Samurai Warriors 2

"A Warrior worth a thousand."

Samurai Warriors 2 is the sequel to Koei's now franchise worthy spin-off of Dynasty Warriors. As with other Warriors titles, SW 2 has a lot of focus on hack and slash combat, with a dash of action rpg elements thrown in to mix things up.

Gameplay:
As anyone who has played a warriors title will tell you, these games get chaotic. Hundreds of soldiers on screen at once, flashy special effects, killer combos that are easy to master and utilize and a surprisingly deep story all add to the total experience that is a Warriors game. SW 2 raises the bar above the original, as far as playability and technical issues. You choose one of up to 26 legendary Warriors and cut a swath through hundreds of enemy foot soldiers and generals. While the game doesn't really evolve much from the original in terms of combat or A.I., It does add more battles and more Characters (10 more than the former). New characters such as the the strategic mastermind Mitsunari Ishida, and the brave shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa really flesh out the story and help to branch off into new directions. Fast and Furious despite some minor slowdown as the action gets more chaotic. The other cool feature is the Sudoku mini-game. Essentially its a dice driven board game where the object is to collect your flags and earn money, while beating out one to three other people. It is actually better than it sounds.

Story:
As you could probably expect, after selecting your warrior, you are thrust into the heat of battle in one of several locations in Japan. Leading your soldiers (whom you do not have direct control over) into the fray either on foot, or on horseback. The Story plays out differently according to which character you choose. Choose the mighty Nobunaga Oda, and you will lead your army in an attempt to conquer Japan and create a new empire. If you choose the enigmatic ninja Kotaro Fuma however, you will find yourself jumping from battle to battle, spreading chaos to all who oppose you.

Graphics and Sound:
This is where the game sorta falls on its face. The horror of being a direct port from a last gen console to a new gen console means that Koei made absolutely no attempt to upgrade the graphics. Yes it is on the 360, yes the 360 is powerful, and no the game does not take hold' of these powers. On the positive side however, the Ps2 edition looked pretty good for what it was. So essentially, your getting a Ps2 game that you can earn achievements for. If that doesn't bother you (and it doesn't bother me at all) then your all set. If you need those shiny new graphics however and don't want anything less, then you should probably look elsewhere. As far as the soundtrack, its 50/50. Sometimes you will find yourself tapping your foot, other times you will cringe as the present tune assaults your eardrums with authority. This can be solved with a custom soundtrack however, and should not present you with too much earache.

Playtime/Replayability:
Hours and hours and hours. You will spend so much time going through each characters story modes, collecting items, powering up characters and unlocking others that your friends will wonder if you moved away. There is just so much time that can be invested into this game. After you complete the game with you officer if choice, take him/her into free mode and try your hand at different scenarios. Then up the difficulty to collect and upgrade weapons and hone your skills as a samurai of legend. Then, just when you think your done, invite a friend over and try your hand at the multi-player.

Final Score:
Despite a few technical flaws like minor slowdown and some A.I. issues, this is a solid title that should find its way into any collectors hands. You should ,however, always rent before you buy just to be sure its right for you, in case you find yourself disliking the subject matter or the lack of shiny new gen graphics. 8/10.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/01/07

Game Release: Samurai Warriors 2 (US, 09/19/06)