> Ever since the days of Herzog Zwei (Genesis), I've been a huge fan of real-time strategy (RTS) games.  Actually, most games that involve strategy are right up my alley.  Other than the formidable Advanced Daisenryaku, Black Matrix A/D, and Railroad Tycoon II, there isn't much for strategy buffs on the Dreamcast.  Enter Smilebit's fantasy strategy title, Hundred Swords!

     > Hundred Swords is to be internet playable with up to four players.  It plays similar to Command & Conquer (Saturn), in that you have groups of men which can be given orders, which are subsequently carried out by the computer.  Mining and building take a back seat in this game, as the focus is on strategic battle.  There are multiple modes of play, including Story (winning a campaign) and Scenario (winning a battle).  Building up character levels and upgrading weapons play a part as well.

     > From what I've seen, the graphics are pretty good.  There's more fog than I'd prefer, but it doesn't hamper your game.  The various battlefields have terrain features that can be utilized to gain a tactical advantage.  Perching some archers on the correct side of a hill (which can't be climbed), is a good way to pick off enemy soldiers at the bottom of that hill.  The best visual feature I've seen so far has to be the hand drawn characters, which are used during the story telling scenes.  In a word, sweet!

     > Importing this game will be tough.  It's definitely playable and the Japanese menus aren't too complicated.  However, you'll be in the dark as to what's going on in the story line.  This game shouldn't be too hard to localize, so I hope Sega brings it here in 2001.