Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII (2016)

I'm not going to write a full review on this game just because I can't consider it a game that I focused a lot of energy on in order to complete or anything. This game was simply something that I downloaded for free on PlayStation Plus, just to play when I had no desire to play my current preferential game. However, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII completely turned-face on me, and became just what I told you it wasn't meant for!

Over the course of the game's "story mode" entitled "Hero Mode", and about four complete playthroughs of the game's main mode, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII was engrossing, to say the least. I found myself at work following a session with this game ruminating over my next plans and moves for when I got home and was able to boot it back up again. Let me explain to all who are reading this right now...I absolutely DESPISE real-time strategy games, ESPECIALLY the ones that involve war and the strategies surrounding war, but I could sink thousands of hours into this game and look at the calendar to realize that I'm old enough to retire. I can't pinpoint what exactly about this game that twisted my genre interests so intensely, but I would recommend this game to anybody who is willing to take a gamble on a game they might not like, just to hear the excitement in their voice when they've also sunk entire days into a game that you think would only be available on Steam.

What I loved the most about Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII was the fact that you do not necessarily play as the Ruler of a country/faction etc., but the main core of the game is built around you deciding to play as one of the hundreds of Officers that had really lived during this period of Chinese history (or create your own officer as you choose, down to his/her family and friends, yes its that detailed). Once you pick your officer, then how you decide to proceed is completely up to you! Join a Ruler's force as an Officer, raise your own flag in a free city on the map, become a shadow assassin, the options are vastly endless, and the role-playing involved in this game is deep as well. This game is incredibly unique to the few strategy games I have experienced over the years. You could potentially find your officer being promoted to very high positions in military and government, or if you chose to become a ruler yourself, maybe you will end up as the Emperor of all of China!!! That is the main idea of the game, by the way. Your ultimate goal in Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII is to either be the ruler of the force that unites the entirety of China, or be on the force that unifies the entire country.

Is this game for everyone? Absolutely not. It honestly wasn't for me, until I was bored 11PM one night and booted this game up. It was over at that point. Should everyone give this game a shot, though? I believe so. This game is not your average real-time strategy game with the same mechanics but just set in a rarely touched period of history. It blends several different genres and genre elements to create something that really pulls you in. It was like I was really an officer living during the Three Kingdoms period of China, and making real life decisions based on the scenarios surrounding me. The only complaint that I had with this entire game (and honestly its not even as severe as a complaint), was the fact that the Hero Mode, which contains the tutorial of the major systems and mechanics of the game, was very bland and boring and it also has a ridiculous difficulty spike in its challenges, especially for a newcomer to this genre of game. Also, I learned more about the game playing as a free officer in the Main Mode and just playing (with hints turned on) than I did following the bland Hero Mode. But because there is nothing holding the player back from just jumping into the action from the get-go, I don't believe this complaint even matters that much.

In conclusion, I guess I did end up writing a full review on my experience with Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII, oh well :) My verdict of this game is probably pretty obvious. There is so much to like about this game, even if you are not a veteran of, or even a fan of strategy games, especially because of the blended genre elements implemented here. There were some times where I was grinding for city finances that felt like there was no end in sight which made me almost put the game down, but only for the night and not for an entire break from this game. Because Grouvee is out of 5 stars and I like to rate games out of 10 total points, I will be rounding up on my Grouvee rating. I award Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII.......

9.5/10

This game really got me, man.