Rise of the Phoenix

In 221 BC, Shi Huangdi unified China. He ruled oppressively and maintained control until his death in 210 BC. It marked the end of the Qin Dynasty. Two warriors stepped forth to fill the void. Xiang Yu, a young man who wished to change China, and Liu Bang, who wanted to maintain the former Emperor's legacy.

Rise of the Phoenix is a realistic simulation of the major battles between the two factions. Using a format similar to the excellent Romance of the Three Kingdoms, players are treated to a complex view of history and how certain events can alter it. Rise of the Phoenix places you in charge of one of the armies. You make all of the decisions dealing with whom to attack and who to ally yourself with. How will you feed your troops? How will you arm them? These questions will keep popping up as you face an onslaught of attacks. This game is based on events that really happened, so it's fascinating to see if you can change i history. Rise of the Phoenix is truly an impressive simulation.

Koei is back with another epic SNES Chinese history lesson. This time, the story recounts the exploits of the warlords Liu Bang and Xiang Yu as they wage a civil war in ancient China around 210 B.C. Koei fans may find that, though the gameplay feels familiar, it's not as satisfying as previous titles.

Yu Be

You play either Bans (the good guy) or Yu (the bad guy) and command their respective military forces. Through four scenarios, you must kick your foe's butt out of successive Chinese cities and eventually out of China altogether. That means you must occupy towns, raise cash, and build armies.

To appreciate it all, you must get a thrill from watching numbers add and subtract. As Is Koei's style, you'll find more windows and menus here than in a high-rise Chinese restaurant. However, the adept controls let you handily manipulate the numerical data, and a calculator-style interface makes crunching numbers a breeze.

Less Bang For the Bucks?

The crisp controls make Phoenix a sort of "Koei lite." Because the basic strategy is to quickly move through conquered cities, you don't have to spend as much time building longterm profit centers to fuel your military forces. Instead, you can usually shake down the suffering townspeople for gold, provisions, and draftees, and then just cut out of town for the next fight!

Battles are also streamlined. The view is limited to basically two scenes, a castle siege and an open-field, mounted melee. Only the siege scenario has individual fighting units and you can position them.

The graphics are typically Koei: sharp but static. There are plenty of handsome face shots of generals and adversaries. Nicely detailed battle graphics make the tiny combatants look good, but primitive animation gives them little pizzazz.

Gentle, unobtrusive Asian music dominates the sparse sounds. The battle noises, however, are strictly expendable.

Stir-Fried Phoenix

Rise of the Phoenix is a bird of a different feather for Koei fans. The relatively low-level city building may not add up for hardcore accountants. The simplified battle sequences will leave militant players itching for a fight. Chew on Phoenix, and, 30 hours later, you may still be hungry.

Koei brings you back into the glory of Ancient China, where two fierce warriors are battling for the top spot. (And you thought CEOs were vicious!) You must unite 39 cities, using foot soldiers, cavalry brigades, and maybe some unique irrigation control to flood your enemy's castle. Use Arrows, Battering Rams, and Catapults in your quest for domination. Nobody does Chinese warlords like Koei!