Shogun is a real-time strategy game in which you play as a Daimyo, one of the warlords battling for the right to be called Shogun, ruler of a united Japan. The game is roughly split into two sections. A map based planning stage and a glorious 3D battle stage.

The map stage is where you build buildings in the territories that you own, organise forces, plan campaigns and generally deal with the running of your conquests. You can also research new technologies and train troops here so it is very important.

When a conflict arises you turn to the best bit of the game: the battles. Unlike almost all other real-time strategy games Shogun's battles take place on a 3D battlefield with realistic terrain. Hills roll gently into the distance, scattered trees break up the horizon and your troops lie dead in a pile on the floor. Because in Shogun your men don't just disappear when they die, they lie there, bleeding. In fact even when they are alive they are there on the screen. The graphical achievement is huge with up to 6 armies each containing thousands of troops can be displayed on screen at the same time. You can zoom in to individual companies of 100 (the smallest unit) or zoom out to view the battlefield as a whole