Opening as one of Koei's first Playstation 2 games, Kessen offers a unique style of entertainment not seen in any other game before it's time. Mixing battlefield and troop strategy with the ability to view the battles up-close, it allows the gamer to be sucked into the action, as if they were watching a samurai movie unfold. The game also furthers the drama of a war-torn world with over a half hour of gorgeous cinematic CG video.

When you begin your game, you are forced to take command of the Eastern army, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, to fulfill his ambition as the Shogun of Japan. Your enemy, the Western Army, is led by Ishida Mitsunari, Toyotomi family loyalist and adept commander. After an exciting introductory video, where you meet these 2 heroes of Kessen, you are immediately sent into battle against the enemy.

As you may first be dumbfounded thinking that going straight to the battlefield is the extent of Kessen’s strategy, don’t be fooled. Most of the battles in the game host a “double” method of strategy before departing into battle, where you must: 1- Decide the generals you will send into battle and toggle their troop formations/types (also allowing for defect strategies to be put into affect) and 2- Deploy your armies across the battlefield. The 2nd method is known as the “War Council”; this is where understanding the strengths and troop types of your armies is critical in their deployment.

Each of Kessen’s troop types holds their own strengths and weaknesses, with the exception of the ‘ninja’ unit, which has great stats all across the board. During the first method of strategy (stated in above paragraph), you can only change your troop types of each officer depending on the amount of reserves left for the other troop types; in other words, if your army has used up all of one type, then you cannot use anymore of it. Also, you will discover some officers can utilize certain army formations that others cannot. These formations can bring an edge in battle when using the right troop types with it(an example would be a line-type formation, which cavalry can use to dominate enemy ranks).

The units of Kessen also hold an “advantage” and “disadvantage” over one another, depending on their type. You can think of it as a triangle; cavalry beat bowmen, bowmen beat spearmen, spearmen beat cavalry, etc. This allows for a twist into which armies you choose to engage one another.

But, in my opinion, the 2 greatest parts of Kessen are the ability to view the battle first-hand and the CG movies. It definitely turns the game from a hardcore strategy to a “create your own action movie”; watching the AI fight on the battlefield in the same fashion does get a bit old, but it is still fun to watch nonetheless. If you’re into actually fighting in the battles (dynasty warriors fan), then I suggest you try Kessen 2.

Directed by Kou Shibusawa (whom also foresaw the development of the RoTK series), and bolstered by a powerful musical score by Reijiro Koroku, Kessen is sure to be a game worth checking out.