| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Dog of Thunder |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 1:43:48 PM
Every now and then, or once a week, or once every two weeks, or whenever the hell he feels like it, the incredibly awesome Dog of Thunder shall share his feelings on a budget title ($20 or less at Gamestop) from his gamer card.
Dog's Dumpster Diving Review
Samurai Warriors 2
or
A Game With Deeper Combat then X-Blades!
It was only a matter of time before we entered this portion of the dumpster. This special, happy place where the X button on your controller goes to die. I could end this right now by saying that this game is exactly like Samurai Warriors, Dynasty Warriors 2, 3, 4, 5, Warriors Orochi, Warriors Orochi 2, Dynasty Warriors Gundam, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 but yet, it's not like Dynasty Warriors 6 (give it some time to drop in price, that one gets its own rant!) So with this complete lack of innovation, from title to title, why is Koei still making these games?
Because suckers like me LOVE a mindless hack'n'slash title. Let's tear this game apart and see what makes it tick.
The Developer: Omega Force
These are the Koei lap dogs that have made every game for them since Dynasty Warriors 4. Except for the uh, visual novel games, which are done by Ruby Party, and you know what? Let's not go there. And by "there" I mean anything that might end up taking us "here":
The Publisher: Koei
Once known for deep, involving strategy games where you watched numbers go up and down, such as Bandit Kings of Ancient China, Nobunaga's Ambition and even Liberty or Death, Koei made the very odd choice to make a fighting game based off of the characters in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (which is the Chinese equivalent of Star Wars....or to be actually fair and accurate, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.) Thus, Dynasty Warriors was born, and lo, it was panned by critics and fans alike for being a rip off of Fighter's Historywhich itself was a rip off of Street Fighter. Man, being labeled a rip off of a rip off is a horrible thing, but it does beat Turkish Star Wars
So Koei went back to the drawing board, and decided to merge their real time strategy game, Kessen, with the Dynasty Warriors concept, giving birth to the 1 vs. 1000 style of gameplay we all know and love. Seriously, did you click the Turkish Star Wars link? No? Go back and click it then we can move on.
The Plot
You solve all the problems of feudal Japan by killing everyone. There's actually a surprising amount of cut scenes in this game, which yes, do indeed detail the individual plot of each character as you go through the story mode. It's actually not that bad, far better then I expected going into this game, with the easy highlight being the incredibly bromantic story of Yukimaru Sanada. Good luck keeping all the characters and allegiances straight!
The Graphics
Remember that joke I made back in my very first review, the Saint's Row one? About how it looked so bad because it was made in conjuction with a PS2 version? Well um, this game WAS made in conjunction with a PS2 version. So yeah, the graphics are bad for a 360 game and about as next gen as a Members Only jacket.
The Gameplay
Here is the biggie, as shocker, you hit the X button a lot and kill things. Now here's the even bigger shocker, you ready for this one? There's actually variety in the combat. Really. Use regular attacks in combination with your charge attacks and you unleash new attacks. Each character as they level up gets more and more attacks. Use the bumpers for special moves which come in 3 varietys: Speed, Power and Technique. You also get to earn skills by completing various tasks that aid you in fun and exciting ways.
So what stops you from unleashing this actual variety in your attacks?
The voice acting.
Seriously. Characters will let loose a saying with each special attack, and some of them, namely Hideyoshi, are better off not talking. Like Megan Fox. It will drive you insane, again, like watching Megan Fox attempt to emote. And waitaminute...has she done anything but Transformers?
::checks IMDB::
Holy crap! She was Sydney in Hope&Faith? How did I never know that?
::back to the review::
Another innovation that the Samurai Warriors series brought, besides the skill system and special abilities, is the castle siege. Nope, not all that exciting, it's basically fighting inside instead of outside and the only real difference is now you can get lost. Whoopie.
I also nearly forgot the guards you can hire. Female ninjas, archers, monks, shrine maids, sumo wrestlers, swordsmen and spearmen can accompany you and supposedly aid you. Just some more targets for the archers really, since they do nothing. Except for the shrine maids and monks, they give you items every now and then which makes them invaluable when you tackle the survival mode.
Know what would have made this game really fun to play, instead of fun then mind numbingly dull and painful?
