Amazon Maximum Age: 17 years Amazon Minimum Age: 156 months Binding: Video Game Brand: Koei EAN: 0014633142587 ESRB Age Rating: Teen Label: Electronic Arts Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Platform: PlayStation2 Publisher: Electronic Arts Sales Rank: 11618 Studio: Electronic Arts
Product Description: The PlayStation 2 receives another strategy game with Koei's KESSEN. The game focuses on the battle between two major families in feudal Japan. The player must control Ieyasu Tokugawa against his opponent in many fierce battles that involve thousands of soldiers. The game requires the player to set up men on a map, and then decide how they should act during the upcoming battle. While the battle is fought, the player must decide what moves would be most effective and how to vanquish their foe forever.
Amazon.com Review: Kessen is the first DVD PlayStation2 title--boy, what a difference a DVD-ROM makes! Kessen's fantastic cutscenes showcase the difference between the visual capabilities of non-DVD and DVD formats. That difference is analogous to the gap between analog television and HDTV quality.
The graphics are awesome, too. In a triple barrage, three rows of gunmen draw and fire their guns. Not everyone does it at exactly the same time, and the number of men goes back as far as the eye can see. The smart choreography makes the battle seem much more real. In fact, you actually can see other soldiers fighting as the generals duel.
The game's orchestral score is wonderful, and the sound effects also are great, with booming cannons, neighing horses, and clanking spears.
While all of the above makes for a very splashy presentation, it doesn't do much for the gameplay. Those who have found fault in the micromanagement of past Koei strategy titles surely will be disappointed with Kessen. It's often painful to see every single stat and try to improve them all in a set amount of time. Kessen goes too far in that every battalion has a morale level, called zeal, as well as a certain number of soldiers of different types. Each general has a different amount of loyalty to you, but it really doesn't affect gameplay, as far as we could tell.
Before each battle, you go through the political stage. Here, you can persuade undecided generals or enemy generals to join you in battle, or not to fight at all. That's a cool aspect, but the game basically tells you outright who will join you and who won't.
The pace of the battles is extremely slow, like in most other Koei games. However, the difficulty is not. Many times, you're given so many reinforcements that you just can't lose. Also, every single event involves a 20-second cutscene, with no obvious way to skip these. Sure, the triple barrage is impressive the first few times that you see it; but, after the 100th time, it wears a little thin. And you get to see a cutscene every time that your enemies do the same to you.
Unlike other RTS games, there's hardly ever any cause for alarm or stress--even if you're losing, you feel like there's not a lot you could do about it, anyway. --Todd Mowatt
Pros:
Fantastic cutscenes showcase the visual capabilities of DVD format
Great graphics, score, and sound effects
Cons:
Too many statistics to manage
Slow game pace
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - What a bore...
Alright, So i go throught Blockbuster looking for some interesting game to pop-out at me, and this cover just looks soooo Cool! So naturally the game must be! I mean with all that effort into the cover, the game has to be spectacular! Wow was I ever so wrong... The game is basically about 6 levels long and it is just about impossible to lose unless you have no idea about strategy at all. The game took me just a little over an hour to beat, which is saying a lot, cause I dont usually beat things fast. The only cool part about it was how you can use your different *forces* with different guys in sync... But, its just way to easy to beat. I guess if you just want something to make yourself feel good to say Hey! Im amazing at games! This is for you, otherwise you serious gamers out there wont appreciate it at all.
Rating: - The Lessen I Play Kessen, the Better!
If you are really into Japanese history, then you may like this game. If you are really into strategy games and Japanese history, you may like this game. In fact, go rent part 2. It has to be better than this mess. If you are not interested at all in Japanese history, then to you, this is simply a very lame strategy game that should be avoided at all costs. If you are not even into strategy games, let alone Japanese history, you shouldn't even be reading this review! This game is just bad. It is very slow. You move your group of soldiers here, while they move their soldiers there. If they get close enough, there is a warning that someone is going to attack. This is where you see a cool looking cut scene where some guy on a horse says he is going to kill you like the eagle diving down from the sky to capture its prey... or something lame like that. Then, you watch as he kills your soldiers and you realize that this reminds you of another game you should be playing instead. Then you are back to the overhead screen where you see your soldiers defeat his soldiers. Way to go eagle man. After you beat him you can keep moving your group of soldiers to another group of bad guy soldiers. If you win, the cycle of "violence" continues. I suppose the game may be worth playing to see what other kinds of neat metaphors the evil Hondas or Toyotas come up with. Who knows, in the later parts of the game, they may have prepared threatening haikus. Your face is ugly My sword is extremely sharp I will watch you die.
Rating: - Really good
If the goal behind Kessen was to create a spectacular-looking display of medieval Japanese warfare, it succeeds and then some. If the goal was to make a good real-time strategy game, however, Kessen fails. While at first it's breathtaking to watch the clash of dozens of incredibly detailed 17th Century Japanese soldiers-riflemen, archers, swordsmen, lancers-accompanied by the roar of battle and epic music, Kessen's focus on eye and ear candy hurts the gameplay. This is most evident in the many beautiful, but repetitive cinemas you're forced to watch that show every little thing that occurs on the battlefield. While the close-in battle scenes-the best part of the game-look amazing, the player has little control there beyond watching them. You exert most of your control at the Battle screen, a wide-angle view with a totally different graphics engine-here your units are scruffy 3D icons. Sadly, the controls in the Battle screen are totally counterintuitive, making it a slow, tedious chore to command your units. It's extremely difficult just to roam around the map, choose a unit, and give it an order. You're also thrown all over the map when responding to your lieutenants' constant queries and reports. You never feel in control of a large battle, but feel like an observer of many small, disconnected battles. If you're looking for a good strategy game, seek elsewhere. If you want to show off the amazing graphics of your new PS2, or if you're a fanatic for Japanese history, Kessen delivers.
Rating: - Good Stuff
Basically, people are too critical when it comes to games! I'd say this game could use a little more options, but i believe it is really well made and put together beautifully! I love the war, and how u get to control thousands of men rather than just 1, 2, 3 or 4...This game was really fun, and suspenseful. I hope number 3 is like it, only better!
Rating: - this game could have been better
this isn't really a fun game it is basically a look at how great the PS2 graphics are for one of the first games I think its ok but still thsi game isn't really worth the money get Dynasty Warriors
- What a bore...
- The Lessen I Play Kessen, the Better!
- this game could have been better
