Samurai Warriors: State of War
More of the same.
Tags: Samurai Warriors: State of War Categories: PSP Reviews, Reviews
Posted by David Hinkle on Apr 5th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Samurai Warriors: State of War (title page) | 1 - 4 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
 |
Upon inserting the UMD into your PSP, either you’ll be ecstatic to have more button-mashing, soldier-destroying mayhem for your on-the-go fix, or you’ll wonder exactly what it is you’re doing with your life and why you aren’t playing something more worth your while. About 90% of the people who pick up this game will fall into that latter crowd almost immediately.upon starting the game up. This game wasn’t really intended for them anyway.
 |
The story of the game finds you choosing between one of 19 different warriors and slowly conquering all of feudal Japan’s vast territories, assimilating each clan and area into the clan you choose to represent. The story is progressed mainly through cutscenes full of overacting, yet on the PSP, things are dulled down to nothing but text upon text upon text and occasional dialogue. The voice acting is a bit better than on the console versions. Regardless, the game’s story takes a back seat to the constant, high-energy action.
 |
Given the amount of titles Koei has released using this same formula, it’s amazing we haven’t seen any kind of innovation to the formula. The action here is tired, worn to an almost indiscernable nub. Thankfully the battles aren’t as long as on the console versions of the game, scaled down to smaller, shorter battles that ultimately aid due to the portable nature of the platform. Still, the action isn’t very intense and leaves a lot to be desired.
 |
For those unaware, the game is broken down into a grid that features several problem areas, where you move your avatar to said area and go into a third-person battle for the outcome of that territory. Win, and you may move on to the next area and get a chance to win another territory. Each territory offers unique challenges beyond just slaughtering everything in your way, so the game is kept somewhat exciting.
 |
Graphically the game looks and moves nice, nicely devoid of the slowdown that plagued the Dynasty Warriors title on the PSP. Some of the conbat effects look nice and the amount of enemies onscreen at once is a nice touch, however the camera really brings the experience down as it’s just not properly utilized. Some of the bland textures in the environment are a eyesore though.
 |
Repeating the same button-mashing gameplay of old and offering just about no other gametypes beyond ad hoc multiplayer, Samurai Warriors: State of War offers nothing new to the player to warrant any amount of time with the title. There isn’t much here to reccomend unless you’re a rabid diehard fan of the series, likely never changing your ways and satisfied with the same combat scenarios over and over, which is fine as long as you have fun. The rest of us, however, just won’t unless Koei changes their approach.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
| + No slowdown and a plethora of enemies onscreen at once | 5.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Tired, monotonous gameplay - No worthwhile playtime outside the single-player experience |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Only for the diehard fans. | |
[ Post the first comment | View related posts ]
Tags: Samurai Warriors: State of War
Posted by David Hinkle on Apr 5th, 2006 and is filed under PSP Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
