Having moved on
to the next-generation of gaming consoles, leave it Koei to continue bringing
gamers the same button-mashing action game it has releasing in a seemingly
endless cycle. Sure, Dynasty Warriors has branched out into new gaming
territory with the likes of Samurai Warriors and now Warriors Orochi
but the core mechanics has not changed. The first Warriors Orochi
showed us that it’s still fun to rip through hordes of enemies as Japanese or
Chinese heroes but Warriors Orochi 2 simply doesn’t do anything to
breathe new life into a series that is starting to show its age.
Taking place
directly after the first game in the new series, Warriors Orochi 2 finds
the Serpent King Orochi bored and in need of testing his might in order to prove
to himself that he is a forced to be reckoned with in any timeline. So plucking
heroes from different eras (from each series that range from the original
Dynasty Warriors to Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends), he brings
them together to pit his armies against legendary heroes that finds themselves
questioning their loyalties and forming strange alliances.
Once again, you
are given a choice between different kingdoms that range from different dynasty
eras of Chinese legends to samurai warriors. It’s still something of a thrill to
be in the same battlefield that includes historical figures such as Liu Bei, Cao
Cao, Nobunaga Oda and Hanzo Hattori. Story Mode takes you through a number of
battles against the Serpent King’s allies and followers such as the devious Da
Ji. Of course, you’ll also go through familiar faces that have aligned
themselves with Orochi.
All the elements
from the last game are back including the character RPG-styled leveling up and
you can also upgrade your weapons to dish out more damage against commanding
officers on the field. Like the last game in the series, you can also rendezvous
with other friendly units on the field to form a complete unit. Say you’re
attempting to take down an enemy commander and don’t want to do it alone, well,
you can aid a friendly hero like Shingen Takeda on the field and then have him
join you to take down the powerful enemy commander.
Having control
over three characters also allows you to switch them on the fly to take
advantage of their unique abilities and weapon specialties. You can also perform
a chain Musou attack when two members of your three-warrior team has a full
Musou Gauge and perform an even powerful attack that can wipe out a dozen enemy
foot soldiers at once. Once again, the controls are simple enough that even
gamers new to the series can easily pick up a controller and start ripping into
the enemy without much trouble.
Of course, as I
mentioned in the beginning, gamers who have been playing Koei’s hack-and-slash
games will find that even with the 90 or so characters in the line up this game
feels like every other one in the franchise. No matter what dynasty you pick in
Story Mode, the end result is always the same even though the locales are
different. Thankfully, other modes such as Survival Mode break up the repetitive
and dated cycle of the game’s Story Mode. Survival Mode actually plays like a
Survival Mode in most fighting games and this is a fun twist. In this mode, you
can pick three characters from any of the available dynasties or any character
you might have unlocked while playing Story Mode and battle against a three-man
tag team. The more teams you defeat the more points you win.
Making its debut
is Dream Mode, a mode that offers a number of interesting scenarios that play
out much like the ones in Story Mode. The catch here is that it features
characters that would normally wouldn’t be seen together such as the odd pairing
of Yoshimoto Imagawa, Xing Cai and Ginchiyo. The situations are actually the
most interesting seeing as they include objectives that have you attempting to
save a friend or provide a diversion in order to aid another squad as they
attempt to breach a castle.
Free Mode is also
back as is the game’s two-player VS Mode. VS Mode, once again, contains
interesting multiplayer fun such as Tower and Elimination but once again, the
four game match types are only played on a single console with only one friend.
Once again, online multiplayer is a no-show and that hurts the game’s
multiplayer mode plenty seeing as this game would have been a blast to play with
more gamers.
On the visual
front, the game does not change its visual style either. This is not to say that
it’s completely bad seeing as the character models look good in action and
during the brief cut scenes but the backgrounds are still an eyesore. The washed
out textures and the hazy fog that suddenly disappears just doesn’t belong
anymore and the PlayStation 2 certainly could do a lot better than what we see
in Warriors Orochi 2. Even the neat effects aren’t able to keep from
noticing the awful-looking environments.
The game’s sound
fairs a tad better but not by very much. The same heavy rock guitar riffs are
back and they play throughout each battle without changing the beat. Of course,
there are times in the game (such cut scenes or different game modes) contain
some decent tunes that should have replaced the guitar tunes. The voice acting
is also slightly better. In past games, the dialogue has been handled poorly but
here even the game’s narrator does a passable job.
While some fans
of Koei’s button-masher take comfort in its familiar style, it’s hard to ignore
the fact that the repetitive action is starting to get dated. We love new
characters tossed into the mix and a new game mode as well, but this is not
enough to distract us from the truth that the series just isn’t as exciting as
it once was when Dynasty Warriors was first introduced. If you missed the
first Warriors Orochi game and must have one then this sequel is the one
you should buy. Other than that, there’s very little about Warriors Orochi 2
for the PS2 that feels fresh or original.
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Gameplay: 5.5
Historical
Japanese and Chinese warriors ripped from time do battle against the evil forces
of the Serpent King by hacking and slashing your way through the enemy hordes
like the last game. Nothing much has really changed since the last Warriors
Orochi game so expect more of the same with Dream Mode being the new kid on
the block.
Graphics: 6.5
The character
models are decent enough on the PlayStation 2 and the visual effects are
appropriately flashy when Musou attacks are being unleashed. Unfortunately, the
backgrounds contain flat, washed out textures that would feel better on the
original PlayStation instead.
Sound: 6.5
Once again, we
are treated to some cheesy rocking guitars but at least this time around, the
game mixes in some delightful Asian flavors to the soundtrack. At least the
voice acting has improved a little.
Difficulty:
Medium
If you’ve been
playing any of Koei’s similar games you know that the real challenge doesn’t
come from dominating the map but rather going up against your opponent’s top
commanding officers. While the game tosses in some huge enemies, there’s nothing
that will have you worried about your trio.
Concept: 5.5
Survival Mode
is back again and it’s actually a fun tag-team styled game mode. Dream Mode
offers some interesting scenarios to keep players busy after finishing Story
Mode. There are also close to 90 characters in total to use but other than there
is nothing that really sets it apart from the last Warriors Orochi game.
Multiplayer:
5.0
The game’s VS
Mode serves up two-player action that should already be recognizable to devoted
fans of the series yet the lack of online play certainly continues to hurt the
series as far as the multiplayer fun is concerned. I mean, would it not be fun
to have up to two other friends join you on the battlefield online?
Overall: 5.5
Warriors
Orochi 2 for
the PS2 doesn’t change very much and this is both a blessing and a curse that
keeps this from being a game fans of the series will be excited about again. The
truth is that the series’ hack-and-slash formula that had so captivated us is
starting to get old. It’s time that Koei consider exploring new ways of make
this much loved series freshly addictive again.
