Furthermore, sound economic planning is necessary for success. A strong economy based on chi is needed to pay for a powerful armyвЂ™s upkeep, but a narrowly focused autocrat, however enlightened, may be overrun by a militaristic brute. One example is the allocation of your research efforts, which must be carefully divided between the chi and Bushido arts (the civilian and military tech trees, respectively). The choice of clan is an easy one compared to the many difficult decisions you have to make during the campaign. For instance, the Chosokabe have superior bow infantry, while the Mori are master shipwrights, and the Hojo get building construction bonuses. Each clan has unique strengths that you have to master if you plan to capture Kyoto, the nationвЂ™s capital city, and unify Japan as its new shogun. You play as an ambitious daimyo, or leader, of one of the 10 most powerful clans in Japan. Shogun 2вЂ™s turn-based single-player campaign stands on its own merits as an excellent strategy game. Either way, you have to make intelligent use of terrain and unit abilities, keep your flank adequately protected, and do your best to sap the enemy unitsвЂ™ morale before they can get the upper hand. The goal during real-time battles is to route the enemy army as an attacker and hold out as a defender. When an army engages in combat, you can either use the auto-resolve feature or fight things out in fantastic real-time battles. It is on this magnificent 60-province map of Japan that you make all of your strategic decisions, manage your dynasty, research technologies, build improvements like roads and farms, and direct your armies.

The turn-based portion of the game takes place on a gorgeous strategic map that, although limited to the country of Japan (minus Hokkaido), feels every bit as epic as the continent-spanning maps of previous iterations in the series. Like the previous Total War games, Shogun 2 combines a turn-based strategy mode with tactical, real-time battles.

Shogun 2 unique units