war machine to bear. Naturally there are some new toys to play with, though some are not really worth the money you pay. New units come in the form of the Ashiguru Crossbowmen & Naginata Cavalry, the latter being a slow moving and hard hitting cavalry unit that packs the punch of heavy cavalry but has a longer reach. The Crossbowmen are so inept that only a suicidal Daimyo should consider including them in their forces. Unbelievably slow to reload, ridiculously short range and with no sense of accuracy, they are the best thing to ever happen to your army as far as your opponent is concerned. Lastly is a singular unit in that it is literally a single bloke, a sword saint or Kensai to be more precise. Not just any ordinary sword wielding individual, this guy will whirl and twirl like Jet Li on Pro Plus and be twice as deadly, dispatching an entire unit happily by himself. There are others, but as always I like to leave you a few surprises.

Graphically this title was at its time of release very much at the forefront of gorgeousness for an RTS game. Some years on and it looks a little behind the times but still very fine. The battlefields are still some of the best laid out I have seen and have a real sense of authenticity about them. The animations for the troops are somewhat lacking by today's standards but this is in no way detrimental to the gameplay. Throne room sequences are still the best in the way of the animation of the characters that show up, though almost all Europeans seem extremely bow legged. The updates from Mongol Invasion to the graphics are apparent in only one area and that is the level of dust thrown up by your units as they march across the battlefield.

The sound is by and large totally top draw and can be criticised only for one thing. Maybe it's my computer, although no other game does it, maybe it's just something about the copy I got though I seriously doubt it, but whatever the reason the sound has this annoying habit of totally screwing up and sounding like a bad dose of static. Naturally there is only one cure, speakers off and play in silence. It does seem to clear itself up after a couple of minutes so if it does happen and you cannot find the cause don't worry too much. The battlefield is where the best of the sound can be heard from the ambient of the environment around you to the sounds of your forces in motion to the dramatic incidentals when you order your troops into engage the opposition.

Control is very simple and will be almost second nature for the seasoned RTS player, but for those new to the genre there is a very decent tutorial series that will guide you though the full range of commands at your disposal so you shouldn't be too adrift.

I have to admit that I hadn't played Shogun for some time when this review dropped through the letterbox but every minute since has been enjoyable. Though I have tried hard to be objective and not let nostalgia cloud my judgement, I have yet to discover something bad about this title. Yes, the AI is not the most accomplished ever built and the graphics are not cutting edge anymore, but even so I can't help but think that this is nothing to destroy it in a review. It cannot get top marks because its subsequent sequels have done everything it has but more and better. At the end of the day I have to adjust the review score because of the price, £5, this is possibly one of the best deals around and with stores like GAME doing a 3 for £10 offer with the Sold Out range you can get some unbelievably good deals. So go on, use the link a little way up on the left hand side and go to the GAME website and get yourself a copy of this. For a fiver you would be mad not to.

Reviewed by AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).