Full Review: Dang it, stop saying the same things over!
Ambitious games always pique my interest, even though I end up spending hours at a time playing a straight-out bad game once in a while. I am an aficionado of original games because they try to create new genres, or change a genre so much that you've never experienced anything like it. Such are the goals of Kessen, a real-time strategy game set back in the times of feudal Japan, when the country was in chaos as Daimyos strove to take over the land and bring about 'peace' – each warlord with his own version of a peace ideal.
The setting, the storyline, and the genre all scream out hours of fun. Sure, we would all love to take charge of the Japanese war machine on a console for a change. So it was with much ambition that I turned on the hefty power on my PS2, and was greeted by probably the prettiest graphics I had seen on any home video game system thus far. And before the game started, there was a signed letter from its creator himself, who claimed that Kessen was a manifestation of his life-long dream – a game so original that the player became the director of a great war movie.
The cutscene graphics in this game will indeed remind the player of a Japanese movie. It should be noted that Kessen is the first game ever to use DVD-ROM graphics, and the difference in quality is hard to miss. Every person wears unique, colorful outfits that would put Akira Kurasawa to shame. Graphics-wise, Kessen is a splendor. It's hard to digress from one important issue, however. In an attempt to make this game seem like a movie, 75% of the battles consist of cutscenes. It is only during these times that you get to see some pretty pictures. The map itself is nothing special, as with most strategy games.
The storyline, somewhat based on actual history, is also quite engrossing. Tokugawa from the east is fighting several Daimyos of the west to unite the land once and for all. Fathers are put against sons, fathers-in-law become executioners, and people commit seppuku with splendid display of honor, like in any other Japanese classic. Fortunately, the game steers clear of actual history by letting you play both sides of the war, sort of giving you the chance to play god.
With this entire premise, one would think that Kessen is an incredible game. Sadly, it doesn't even come close. It's too ambitious – it tries to make every action seem like a scene from a movie. Hence, every time you give a command, you will see the same cutscene played over and over again. The controls are quite good, but there really isn't much to do other than to tell your general who to attack. The game is so easy that an orangutan could beat it. As a matter of fact, you can pretty much not even play and let the AI handle the job, in which case all you get to do is sit back and watch the same cutscenes over and over again.
Xbox 360 | XBLA
PS3 | PSN
Wii | VC
DS
PSP
iPhone
PS2
PC
Retro
