There are some 2000 different officers to choose between. This gives the game an immediate vibrancy whereas the previous title could seem dry, and one of the most enjoyable aspects of this new Nobunaga’s Ambition is the rags-to-riches story of taking on a character with a small plot of land and building him/her into a powerful warlord. However, for people who really enjoy their Sengoku and Japanese history – the core audience for Nobunaga’s Ambition in the first place – there’s a more intimate focus placed on characterisation and storytelling. Insofar as that is concerned, I suspect that people who only marginally enjoyed the previous game will not feel any desire to buy into the new one. Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension is only a semi-sequel to the previous game and makes use of the same base engine and mechanics. Related reading: Nick’s review of the original Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence. Hopefully they’ll prove successful, because this is a trend I can see myself getting used to.

After years of missing out on Nobunaga’s Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms games entirely, Koei Tecmo has now localised three hardcore strategy games in just two years.

Endless space 2 sphere of influence