Still, Kessen is a must have for any PS2 strategy nut. Koei’s reputation for strategy wargaming is well deserved. The fact that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga’s Ambition series continue to sell even though they contain the exact same subject matter is a testament to the company’s design expertise. However, it’s games are filled with minute subtleties that could only interest those with an obsession for rice–picking stats and peasant management. In today’s flash–bang, gee–whiz world, Koei’s dry–as–dust approach to strategy no longer works, and it’s spent a lot of money and time to change. The result is Kessen, a flashy and dead–solid launch title for the PS2.
The game takes place in the late 16/17th century, illustrating the classic struggle between Ieyasu Tokugawa (founder of the legendary Tokugawa shogunate) and Ishida Mitsunari, a minor but influential lord during the Hideyoshi administration. As most American gamers have no need to recall medieval Japanese history, suffice it to say that Tokugawa is the "good" guy and Ishida is the "bad" guy, and we’ll leave it at that. For most purposes, the two are merely different sides with different troops and different strengths, as in most strategy games.
The storyline is quite detailed and compelling, being fleshed out by extensive FMV and voice acting. Of course, history does not, in and of itself, a good game make. The actual game play consists of mission–based campaigns. Each mission takes place in three phases. Deployment and post–mission management are quite similar — players select their generals, alter troop deployment, and choose battle plans. As in all Koei’s games, each general has his own strengths and weaknesses, loyalties, and troop preferences. This is a subtle but important part of the game. Some generals are very powerful, but could either desert to the other side, or flee in the middle of a crucial battle. Likewise, deploying a small number of musketeers with a great general makes a huge difference against a huge number of infantry commanded by a cowardly general. Deployment can be automatic or customized, which is crucial for the next phase: warfare.
Once on the battlefield, computer opponents do their best to throw a monkey wrench into tactical plans. You’ll find yourself ambushed, facing reinforcements, handling hit and run assaults — the missions are carefully scripted to imitate the give and take of real tactical engagement. In fact, with the seamless in–mission cut scenes, Kessen does a great job of mixing drama and strategy on a level that hasn’t been seen since Sega’s Dragon Force.
Unfortunately, but predictably, Kessen is far from perfect. The main battle screens feature generic landscapes while armies are blobby masses of dots. The sumptuous crowd scenes that PS2 fans drooled over only appear during special attacks or when you zoom into battles. They’re totally non–interactive, which makes them tedious and redundant later into the campaigns. The camera control is rather weak, and the general’s AI has the savvy of a mentally–challenged checkers opponent. It’s hard to lose and it takes about half an hour on average to finish the mission.
Still, the mechanics behind the game are sound, and the missions are charged with a drama hard to find in other console strategy games. Also, it’s one of the easiest strategy games to learn and play on a console, which is a blessing compared to notable realtime (or pseudo–realtime) strategy games in the past. With two full campaigns and a skirmish mode, the only thing it really lacks is multiplayer support. Even if it wasn’t the only strategy game in town, PS2 owners could do a lot worse than Kessen.
"Finally, a rather deep and satisfying title for a console system — albeit not perfect, for strategy wargamers, Kessen offers much to enjoy."