Samurai Pizza Cats
Achievements
Here is, hands down, the biggest knock against this game. You will not complete it. The DLC for this game weighs in at an astronomical 2400 points. Even then, 950 of the points is gained by unlocking various characters, with the final 50(of the original 1000), gained by unlocking two special guards through the survival mode. Joy.
Samurai Warriors 2 does count for the Hack'N'Slash badge, and so if you really want to get some easy, albeit painful, points for that badge, then you can do worse then this game. Like Dynasty Warriors 6.
|
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Cormyre |
Posted - Mar 08 2009 : 08:20:33 AM
*ROFL* ok I didn't expect to see that title when I opened this thread *slaps his forehead* the title that lead to my downfall...
right, ontopic... the game... wait Samurai Pizza Cats?! pure awesome, they need to bring them back...
err... ontopic ontopic, the game... I've tried to keep my distance from DW,SW, NW, etc... still miffed at them that I haven't seen a Kessen in a while...
As per usual awesome review, you need your own site man lol |
| joshnorm |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 11:22:52 AM
I like the Asian/European cover better then the US one. I think I will go find that and print it off for my copy....
Still debating the DLC. I just wish they released discounts regularly for older DLC... |
| HxS F4T4L1TY |
Posted - Mar 06 2009 : 2:56:29 PM
I've always loved the DW series, and Samurai Warriors was great too. I agree that the repetition gets old after a while, but these are still fun games, especially in co-op. Just don't mention Lu Bu. *Runs into closet, assumes fetal position, arms self with safety blanket* "Stay away from me. STAY AWAY, YOU MONSTER!!!" *SOB* |
| Mightymango |
Posted - Mar 06 2009 : 11:05:28 AM
Sounds like EVERY other Koei game then. |
| Fshguy |
Posted - Mar 06 2009 : 10:05:17 AM
Ohhh...the pain!!! How could you bring back such dreadful memories???
As you expect, there's a lot of repetition...there's a lot of repetition, do I need to say it again to get my point across?
Even the missions pretend to be non-linear, but for the most part if you don't do things in the order the game wants to, your ai characters you have to "protect" will die. Somewhere betwen the 10th and 20th repetition you can get it down pat. ;) |
| Mightymango |
Posted - Mar 06 2009 : 07:38:51 AM
Well, I think the expansion pack was set up like their was going to be a standalone retail, kind of like Tomb Raider Anniversary.
I've actually been a fan of these pointless games, probably the mindless game play. |
| Dog of Thunder |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 7:22:49 PM
Seriously, are you surprised? I mean, even a little? Cormyre had me figured out a long time ago. :-) |
| HxS F4T4L1TY |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 7:08:39 PM
quote:
Originally posted by GTCv Deimos
SAMURAI PIIIZZZAAA CAAAATTTTZZZ!!!
Man DoT... you're the lover of the B rated titles :p
And X rated titles too, apparently. So you don't want us to mention Volumes 5 and 6, eh? Obviously you don't mind anyone bringing up Volumes 1-4. What shall we make of this, hmmmmm?
lol ;-) |
| Davem3 TF |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 5:46:48 PM
turkish stars was.............funny |
| joshnorm |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 4:24:55 PM
quote:
Originally posted by WolfWood37
I was wondering if you would mention the DLC, yeah thats insane.
Grrr why did they have to go and make the DLC so expensive. I know that its supposed to be a game that wasn't finished but seriously thats more then I paid for the game itself. Wow....I mean I want that Hack N Slash Badge and all its right up there with the Retro badge but wow I don't want 950 points on the card when 1250 is so outrageous. Decisions, decisions, decisions |
| WolfWood37 |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 2:40:12 PM
I was wondering if you would mention the DLC, yeah thats insane. |
| a1a1a1 |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 1:45:43 PM
SAMURAI PIIIZZZAAA CAAAATTTTZZZ!!!
Man DoT... you're the lover of the B rated titles :p |
|
|
Copyright © 2006-2013 GamerDNA Media. All Rights Reserved.
LIVE GAMER, the Live Gamer logo, GAMERDNA, and the gamerDNA logo are registered or unregistered trademarks of Live Gamer, Inc. and its subsidiary, gamerDNA Media,
in the United States and/or other countries. Xbox, Xbox Live, and all other Xbox Live specific terms are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
