Samurai Warriors 2

"What? I can't make my samurai like the first!!"

Introduction: Samurai Warriors 2 is a game by Koei. Which means of course the game is full of countless Grey soldiers to slaughter, laughable voice acting, and a tons really awkward Chinese rock music.

Gameplay: You know what? Chances are if you are reading this review you like dynasty warrior games. Sure, the graphics suck. The music is bland and the the combat system is so simplistic a five year old could do it. Despite all those things, the game is pretty fun. I'm not going to lie, slashing countless soldiers in the middle of a battlefield with a friend is always pretty fun. I'm not sure why it's fun, but each dynatasy/samurai/gun game by Koei always is pretty fun. I think it's the allure of watching characters from history in a hip/cool looking fashion doing some ass beating. It's very charming.

The combat system is pretty much like all the other games by Koei. Smash attack button, special when the bar is full, ect.

There is a tower game play setting which is pretty much a survival mode with mini-games thrown in. It's fun, but it gets old quick. The challenge is a tad easier then the other ones, but a wonky save system and the blandness of looking at wood paneling gets old quickly.

There is a mini-game mode called Sugoroku. I won't go too much into it, just know that it sucks and is boring.

Once again, you have the ability to look upon character bio's and read various parts of Japanese history. Always nice.

The bad things? Well, there is quite a bit.
- No samurai creator mode : This really boggled my mind. It was in the first game and was quite the popular addition. No longer can you make a samurai.

- The dialog: I don't know how, but it just gets worse and worse as each game gets made.

- The most bizarre save system setup ever: This has always been something that I had a problem with Koei slashers. Why is it I'm only allowed to save a certain amount of times during a battle? Why does it delete my save as soon as I load a game? Why?! I know they were going for a "Well, we don't want you save, try something bold, die, then reload and try again until you get it." but isn't that a bit overkill? I mean, if someone wants to take easy way with a video game, why not let them? Don't do a confusing save/delete/mid-save system.

- The graphics: Yes, they are still ugly as all hell. On the bright side, slow down problems are far better now.


Sound: Laughable. If you like a "ROCKING" guitar solo and some broken English lines belted out with a voice of a monkey, then you will find this game to be the most funny game ever. The lines are terrible "You must rush commander!!!"

Graphics: Ugly as all sin. Textures are so horrible to look at.


Overall: It's a Koei game. I'm not sure what to say except it's a guilty pleasure. It's fun to play with a friend for some sick reason but it's not a good game. It's a B-game. You know how people like B-films? Most samurai/DW fans feel the same about video games. It's fun, it's just... something you may want to hide from public.

I enjoy this game, give it a rent. It has some features I think that were missing which would have added to it, but overall it's a good way to waste an hour or two.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/17/09

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