The fall of the Ashikaga Shogunate has caused
turmoil in 16th-century feudal Japan. Clans are vying for control of
the lands. Battles are raging across the landscape and into this setting is
thrust a warrior and a small army.
No, this is not an army of one. You can
command your troops to take up various offensive stances, and they will attack
the enemy, but should you fall, the battle is lost.
KOEI definitely has this genre wrapped up with
a pervasive style that is wonderful to look at and combines elements of arcade
combat with role-play. In concert with Omega Force, KOEI’s release of Samurai
Warriors for the Xbox continues the tradition and while somewhat linear in the
Story Mode, the game offers non-stop combat against an incredible onslaught of
enemy soldiers.
The game features six modes of play: Story
Mode, Free Mode, New Officer Mode, Survival Mode, Versus Mode and Challenge
Mode. In the New Officer Mode, you create an avatar, name him or her and then go
through a series of trials and tests to create your characters for the other
modes of play.
In Story Mode you select one of five pre-built
characters with beginning titles, which you can build and change as you progress
through the game. Yukimura Sanada is know as the “Warrior in Red” at level 1.
The main force is acting as a decoy while Yukimura takes a force to strike
Kenshin from behind and force him into the main force in a pincer-like move. The
mapboard is large, and the clock is ticking. It’s time to weave that pike,
power-up and destroy the enemy forces.
Other game features include up to 15 playable
characters, over 90 stages of battles, an auto-formation system and a new active
mission system which generate distinct missions during battles, and historically
as well as fictional settings.
Challenge mode offers the opportunity to
replay any previously completed mission with the idea to set new records. Since
the game keeps track of many things (like the number of enemies you killed),
this will really appeal to those seeking arcade bragging rights. Free mode is
much like challenge mode, except you get to play with any character of your
choice.
You will get power-ups in the game, which will
allow you to launch musou attacks – graphically appealing and devastating combat
actions. The number of KOs you record with musou attacks are one of the areas
analyzed in the finished ratings wrap-up.
Unfortunately, the camera is fixed and that
can create a bit of a problem in a three-dimensional setting. You can fire off a
whirling attack, and knock your opponent out of frame, and then because you
cannot pan the camera, you are basically hunting for him on a three-dimensional
board using a two-dimensional fixed perspective.
The controls of Samurai Warriors are easy to
understand and use. While Samurai Warriors affords a variety of options, like
charging forward, the musou attack, going into a guard mode and even ranged
attacks, these are all easily controlled.
The graphics, aside from the camera problems,
are terrific, and the sound is robust.
All-in-all, Samurai Warriors may carry a
familiar KOEI theme and style, but that does not stop this title from being
enjoyable and a wonderful treat for the eyes and ears. Do not expect this to be
a quick in-and-out type of game. The timer for the starting missions is 60
minutes, and you will use most of the that to work through the map and
accomplish what you are tasked to do.
Gameplay: 8.0
The gameplay is smooth but slightly
structured. You have a map which plays out alike a maze. Basically, you take
your force and run throughout the map destroying the enemy. Strategy is at a
minimum, while the fighting action is non-stop. This is a repetitive function
throughout the game, even when you are battling the clock to complete the
missions in time.
Graphics: 8.1
While the graphics are lush and the animations
are remarkable, the game suffers from a fixed camera position.
Sound: 8.1
The sound track features a plethora of typical
combat sounds, but the musical score is solid and the vocal characterizations
are very well done. There is, however, some redundancy in what is said during
battle.
Difficulty: Medium
The title has four difficulty settings – Easy,
Normal, Hard and Chaos – which should appeal to just about any player abilities.
Concept: 8.5
This title really takes advantage of the Xbox
capabilities, with in-game Dolby sound and improved graphical elements that
allow for up to 10 more characters per screen than the PlayStation2 version.
Multiplayer: 8.2
The game has a decent multiplayer mode, and
utilizes the split-screen look. There is also a co-op mode and versus mode to
expand the gameplay options.
Overall: 8.2
While this title has a similar feel to other
titles in the KOEI stable, Samurai Warriors still provides an enjoyable gaming
experience with terrific graphical elements.
