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Kessen - PS2

Discussion in 'Gaming and PC Discussion' started by Xiph0, Mar 4, 2007.

  1. Xiph0

    Xiph0 Yoda Admin

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    Had to follow up INBN's, so here's one on Kessen.

    I just picked it up the other day, looking for another RTS (like Medieval:Total War), and actually ended up kinda disappointed.

    Sound: 0/10

    Feels like they grabbed a few quick .midi's offline and threw them in. The music fits, but it's nothing special at all.

    Look & Feel: 8/10

    The game's graphics are fucking brilliant. The calvary charges, canonaides, musket volleys, and everything else are beautifully done and look pretty realistic.

    The controller vibration, in relation to troops/canons firing, is excellent. In fact, the controller damn near rolled off my desk a few times.

    Game play: 7/10


    Before you begin a battle, you'll be presented with numerous things. Some of these are pretty interesting (Adjusting the battle strategy, choosing which enemy officers to flip) while some of it is just stupid (information on enemy commanders themselves).

    The battles themselves are actually stupidly easy.

    You'll have a lot more trouble sitting through the entire battle without saving/coming back (which you can do), then actually winning it.

    The commands are fairly easy, and you can pause mid-battle and re-direct troops here and there. You'll end up relying a lot on "Special Maneuvers", which is firing off artillery / muskets / bow and arrow volleys and such.

    Once you do the intro mission (which doubles as a tutorial of sorts), you should have no trouble at all. I don't recommend checking out online guides, since they'll just end up confusing you. I found that if you made sure you didn't get flanked, the enemy just fell apart.

    If you're a fan of Medieval: Total War, I recommend sticking to that - these battles go way to slowly and require to many manual commands to do simple stuff (like tell Riflemen to fire off a volley)

    Another thing worth noting - there's only about nine actual battles. It's not a long game at all (battle length not withstanding), and when I beat it I didn't really feel like playing it again at all.

    Story: 9/10

    Excellent, excellent stuff. The game centers around Tokugawa (Civ fans will recognize him) fighting against the Toyotomi family in an East vrs. West thing.

    The game makers used real-life generals, commanders, and battles throughout the entire game. Along with that, you get beautifully done cut-scenes providing you further insight into what was occurring around the battles.

    In addition to the historical accuracy, they've included within the game a whole slew of genealogy information on the different commanders - the game feels like it was very much made by a historian, which was a big bonus.

    Overall: 8/10.

    There's no denying there's something cool about the game, and despite how dull the fighting got near the end, the graphics really entertained me.
     
  2. MrINBN

    MrINBN Unspeakable

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    I've never played this game, but it doesn't sound like something I'd be willing to play. Your review makes it sound like this is a game that entertains solely on the "Ooooh! Shiny!" factor and little to no actual substance.
     
  3. Dango-Fetish

    Dango-Fetish Fourth Year

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    Bought this game a few years back. Hardly amazing. Especially is you consider many of the other strategy games that are out there. It is all very restricted as well, since you've got to follow a specific timeline of battles.

    That said, the detail of each battle is excellent. A lot of effort has been put into making this as historically accurate as possible. The pre-battle planning is very different from the total war games; which involve thinking up a strategy on the spot.

    The best part, in my opinion is - as Xiph0 said - the realism of the battles. The thundering cannons tearing up the earth and cavalry charges hurtling into battle are awe inspiring

    Overall: 7/10 from me.
    Good game, but if you like the freedom of being able to do whatever you want in a game: stick to "total war". I'm not surprised this game isn't particularly well know. The rigid storyline is probably what puts most off. Personally, I like the strict and accurate storyline, as it adds a greater depth to the game, with many others lack.

    Oh, and the English dubbing is shite (then again, I've been a big fan of dubs).

    If you like it, I know that there are at least two other games in the series. Though, I myself haven't played any more that the first.
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2007