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 Already
the
Best
independent game of the year in the "other" category and the
Independent game with the best Sound this year, Samurai has collected
plenty of awards proving that a well-done turn-based game is never short of
fans.
what makes Samurai such a great game? The concept is simple, though honestly it
sounds complex when you try to explain it. The game takes place in pre-unified
Japan. In that period, you play as a Warlord trying to control as much of the
land as possible. To do this, you must gain the backing of the different classes
in Japan. The three classes, peasants, clergy, and nobles are denoted on the
board by different icons, rice, Buddha's, and helmets respectively. These icons
appear at locations that are cities. For example, the square where Tokyo would
appear on the map contains all three icons, whereas most cities just have one
icon due to their smaller size. The board itself is set up as a series of hexes.
You have at your side 5 pieces. Each turn, you choose a piece and put it down
somewhere on the board. Your pieces have different numbers on them that denote
the strength they have. They also have an icon on them that tells you what type
of piece they are. Your basic pieces have the icons of rice, Buddha, and helmet
on them. So for example, you may have a piece that has a Rice on it, and the
number 4. That is the most powerful Rice piece that you will have available to
you. So you place it on the board so that it is adjacent to a square with Rice
in it. That gives you 4 rice influence over the city. However, if you had played
a helmet next to the city with the Rice in it, you would have received no
influence over the city as there were no helmets in the city.
Ok? So how does this all add up to one of the best games of the year? The great
thing about Samurai is that the concept is simple, but the strategy is not. Easy
to pick up, difficult to master...and fun while your are trying to master it.
The game takes a lot of thought to play well. Klear has included 4 difficulty
levels in the full game in addition to letting you create your own custom game.
Each difficulty level increases the AI of your computer opponent, making the
game more challenging. The increased difficulty levels also increase the number
of computer opponents, and the land available to play on, buy adding the other
islands of Japan.
Obviously just because a game is challenging doesn't mean it is fun. What sets
Samurai apart in this category is the fact that the challenge is reasonable.
Learning how to beat the computer is fun, and even once you have it down, there
are custom games you can create and you will rarely beat the computer every time
you play against him. Also you can play multi-player online.
Samurai is one of the best and in my estimation least appreciated Indie games
this year. |
