It doesn’t come as a surprise that Samurai Warriors 2 is no different. You pick a character and get chopping. Despite this distinct lack of imagination, they sell ridiculously well. They literally print money for the developers. The unusual question is why? The old phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” comes to mind. Luckily, we’re not easily fooled. Samurai Warriors is stale from the moment you boot up the game. Originally released back in 2006 (yes, that isn’t a typo) on the PS2 and Xbox 360, it’s taken two years to port the game to PC. We’d wished it had stayed there and we won’t hold back as to why.
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| Avoid the Anti-aliasing | Character Wheel |
Alarm bells ring as soon as you load the game. You’re welcomed by a console menu. Navigation is done via the arrow keys. The fact that the developers kept the original menu forewarns us that nothing else is going to be different. If they haven’t bothered to implement mouse control for the game’s interface, then why would they translate the gameplay or graphics engine? You’ll begin at Story Mode, but there’s also Survival (which is self explanatory; last as long as possible), Free Mode, Sugoroku (a Japanese version of Monopoly), Vault (which allows you to revel in the spoils of war) and Options for all your tweaking needs. Unless you’re a hardcore fan of the series, you’ll be satisfied with the story. Even so, there are those that lap up the genre so the inclusion of multiple gameplay options is a plus.
Menu navigation is typically ‘console’, with large fonts, loading between screens and static lists. It’s obvious that this game was meant for a controller, so we used exactly that. Flicking through menus is possible with a keyboard, but as soon as you enter the actual game you’ll feel the need to plug in a control pad. Before you get to that you’ll need to pick a character. Each has their own story with unique missions. On top of that they have their own move set, combat preference and control scheme. There is a respectable sized roster and your selection isn’t just for appearance sake. Each character offers a unique experience. An easy to use stats page compares the health, attack, defence and Mosou of each character, so your choice should be informed. Once you’ve chosen your soldier, it’s onto mission setup.
Here you can upgrade equipment, check the objectives, get an overview of your officers and learn any new moves. Equipment wise weapons, mounts and your entourage can all be changed. You can purchase new items from the in-game shop (with the gold you find littered around the levels), or use any you loot from defeated enemies. The same applies for horses and your bodyguard (who fights alongside you, levelling up in the process). The shop also sells new skills, across a variety of ability-enhancing categories. They range from increasing the length of your health bar to boosting the amount of XP you earn. All in all, it’s an efficient system that adds a nice level of customization. It’s deep enough for the fanatics, but straightforward if you just want to tweak a weapon. Finally, a map highlights unit deployment and choke points. It’s worth studying so you know what you’re doing. There is a minimap in game (with two levels of detail), but the intensity of combat stops you from regularly checking it.
Sadly, there ends Samurai Warriors 2 positives. Once you’ve sat through another loading screen (albeit they are only 3 or 4 seconds in length), you’ll be thrown into battle. You will be disappointed. It looks the same as the previous game, as well as its not-so-distant cousins. The engine is crying out for some tender love and care. We whacked up the graphic settings but got inverted character models. Turning off the Anti-Aliasing fixed the problem, but that’s not an excuse. The game starts to smell like a console port. The textures are muddy, items generic and character models low-poly. Smoke and fire effects are pitiful and grass / trees’ laughable. Enemy soldiers come under four headings; Clone 1 with sword, Clone 2 with Pike, Clone 3 with Bow and Clone 4 with musket. There is no variation at all. The game manages to place plenty of enemies on screen but when they’re indistinguishable from one another, there really isn’t much point. Draw distances aren’t bad, but pop-in does occur.
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| I've got 60 minutes to go | Inconceivable a game in this state could get released |
The game just looks bland. The dreary settings quickly cause fatigue. The character fights do offer some colour, but it’s hardly a consolation. The soundtrack repeats itself with stereotypical oriental tunes wafting around. Character sounds quickly grind on nerves as their speech set consist of about 3 phrases. The game intersperses in-engine cut scenes but a quick press of the start button will skip them. The voice acting is excessively theatrical, offering the player no opportunity to relate with.
We could let the game off with an aged engine if the combat was intuitive. It’s no shock that it isn’t. Combat comes down to pressing light attack over and over and over again while you watch the KO-meter slowly go up in value. You have a more powerful charge attack but spamming the light attack button will get the job done quicker. There’s jump and roll for evasion, as well as a block. None are needed as the enemy AI is witless. Once you’ve powered up your Mosou bar, you can unleash an uber attack, which dishes out greater amounts of damage. If your bodyguard is nearby then you can unleash a duo attack, clearing huge amounts of adversaries. On occasion you’ll lock weapons with a boss, where the player with the most button mashes will come out the victor. Sadly, the variation fails to translate to the actual gameplay. What you get is a repetitive grind through faceless goons who offer no challenge. You have 60minutes (on normal) to complete a level and doing so will reward you with some experience points and gold. You’re ranked according to your performance, but it doesn’t affect the outcome. You’re free to play any campaign in any order, but one’s enough.
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| Inward Faces were all the craze in feudal Japan | Those graphics are so last gen |
The only other mode that’s worth a look is Sudoruko. You can play it with friends or against the CPU. You roll a dice and move about a map buying squares. If an opponent lands on yours then they pay rent. The aim of the game is to reach a set amount of gold. It offers a ten minute reprisal from the Story mode, but is unlikely to hold your attention in the long run.
SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 VERDICT
If you liked Samurai Warriors, then you’ll like number 2. If you liked any of the Dynasty Warriors titles then again, you’ll enjoy this. If the developers were hoping to bring in new fans , then they failed. The game’s outdated and It shouldn’t have reached the PC, definitely not in the state it’s in. It’ll appeal to the hardcore, but that was a given. A concept rinsed to excess.
TOP GAME MOMENT
Watching the ‘Eastenders’ like cutscenes.
