This game proves that history can be just as interesting as any piece of fiction ever created. It is also one of the best-looking launch titles for the Playstation 2, and was created by Koei, a very experienced designer of simulation games. Virtually all the people, places, and battles simulated in Kessen are actually based on facts, and there is a lot of history involved in the story.

Kessen is the Japanese word for a "decisive battle" which is very fitting, because the game focuses on battles that were exactly that. Initially, you follow the path of Ieyasu Tokugawa who, as the game�s introduction states, was one of the most powerful warlords who fought during the battles before the peaceful "Edo" period. The emperor and the Ashikaga shoguns fell from power towards the end of the 15th century, and as a result, Japan fell under the control of daimyo, local lords who controlled small areas of Japan. Later, a man called Hideyoshi Toyotomi was able to regain total control of the whole of Japan.

Koei has created simulation games for many years, and has gradually improved its formula for creating good strategy games. However, in the past, this has been the reason that this sort of game only appeals to certain people rather than a larger proportion of the population. Fortunately, Kessen is a historical simulation with a difference and has been updated to a format that's suitable for a newer larger audience.

As well as the battling that takes place, you are able to control some of the political aspects of the war. This includes attempts at causing your opponents to defect, and also allows you to fully customise the strategy and formations of your units. However, most of your time is spent in battle, where you can control your forces and initiate special attacks.

All the battles take place in real time, so you are kept on your toes. However, the pace of the game is not as quick as over strategy games such as C&C Retaliation for the Psone, so there is always a little time to think. There is a large map of each battlefield available, which has two different amounts of zoom. There is a map of every reachable point, as well as a map showing the region you are currently situated in. This can help a great deal when you have a spread out battle with many individual attack groups. It is also possible to make a table showing the status of each unit on the battle field appear so that you can monitor the battles progress.

When you are in the normal battle view, the camera focuses on the unit selected at that time. There are two ways in which to change which unit is in the picture. One is to press the R1 or L1 buttons, which causes the screen to move to the next unit. Or alternatively, there is a collection of icons at the top left, where each icon represents a unit. Using the D-pad, any unit can be selected and viewed.

Once a unit has been selected there are different commands that can be executed. There are the basics such as Attack, Retreat, Advance and Hold Position, but there are also special manoeuvres that can be performed. These special manoeuvres can be used to great effect during battle, and will often change the outcome of a battle to favour the unit that initiated the attack. The type of attack used is dependant on what the unit is made of. For example, a unit that includes spearmen will have the option of forming a spear wall to protect the troops.

Other manoeuvres are available for the differing varieties of troops, and the leader of some units can also perform a special manoeuvre by raiding the opponents troops, which will cause damage to both morale and troops numbers. At the end of each battle, the leaders will often be able to improve there special abilities, by increasing the number of times that manoeuvre can be performed during battle. There is also the opportunity to learn new manoeuvres as your battle campaign continues. However, the outcome of the battle is not solely decided by the special attacks. It is also important to use tactics in this war game. Positions of your units must be carefully considered, which vastly improves the depth of this strategy game.

The problem is, despite the potential for great strategic battles, it seems totally unnecessary most of the time. Quite often, all you have to do is hurl all your troops at one enemy at a time, overpower each one in turn, and eventually win the war. Whilst you can still use tactics to great effect, challenging yourself to see how few troops you can lose, the excitement is completely drained when you know that all you have to do is charge.

The character models are fairly lifelike (something that many games have been unable to achieve), which is due to the detailed and realistic facial animation. The sequences are well directed, including some exciting duels where the commanders from opposing units fight it out to gain (or lose) honour and respect. The cut scene animation is good, but does tend to make the regular battle animations appear less realistic, but this isn�t too much of a problem because when you�re in the middle of a titanic battle, you won�t notice the tiny details, and will probably believe that there is no difference.