Samurai Warrior 2

Samurai Warrior 2:  Xtreme Legends

Rating T

Score:  8.0/10

             It’s time to take to the field!  Engage in epic sword battles between power-hungry warlords in feudal Japan.  This game is available for the Playstation 2 and Xbox 360.

             Fans of the first Samurai Warrior will be asking themselves upon playing this sequel, “Haven’t I already done this before?”  This game is a lot like the first – disappointingly in fact.  The missions are simply to run around finding clan leaders and defeating them.   Newcomers to the series that love beat-em-up games will love this game.  To anyone who might be uninformed, a “Beat-em-Up game” is a game where you repeatedly tap a button or two to clear crowds of enemies.  Everyone loves beat-em-up games and this game is no different.  The KO count will go up so fast, you’ll think your PS2’s/Xbox's broken!

             There are many, many characters in this game.  I lost count at about 50 characters.  Seriously though, there are about 35 characters in this game.  Each one has a story and each one is about betrayal and vengeance.  Not much to the story, and chances are, you’ll barely every touch Story Mode.  Free Mode is where you’ll spend most of your time.  Free Mode, simply put, is Story Mode without the story.  Just your character, running around, defeating armies and clan leaders. 

             Something you’ll hear a lot is your teammates.  They constantly talk and talk, sometimes not even saying anything important.  The map is your best friend – it shows everything you need to know:  where your armies are, where your opponents’ armies are and where you are.

             You can shop around in this game.  Shop for weapons, shop for bodyguards, shop for horses, shop for abilities, shop for everything.  Speaking of weapons, they are all the same.  The only differences between them are the abilities you get by simply having them.  Weapons can give you more attack strength, more defensive abilities, make you luckier and even make you better at riding horses.

             Fans know what to expect.  They expect a timeless beat-em-up game and they will not be disappointed.  Fans of beat-em-up will also love this game for freakishly large KO counts in an extremely short amount of time.  Maybe this is just a taste of greatness to come for the series.