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Patch 2.0 has come out, a patch so huge that they gave it a .0 release number. It resolves many issues with the game but unfortunately BREAKS many others. Unbelievably, they have resolved traffic issues from fire trucks and police cars piling up, but have broken taxis and school busses which now pile up. They broke pollution and now tiny cities with zero industry will see MASSIVE pollution rolling across their glass box reducing land value and making your 500 person city unhappy this even on regions with zero other cities. Maxis cannot seem to get it right. After their complete failure with Spore failing to deliver the game that they had presented at all the expos, I really expected them to nail this one, but alas this is a cataclysmic failure that will likely spell the demise of Will Wright's brainchild.

Very polished initial release from Paradox and a significantly more accessible than their other grand strategy titles. It has a similar look and feel to Europa Universalis, Victoria, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings but the mechanisms are a bit simpler. Of course the focus of each game is quite different. Where Victoria is about industrialization and Hearts of Iron is about the tech race, resources and grand battles, Sengoku focuses on family clans and honor. The goal of the game is to unite Japan during the Warring States period, not an easy challenge. This game offers 3 playable tiers of hierarchy in the dynasty system, the ability to plot within and outside of your dynasty, to break away and form your own clan or take over your clan from within. The tech tree is very simple offering two linear trees: castles for military and villages for economy. You control 3 operatives, your Masters of Arms, Ceremony, and Guard, which have different functions from constructing upgrades to hiring ninjas to sowing dissent. Finally, a sophisticated marriage system ensures maintaining the family line, genetic traits, relationships between clans, and a full court from which to choose your operatives and daimyos. Overall, if you haven't tried a Paradox title of this nature, this may be the one to jump in on. You will still likely have a steep learning curve but the manual is very well written and the hint system is fantastic and far exceeds any Paradox game to date. With its limited objectives, constrained set up operations, and smaller map, Sengoku offers a highly accessible title. Veteran Paradox gamers will also enjoy Sengoku's simplicity and shorter time frame allowing focus on fewer moving parts while you race against Japan's other rising clans to claim the title of Shogun!