There’s now a demo for the PC version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI, Koei’s strategy/RPG set in the declining Han Empire.

I started Luo Guanzhong’s epic novel while traveling back and forth to E3. I just finished one volume and have three more to go.

I’ll admit to not quite getting the popularity of the book, but this could be a cultural thing. There are a lot of characters going on and off stage, and ancient Chinese geography isn’t my strong suit; getting a sense for who is marching where isn’t easy given the scarcity of maps in my versions. Plus, I would much prefer footnotes to endnotes for a lot of the historical or literary context.

But the richness of the characters can’t be denied. Yes, Liu Bei, the hero of the piece, is a little too perfect an exemplar of Confucian duty for my tastes. Western epic heroes are people like Achilles, Gilgamesh, Aeneas or David – all divinely chosen and all models for their audience, but all terribly flawed.

But Liu Bei’s two compatriots in the Peach Garden Oath are vigorous men. Cao Cao is a military hardass with ambitions that lead him away from his natural virtues. The continual tension between staying loyal to the decaying Han Dynasty and establishing a new realm gives every new alliance or revived rivalry a plausibility that justifies Guanzhong’s literary license with history.

When I last played at RoTK game a million years ago, none of this really mattered to me. It was an historical strategy game and that was enough. That Lu Bu and Yuan Shao had a deep cultural meaning for a few hundred million people didn’t really figure into it.

But this time will be different, I think. The characters, their stories and their personalities will take on an added importance to me when the game finally comes out.