Samurai Warriors 2: Empires for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

Have you ever played a game and then read reviews of that game and wondered if the reviewers were playing the same game? Samurai Warriors 2: Empires is great. One of my top 2 or 3 rentals since I became a member. I have had the game for over a week now and I feel like I am just scratching the surface. I have beaten one scenario, but the game does not end there. It has multiple more scenarios to play. I have also only played as one of the Samurai Lords, and there are dozens of them. Not to mention the playable Generals. The Lt.s are not so good, but some of the generals are very powerful, especially when they get leveled up. The good about leveling them up is that you still to use the more powerful versions when you replay the game.

The game is also more that just a button mashing experience. You can fight that way, but there are also may more things you can do which I am just learning about.

Graphics are good enough, and the stories are excellent. All of the scenarios are based off historical event, and so are the characters. Of course they take a good bit of liberty because you can play any character and have any outcome, but what fun would the game be if they didn't. However if you search for any of the main characters or generals they you will not only find the game, but historical facts, which are not to dissimilar to the starting scenario of the game.

If you've played any "Warriors" game from KOEI, you've pretty much already played this game a hundred times. With the addition of the Empires mode, however, you've only played this game twice before. The basic gameplay has not evolved at all since the 2001 release of Dynasty Warriors 2 on the PS2. In fact, the graphics, voices, and sound effects are roughly the same too, which is to say they are sub-par for an Xbox 360 game.

The Empire mode is, in my opinion, better than the regular old campaign mode of the non-Empires game. You have the option of selecting from a number of scenarios and playable officers, or you can go the more creative route and customize your own character. You have a few options like selecting your family crest, voice, and moves set (and weapon), and then you commence button-mashing to level up your skills. Between button-mashing bouts, there are some strategic elements that you can participate in, or skip through (though it makes the game harder). You get policy cards that you can use during combat or to build up defenses and agriculture in your territories. You can even delegate your lieutenants to fight in battles while you go do something else. Defeated officers can be hired into your group and money earned can be spent on new policy cards. There's even a co-op mode but only via split-screen, i.e. no online modes.

Basically this game is a mix of Samurai Warriors 2 and Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires, in that they tacked on the Empire mode into this already existing game. If you enjoy a little thinking, planning, uhh... strategy if you will, in your button-mashing game, then this game is right up your alley. If you just want to button-mash and not think, just get the original Samurai Warriors 2 that came out last year. I enjoyed the game, but it's just nothing new or innovative... and I've basically already played it 8 times. If, however, you've never played any of the Warriors games before, this would be the best one to get.