Samurai Warriors 2: Empires

"All in all, Samurai Warriors 2 Empires offers a new layer of set-up strategy while adding all sorts of collectibles and upgrades to the in-between the all-too familiar combat. While the strategy end is quite deep, the same things that plagued the former games are still hanging around in this one. The dialog, voice-overs and character interactions are primitive and laughable."

"KOEI's newest effort in its long-running series adds a few twists here and there, but the basic action stays simplistic and oh-so-familiar. The stategic elements do affact gameplay to a small degree, and the multi-musou attacks and the create-an-officer are neat extraneous additions. Unfortunately, the game's basic concept, button-mashing combat, really hasn't changed one iota since 2001. But hey, there is a two-person option for co-op play!"

"Once again, the strategy elements of the empires mode do a lot to make up for the mundanity of the aging Warriors combat system, but it's not quite enough."

"If you've long-since grown tired of this series, Samurai Warriors 2 Empires won't do anything to win you back. Those still addicted, however, will appreciate being able to get some strategizing on in ancient Japan. There might not be any innovation here, but there's still some fun to be had. Just don't expect much more than what you're used to getting."

"Samurai Warriors 2 Empires is a decent title, but it doesn’t offer the same visceral experience that gamers became enchanted with eight-plus titles ago. The “empires” portion adds replay and upgrades the hack-n-slash, but it’s tough to dig deep into those pockets and dole out money for a near carbon-copy artfully repackaged."