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 enlarge | From: KOEI Corp
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $13.05
You Save: $6.94 (35%)
New (17) Used (11) from $12.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 2856
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: XXX
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 00157
UPC: 040198001571
EAN: 0040198001571
ASIN: B000G7X0B8
Release Date: September 19, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-6 of 6 | | « PREV | | |
 Samurai Warriors 2.0 September 22, 2006
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
Don't let the "2" at the end of this title fool you. It's basically an upgrade to the first Samurai Warriors. It features most (if not all) the same basic elements and hardly improves over the first one at all. Once again Koei has given us a basic hack and slash game. As if the slew of Dynasty Warriors games wasn't enough. Samurai Warriors isn't really all that different than any of Koei's other hack and slash games.
To begin, the game really does look the same as it did before. No real graphical enhancements, and not much of a polish to them either. So when I say this game is more or less the same, I'm not kidding. The XBOX360 version actually looks like the PS2 version; there is no graphical enhancements for the 360 version, which is a shame. Meaning if graphics is your thing, you might want the PS2 version instead as there's really no difference.
The only real difference between Dynasty Warriors and Samuraie Warriors (that stands out the most, anyway) is the simple fact that Samurai Warriors focuses on fuedal Japan (Dynasty Warriors focuses on China). There are an upwards of 26 characters to select from, most of which are locked until you complete the default characters storymode. In story mode you'll play through chapters just hacking and slashing away at your enemies. It's time Koei added more variety to these games. There aren't really a variety of ways you can deal with your enemies, and much like Dynasty Warriors, they clump up all over the screen. At first it's actually somewhat fun, but again, if you've played the first Samurai Warriors (along with Extreme Legends) and played the Dynasty Warriors games (along with those Extreme Legends) then you'll be disappointed (or really happy) to know that it's the same thing you've already been doing for years. Truly, this single aspect of the game could make or break it for you. Some aren't bothered by this at all. It's why Koei can continue to chuck out the same game over and over again. It's virtually the same, but some people like sameness, and of course I'm saying if you do then you'll feel right at home with this game, so don't let this review discourage you.
The story mode cutscenes are also given their own little dramatic effect. It doesn't work very well though. Like your standard Koei game, the English voice overs are terrible. They're so monotone and the dialogue is just bad. It's a good thing that you can easily have some fun with this game without gettind discouraged by the horrible voice acting. The music itself is really hit or miss. There's nothing really memorable about the music at all, and at times it just doesn't always feel right. We can let this slide, though.
Aside from story mode there is also a free mode which is more or less exactly like it sounds. You can choose any level you want and just go in and hack and slash at everything.
The game does try hard to put more of a strategic effort to the missions, but it's almost non-existant. For example, your attention may be called to an area on the map. The game expects that you'll take off and go there. You're not going to have to do that, though. There's really nothing strategic about Samurai Warriors. There wasn't anything strategic about the first one, and the second one's attempts to be such are pitiful.
There are two aspects of the gameplay that do stand out, though. One is the skill system, where you spend gold to learn skills for your character. It helps to make characters seem a little less generic, but not entirely. It does, however, give the game some much needed flavor and some neat customization ability. So there actually is a point to using characters over and over again, and chaning things up. The second aspect may very well be my favorite. The mini game: Sugoroku. It's more or less Monopoly with Samurai Warrior characters, and it's actually really fun to play, and can be quite addictive when playing with friends.
There's online play in this game (though the PS2 version doesn't go online), but it's not really satisfying. It's terrible as a matter of fact. When you go online you're put on two different maps. Yes, I said different. You'll never actually see your opponent. The basic goal is to defeat the enemy commander on your map before your opponent defeats the commander on theirs. Even worse, this is the only thing you can really do online. There's no flavor to it. You never see your oppoent, and there's no competetive or co-op modes or anything online. It's really sad to see. So while the game does have an online mode, you might as well forget about it and play freeplay or storymode because it's essentiall the same thing.
Overall, if you liked the first one, I'm not saying you'll dislike this one. I'm saying it's not really all that different. It's more or less an expansion of what's already been done a million times, and not just in Samurai Warriors. The gameplay can be fun, but just hacking and slashing at your enemies forever and ever with little variety will probably get pretty boring after a while.
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