Warriors Orochi 2 review

The serpent king Orochi and the Dynasty Warriors series have one thing in common: they keep on coming back for more. It’s Japan’s equivalent of the FIFA moneymaking saga. Here you can expect at least one game a year, if not more. Twelve months isn’t much time to create an entirely new game, so it’s little wonder that Warriors Orochi 2 is more like a ‘greatest hits’. Many of the new additions to the character roster are from previous games in the series, with six entirely new ones bringing the roster up to an immense 92 playables.

Story mode takes so long to complete with the starting characters that it’s doubtful anyone will have the energy to stray beyond them.We did have some enthusiasm for the new character Sun Wukong, because he’s basically ‘Monkey’ from the cult Seventies’ TV show. He whizzes around on a magic cloud and knocks over entire legions just by breathing on them. Okay, so he’s cheap. Because the game can be a grind at times, the more stupidly powerful the character, the more fun they are to play. It’s satisfying that you can now pick Orochi right from the start. The demonic character also has a separate Story mode – a prequel to his invasion of earth.

As hack n’ slash games go, this is one of the most competent. The controls are rock solid and the combo system is unparalleled for pure depth. It’s just a shame that the game engine is really showing its age now. After nearly eight years of usage, its low-res textures and terrible draw-distances look pretty shoddy. It’s really time for an update. There aren’t any big surprises. The only slight departure for the series is the two-player tag-team and Elimination modes which play out like a traditional fighting game. Warriors Orochi 2 contains plenty of new content, butwe can’t see anyone other than the most hardcore fans having the stamina to see it through.

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Sep 24, 2008