
Easily some of the most exciting action games in the past few years are the DYNASTY WARRIORS games from Koei. What the series lacked in storyline surely made up for it with the action packed and longtime playability that you would find in each game. Where else can you kill hundreds of enemy soldiers for hours at a time? And of course, as weâve already seen with the series so far, if a series works, companies will capitalize on its success. This is the case for Koeiâs newest title, SAMURAI WARRIORS.
One of the most appealing things about the DYNASTY WARRIORS series, other than the constant action, is the historical background of ancient China. Sure, while there is no record of any one person killing 900 people in a single battle, the game brings some historical references into the game to sprucen up the storyline. The only difference between DYNASTY WARRIORS and the newcomer SAMURAI WARRIORS is that the latter now takes place in feudal Japan. Taking place during the Sengoku period of Japanese history, SAMURAI WARRIORS obviously focuses on the warring nations that combat each other during this time period. But technically, for storyline, that is about as historically accurate as this one gets (other than a few real-life characters that you will find throughout the game).
SAMURAI WARRIORS allows you to select from 15 different characters, each with his or her own fighting style and storyline. True, they donât all differ too much from each other, but they are different enough to warrant playing through more than one of them. Basically, if youâve played any of the DYNASTY WARRIORS games, youâll feel right at home with SAMURAI WARRIORS. The square button performs most of the attacks youâll use throughout the game, allowing you to string together combos. By adding in the occasional press of the triangle or circle buttons for your special attacks, youâll be able to take apart the enemy armies in no time. Of course, the coolest mode found in the game is when two players see who can kill 1000 enemies the quickest.
The newest upgrade to SAMURAI WARRIORS is the Office Mode, which allows you to create your own samurai from several pre-rendered models. After creating your character, you go through a series of tests from your trainer until you are good enough to join a clan and become a full fledged samurai. There are also some new RPG effects added into the game that allow you to upgrade your characterâs attack, defense and weaponry.
One of the biggest downfalls of the game, just like the DYNASTY WARRIORS games, is the English voice acting. The voice acting was pretty bad before, but now it just seems downright intolerable. Luckily for us, a much better acted Japanese track is available for players. The music is also decidedly more Japanese, more subdued and traditional, than the previous rock tracks that we are used to in the DYNASTY WARRIORS series.
SAMURAI WARRIORS is a perfectly good action game for people who enjoy playing games that donât require much thought. This is a game that any player can just jump into and have a great time.