Samurai Warriors: State of War review

Let’s face it: there's something gratifying about cutting through hundreds of enemy warriors like they weren’t even there, andSamurai Warriors: State of War definitely delivers in that respect. Anyone familiar with the series' PS2 releases or its based-in-old-China counterpart Dynasty Warriors will know that the point of these games is simple: to beat the living hell out of entire armies of enemies. As such, elements like story and character developmenttake a backseat to shoving your blades into one foe after another, pausing only to fry them up with the occasional magic attack.

Essentially a port of the console Samurai Warriors games, State of War lets players fight historical battles across 22 new maps created just for the PSP. You can play as 19 different generals, ranging from typical samurai and ninja operativesto agunman who spews fire magic and a maiden known as "The Venomous Flower." Additionally, players can unlock up to 200 non-playable "subofficers," who will join up once they've been defeated or once certain stages have been cleared. Also, while the PSP port of Dynasty Warriors suffered from slowdown during battles, State of War fixes the problem, enabling frenzied fights with dozens of soldiers at once. The camera sometimes responds slowly to changes in direction, whichis disorienting, but it's a minor annoyance.