Warriors Orochi

SUMMARY:
Description: Warriors Orochi is the first culmination game combining a number of elements and most importantly the characters of both the Dynasty Warriors & Samurai Warriors series (with the exception of SW2XL). For the first time fans of the Warriors titles can combine their favourite characters from each of the main franchises in a more refreshing and more light-hearted style.

Story Review: The combination of Dynasty Warriors & Samurai Warriors is due to the serpent king Orochi, in order to provide himself the ultimate test of his abilities he creations a fusion of the Three Kingdoms Era (Dynasty Warriors) & the Sengoku Era (Samurai Warriors) to test his might against the most mighty and powerful of warriors from these two eras. The fusion forces former alliances to fall as distrust creeps in as Orochi plots their downfall, while his right hand woman in Da Ji latches onto the various armies like a parasite, while acting as an ally to closely monitor them. The usage of the new characters of both Orochi & Da Ji work quite well, and provide a unique fictional story to make the combination possible. For a story which doesn't feed off historical elements in the past it's done quite well done actually. 8/10

Graphics/Sound: No real need to go into major detail here, basically DW5 + SW2 more of less = Warriors Orochi. And as per usual the graphic power of the Xbox 360 is slightly, but noticeably better compared to the PS2 version. 7/10

Battle System: Pretty much everything you have witnessed in prior Warriors titles still exists, Musou attacks, 2 player mode etc. Although specifically in Warriors Orochi each character has a new and extremely powerful R1 attack. Most comparable to the new unique attacks witnessed in Samurai Warriors 2 in place of the aging bow. Here these attacks are extremely mighty, and their benefit and style is dependant on three different classes, Power, Technique & Speed.

Power: allow for powerful attacks, generally of the one hit variety which cause great power and the ability to piece enemy defence, while at a high Musou consumption expense. Power warriors also have stronger recoil ability against ranged attacks and can still move freely when fired at, although they still take damage of course.

Technique: generally allow for ‘super charging' of traditional charge attacks, rather then Square, Square, Triangle for example can become Square, Square, R1 which on most occasions leads to a far more powerful charge attack. This of course allows you many more options in the attack string, technique warriors also benefit from a quick fire counter attack option. These too consume some of the Musou gauge, although generally not as much as those in the power category.

Speed: commonly offers quicker style attacks with low, or even no Musou gauge consumption. This allows for more freedom during attacks with the ability to break an attack sequence at your leisure by simply jumping out of it. They too benefit from a double jump technique, although not as great as those which the Ninja's have in SW2, here is purely to aid in evasive tactics.

The R1 attacks are an amazing addition, the only criticism I have of them however is at them they are frankly quite broken, Mitsunari & Mitsuhide for example. Also generally Musou's tend to be of far lesser importance to them, which is a change of thinking I'm not entirely fond of. To me the Musou attack should be the one that can change a battle when used well, not an R1 attack which is even more efficient then a Musou itself, the attacks are amazing but can make the game too easy at times.

Another of the new aspects is the three character interchange feature, while you battle with one character at a time; you will have two others available resting and ready for action by simply switching them into battle. If the character you are using is low on health, or simply drained of their Musou gauge you can simply swap another in and continue to battle away. This also means you can have a mix of Dynasty Warriors & Samurai Warriors characters in your active team, which is awesome to have 3 of your best characters all available at the same time!

Finally Warriors Orochi has added in the horse call ability, for everyone! The concept of course started in Samurai Warriors with Yukimura & Keiji having it as a special ability, but now it can be done regardless of who you are. Which no doubt helps cover the typical speed weakness of some characters.

Overall the gameplay offers a faster pace and more flexibility in battle then we are used to in the prior titles, which is fresh and enjoyable. The only downside is this can make the game easier, and the only way the game seems to make up for it is by giving you more moronic allies whom are far more likely to get defeated before you then ever before. The pros outweigh the cons overall though in my opinion, yet another case of awesome gameplay, which is a little different this time around. 8.5/10

Replay Value: Overall it's not as enjoyable to replay to DW5 or SW2, essentially there are just the four story modes, while long they certainly do not last as long as other Warriors titles. You'll probably want to play it enough to give all the characters a run though and see the changes that have been made to their move sets, particularly the R1 attacks. 6/10

Final Thoughts: If you're an addict of Koei Warriors games then you'll no doubt enjoy it & appreciate the changes they have made to the game. As well as the most obvious benefit of having all the characters from both SW & DW series in the one title. Although once that luxury and the new features wear off there is not too much else to love about the game. Certainly not the best in the Warriors library, but probably the most unique of them which makes it worth borrowing off a friend or renting for a few nights at the very least.

Rating: 7/10