From: ccastbh@prism.gatech.EDU (Brad Hamlett)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: [TG16] Lords of the Rising Sun review
Summary: Lords of the Rising Sun (CD)
Date: 23 Nov 92 18:38:40 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology




	Here's another in a series of TG/PC Engine game reviews.
	
	Lords of the Rising Sun (CD)

	Lords of the Rising Sun is the long awaited strategy game based
	in feudal Japan.  This title appeared on both the Amiga and the
	IBM.  Little has changed.  You assume the role of one of three
	Japanese warlords.  Your objective is to secure and consolidate
	your power as a Samurai.  The game difficulty and objectives
	vary depending on which of the warlords you choose to play.

	You and each warlord you command is rated on archery/siege/and
	swordsmanship.  Archery determines how well you can protect a
	fortification.  Siege is how well you can attack a fortification.
	Swordsmanship is how well you command an army in the field.

	Each warlord commands a number of troops from 0-100.  The longer
	a warlords remains in a city, the more troops will join.  In cities,
	warlords replenish men and rest...in villages, warlords can only
	rest.  Marching drains stamina from your troops and affects their
	combat abilities.

	Each type of combat is represented by a action or strategy sequence.
	When defending a fort, you must shoot enemy soldiers that are 
	scaling the walls.  In a siege, you must kill enemy soldiers standing
	in your way while navigating a maze of buildings trying to find the
	main temple.  Only the field battles require no arcade skills.  You
	set troop orders and then watch them fight it out.  You can sound
	retreat or change orders during the fight.  If you are victorious,
	the scene changes and you try to chase down the enemy warlord on
	horseback.  If you fail, the leader gets away...succeed and there's
	one less enemy commander to deal with.

	Other options include sending ninja assassins to kill enemy warlords.
	and bribing other leaders to you cause.  The game ends when you meet
	your victory conditions.

	I'm not going to lie to you...this game sucks.  The action sequences
	are out of place and the 'chase down the enemy warlord on horseback'
	one is just too damn hard.  The actions sequences are fun a time or
	two, but the 100th time you siege a city, you don't want to have to
	run around finding the main temple again.  The voice actors make me
	cringe...no emotion and some blatently fake Japanese accents (makes
	me cringe about as much as when Hollywood portrays Southerners).

	The music and background effects are nicely done, but don't make up
	for a truly bad game.  Avoid this one...MAYBE rent it.

		Gameplay:	2
		Graphics:	7
		Sound/BGM:	8.5
		Challenge:	7
		Manual:		7.5
		Overall:	3

	Key to my ratings:

		Gameplay:	How fun is the game?  Do the characters/ships
				control well?  Is there enough variety?
		Graphics:	How does the game look?  Are the intermissions
				interesting? (if any).
		Sound/BGM:	Are the sound effects cheesy?  Do they cover
				up the music?  Is the music so bad that you
				wish the sound effects would cover it up?
		Challenge:	Can the game be solved/won in a night? a
				weekend? ever?
		Manual:		How is the manual arranged?  does it tell you
				everything you need?  Is it in color?
		Overall:	Is the game worth buying?  renting?  feeding
				to your dog?

	Some of my favorite TG games include:  Military Madness, MotoRoader,
	Ninja Spirit, Cadash, Silent Debuggers, Ys(CD), Sherlock Holmes(CD),
	Cosmic Fantasy 2(CD), Valis III(CD), BomberMan, Order of the Griffon,
	and Aeroblasters.  Some of my favorite PC-Engine games include:
	Dead Moon, Vasteel (CD), Super Darius (CD), Ranma 1/2 (CD), Lady
	Phantom (SCD), Spriggan Mk. 2 (SCD), and OutRun.


Brad Hamlett
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
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