[03/23/06] Samurai Warriors: State of War

[L.S.D]

Game: Samurai Warriors: State of War

System: PSP

 

My first game for PSP was Dynasty Warriors by KOEI. I absolutely...HATE it. I can't recognise

the gameplay that has been the trademark of this series. I sold it off on an online auction

immediately. So, when KOEI release Samurai Warriors, I was praying they will not make

the same mistake again. Was my prayers answered? Read on.

 

FYI, Samurai Warriors are set in feudal Japan where you can choose the greatest warriors in

Japan’s history to duke it out in battles and slash your way through hundreds of enemies in quest

to unify Japan.

 

Graphics:

 

A mixture of bags. KOEI has improved several critical issues that saddled DW for PSP and yet,

there are still some issues left unsolved or make worse. First the good part. SW came in full wide

screen mode. DW for PSP came in a normal 16:9 size which make the characters look small at time.

With wide screen mode, you can see more details on the action onscreen. The map is showing at

the top right of the screen, half transparent so that it wouldn't obstruct any view. I hardly notice

any framerate issue when playing even when I was surrounded by dozens of people. The only

slowdown happens only once when I execute a True Musuo with really a lot of enemies on screen.

THe characters are all nicely animated and you can see the details nicely on each characters; their

weapons, clothing and so on. The grunts are given a better look than DW and a lot more variety

are available.

Now the bad news. The draw distance is pratically zero. If you are not 5 feet from the enemies, you

will not be able to see them. This is extremely frustrating when you are trying to find a certain target

that you need to destroy. I have to depend on the map (the mission target normally blinking) to find

the one that I need to kill. It is understandable that the purpose of the reduction of draw distance is

to get a smoother frame rate, but it seems weird when you are surrounded by enemies in the map

but there are only a few onscreen. The environment on the battlefield also look empty except for the

occasional castle fight or special battlefield fight. It didn't bother me much though as I am too busy

fighting enemies to notice.

 

Graphic: 7.5/10 (good framerate but bog down by the draw distance)

 

Sound:

It is the usual KOEI (or rather, every DW series) sound effects and BGM after all. Some fast-paced

rock mixed with the typical Oriental (or in this case, japanese) influence from japanese musical

instruments. Overall, the bgm is quite ok but it might not be everyone's cup of tea. The sound effect

is quite good. You can hear every grunts, hack and slash very clearly and i think the voiceovers for each

characters are done well, better than DW. I would have given this a perfect score if they add voiceover

for storymode but they didn't

 

Sound: 9/10

 

Controls:

The controls are responsive as before. Since the gameplay is changed compared to DW, you can

now choose to use the analog stick to move around or the D-Pad too. Also, they take out the ability

to shoot arrows (which is good since shooting arrows sucks) and they add an evade button.

THe only problem this game will give on the control department is that you will find that you will

be wearing out the PSP buttons due to constant button mashing

 

Controls: 10/10 (seems perfect to me!)

 

Gameplay:

As usual, they keep the "no-brainer hack and slash your way to victory" gameplay intact here.

In fact, KOEI rectifies everything I hate about DW for PSP in this game. DW diverts from the usual

formula by adding the subgeneral system, the tactical field system, NO character growth, no item

collection and no weapon collection, making it a horrible game. Luckily, they didn't repeat the same

mistake again in this game. The weapon collection is back. Yes, you can now hunt for your favourite

weapon to use against the enemies, each come with their own shape and strength and additional

attributes to help your character. Your character will also grow stronger each fight as they gain

experience by killing enemies and gathering gold coins. A skill system was added where you can gain

new skills by defeating subofficers or officers to get a skill scroll. And as your character grow stronger,

they will help you to deal more damage on the battlefield. If properly leveled up, you will find that

your character will mow down any unsuspecting enemies at one stroke.

The tactical field system is still in the game, but KOEI has make vast improvement to it. Now, you

can use spell charms during this phase. The field was also lay out more nicely and there are different

details to differentiate it like cannon, mountains, padi fields, river and so on. With spell charms coming

into play, it can force you to play more strategically. For example, you have opponent's cavalry bearing

down on you a few square away. Oh, wait! You have a VALVE charm. using the charm to open a dam's

valve, water will flood part of the field, causing the cavalry not to be able to advance. You can also

heal yourself, poison your enemies so that they are weaker by the time you reach them or paralysis

them so that they can't move. It is making strategic planning before the battle enjoyable.

The subgeneral system is back and each general can give special attribute or skill to your character

to help you out. Now, you can also perform Double Musuo, where you and your subgeneral unleash

devastating attack on all. However, it is limited to certain subgeneral only.

And about the load time, the only loading you will find is at the beginning of every mission which is about

20s the most. You have pratically almost no load time between battles.

The only downside that I can find in this game is there are not many feature available. You can play in

Story Mode (where you spend most your time), Free Mode where you can choose to play the missions

that you have unlocked in Story mode and a Vs mode for ad-hoc battle against others. There is a gallery

for you to view your collected weapons and subgenerals. I was hoping for some mini challenge courses

like what is available for DW. Also, hack and slash all the time might wear some people down.

 

Gameplay: 8.5/10 (KOEI going back to the system we are more familiar with, which is a good thing

however, repetitive hack and slash and lack of features might turn off some people)

 

Overall:

Graphics: 7.5/10

Sound: 9/10

Control: 10/10

Gameplay: 8.5/10

 

Overall: 8.8/10

 

Some people might think that I give a score that is too high for this game. In fact, Gamespot

give a 6.5 to this game. However, I have Megaman Powered Up, Syphon Filter and Samurai Warriors

with me at the same time, and I found that I am still playing a lot on this game (and the other two

games too, causing me to sleep less:P). KOEI make a right decision to return to the very elements

that make the series so enjoyable by many, and improves on certain aspect too. Now if only they are

able to address the graphical issues, it would have been great. Buy it or rent it but give this game a

try. It deserves to be played.

Edited March 23, 2006 by L.S.D