Review: Samurai Warriors 2: Empires (PS2)

Another week, another ‘warriors’ game from Koei. Well, perhaps they don’t quite arrive that regularly, but this is nonetheless the second game to bear the moniker Samurai Warrior 2 in less than a year. If you’ve ever played a ‘warriors’ game then you’ll know what the drill is here, take control of an overpowered hero, then proceed to knock the stuffing out of several opposing armies in order to unite feudal Japan under your command. If all this sounds a bit similar to Samurai Warriors 2, it’s because it is. Except, Koei have justified this release by adding the word ‘Empires’ to the title along with a fairly thin strategical element.

So, the main campaign mode is now split into two sections. Prior to going into battle there’s the opportunity to shuffle some stats around before the action proper starts on the battlefield. And that’s one of this title’s big problems. For all the fiddling that can be done in the strategy section, none of it feels like it has any real effect on the battles, it all just feels like padding to justify the release of another button masher. That the strategy sections feel so disjointed from battles is especially impressive given the scope for making major decisions. Amongst other things alliances can be formed with neighbouring territories, troops can be trained, crops can be cultivated and so on. As the game progresses you can gain access to more ‘policy cards’ allowing you to alter even more stats. And the actual reward for all this? Occasionally you’ll get a new unit, or start somewhere different when you enter a battle. Gamestyle wonders whether it’s worth the effort.

Once you’ve done with the strategy it’s into battle. If you had any hopes of Samurai Warriors 2 Empires doing anything differently from any other title in the series, be prepared to be disappointed. In fact, so similar is this to its forefathers, the same old problems remain. How is it that Koei are still unable to provide us with a camera that works properly? As before, your army will be required to annihilate the opposing army and as ever, you’ll have to do it on your own. Yes, the AI is still poor. Your troops will either rush around for no discernable reason, or stand about waiting to get killed. The enemy AI is little better and you’ll find crowds of the enemy also standing around simply waiting for you to dispatch them to their grave. Sometimes you will find yourself overwhelmed by opponents, but generally a quick burst of your special ‘Musou’ power soon clears the way. You might also expect not only a challenge but a deep and involving control system from a title that relies so heavily on combat. Sadly, it’s nowhere to be found here. If so inclined, you could probably finish the entire game using no more than a couple of the attack buttons and the occasional blast of Musou power. Even the many sub-bosses and end of level bosses can be beaten in this fashion. Occasionally you’ll have the opportunity to ride a horse, however the few minutes of novelty value that this offers doesn’t warrant playing the rest of the game to experience.

In theory the way you fight in battle should vary, depending on which General you chose to play as because each is equipped with a different weapon, which has its own characteristics in battle. However, in practice, the difference this actually makes is negligible. You’ll still find yourself hammering the same few buttons repeatedly. Whilst many of the battles, such as the Battle of Kawanakajima are rooted in historical fact, Gamestyle is fairly certain that in real life the Commander of one side didn’t beat everyone on the opposing army single-handedly.

So outside of the campaign mode, what does Samurai Warriors 2 Empires have to offer? The answer is not a lot. There’s a free mode that allows for battles without the strategy and both free and campaign modes offer the option of a second player joining in via split-screen. Although, to be honest it would be cruel to inflict this game on anyone you like enough to be playing games with in the first place. There’s also the option to customise a character for use in the main game, although this equates to little more than changing the colour and style of armour worn and what type of weapon they will wield. Compared to the customisation options in for example EA’s releases, the offering here feels like a tacked on afterthought.

It’s difficult to really find anything to praise this title for. At best we could say that it’s just about technically competent, but that’s poor praise indeed given how long the series has been running for. The voice acting is inappropriate. Characters don’t sound like Japanese general and warriors. They sound like Keanu Reeves in the film Point Break. Hardly helpful for creating a sense of atmosphere. The frame sometimes struggles and why is there no way to ‘lock-on’ to opponents to target attacks?

How is it that Koei continually escape censure for rolling out a game that, save for a few new bells and whistles, is essentially the same as every other game in the series? This sort of behaviour might almost be acceptable if the gameplay that Koei trots out with every new release in the series was any good. But it’s not. Its tedious button mashing which is more likely to give you repetitive strain injury than any actual enjoyment, now joined by a largely ineffective strategy element. Avoid.

Rating: 3 / 10

Words by Andy Lucas