Player 2 could do their faction management at the same time as Player 1, and the only things they couldn't do were diplomacy and army movement/battles. The most important thing for me is that Shogun 2 introduced coop campaigns and got it right the first time. Formations were tactical, not artificial stat buffs, the ai was smart and challenging and not just given bonuses like later Total Wars. There may have been overt unit stats, but they didn't matter so long as you knew how and when to use units properly cavalry worked. Shogun 2 was well balanced, polished, I have no issue identifying units when zoomed out (perhaps my interest in that era of Japan coming through), and it remained tactical. I have been playing since Shogun 1 and enjoyed all games up to Shogun 2 (despite Empire's bugs, it was so ambitious and I still play it now). While I agree with much of what is said, and it is opinion based, the only thing I have to fundementally disagree with is his take on Shogun 2.
