Viewing Single Post From: Samurai Warriors 2 Review

Viewing Single Post From: Samurai Warriors 2 Review
Fayt	Aug 19 2007, 09:55 AM
Sakon, has left the topic. Posts: 3,638 Group: Members Member #9,265 Joined: August 19, 2007 Gender Male	Genre: Third Person Action/Fighting Available on: PS2 & Xbox 360 US Release Date: 19 September 2006 Description: The second instalment of the Samurai Warriors series is a welcome addition and revival to the 1st poor instalment. For those unaware the Samurai Warriors series retells the historical story of the “Warring States” in Japan from the late 1,500s to the early 1,600s starting with the dream of unification from Oda Nobunaga, to Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Tokugawa Ieyasu the ‘ultimate’ unifier of Japan; in its own brilliant dramatically action fashion. Returned are a majority of the Samurai from the 1st and Xtreme legend forms of the game, as well as some new massively influential warriors of the ‘Warring States’ period such as the one time unifier of Japan Tokugawa Ieyasu & Asai Nagamasa, the husband of Oda Nobunaga’s own sister Oichi. Story Review: The story while still shows of strong historical traits a majority of the time, it also has had a fair amount of drama and fiction added in; it’s a game after all. More emphasis on the relationships of officers has being added, in both a historical and hard hitting way. Unlike the first Samurai Warriors you do appreciate the story which it offers, and those that have also played Kessen & Kessen III can get a very different perspective on the Warring States story. 8/10 Graphics/Sound: Well without a doubt things have grown from the first in the series. The characters now move much smoother then previously and all look quite unique. The voiceovers are of a decent standard, some better, some not from SW1. The sound affects are decent enough, and suit the needs of the game well. The background music is fantastic, and is very suitable to the Sengoku Era. Some will miss the higher action music feel from Dynasty Warriors; but it suits the theme of the game extremely well. 8.5/10 Battle System: First things first, immediately cast your disdain away from the woeful battle system witnessed in Samurai Warriors two, which was simply clunky, slow and quite boring. This time the quality & speed of the battle system, is on par; if not better then that witnessed in Dynasty Warriors 5. Also, another belief that must be cast away is the “Battle System is old and nothing new”. Well, sure that’s somewhat true, although Samurai Warriors has helped resolve this problem with new factors in battle. Firstly the horribly acclaimed bow is gone! And has being replaced by new unique special moves, where you can pull off even more unique attacks and miscellaneous abilities. Abilities such as Sanada Yukimura having the power call (whistle) his horse from anywhere in the battle field to his side in an instant; while Fuma Kotaro can pick up any opponent and throw them into the opposition army; with force! One potentially off-putting factor however is the fact you will witness unique character models & voiceovers for both Shibata Katsuie & Kojiro Sasaki during your battles; although at no stage can you potentially unlock them as playable characters. You can however unlock them as special bodyguards, although you can’t help but to feel that is not enough for such unique characters. Samurai Warriors 2 has also slightly adjusted, although mostly have maintained the gradual requirements to reach throughout the missions, your goal may be to secure a castle, defend an ally etc as steps to help progress to your overall requirement. This helps break the battle up into segments, while still ultimately lead to your overall goal. Samurai Warriors 2 offers a great combination of both old and new traits. 8/10 Replay Value: Being a warriors title with far more Samurai to choose from then previously you will be able to play this game time and time again, the one thing that has always being a strength to the series. Completing every characters Story mode will take some time, and as with all the newer Warriors series (well since DW3) games you can also play them with a friend. You really can never get sick of the hack n’ slash enjoyment the Warriors series has, and quite possibly the best in the series so far you will easily find yourself playing this time and time again. 8/10 Final Thoughts: Fans of the Warriors series should not allow the poor success of the 1st Samurai Warriors deter you from this massively improved instalment. With the shop feature, missions within missions and with a few additions to the criticized ‘repetitive’ battle system are definitely worth seeing. Also offered is a much improved story on the Sengoku Era as previously witnessed in Samurai Warriors 2; of course aided by the addition of many more playable & unique characters. While not perfect it is without a shadow of doubt a massive improvement on the first version of SW, and right up there with the standards of Dynasty Warriors 5, just with different characters, story and some new ideas. An absolute must get for fans of the Warriors series, as well as a great title to start with for those new to the series. Rating: 8/10 ----------- As always, this is based on my own beliefs of the game from my own experiences; I don't expect everyone too agree with it; also any comments are welcome.
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Samurai Warriors 2 Review · Samurai Warriors Series Reviews