Sam HersheyReview of Samurai Lords Katana
April 12th 2009 02:23
Yep, the Wolf's Den is here and do we have a review for you, time to dust off your Wii Mote, bone up on your Bushido, and prep your (non internet site) banner. Why....because...
Take the Samurai Warriors games we have been playing on the PS...and the PS2...throw in a little Lethal Enforcers...sprinkle with a dash of Track and Field and throw in to a blender and what do you have...you would think a mess...surpisingly no, you would have Samurai Warriors: Kantana. Which is a suprisingly good game...all things considered.
There are various modes of play. In Musou you find yourself as a nameless young warrior, who, depending on the story arch you are playing, is using a diffrent means to find usually, fame, glory, and of course, fortune, the stories are well done, the plots are well writen, and, I don't know about my fellow reviewers, but I found the voice acting to be near top notch.
In Trials Mode, once you have gotten through a certain amount of Musou mode, will allow you to take on various...well, Trials for bragging rights and gold. Examples of such trials are "Defeat 3 Sky Ninjas in 30 seconds" or "Avoid being hit for 15 seconds".
Versus Mode could not be tested due to not having a second player...the descript suggests a head to head battle though, and you can check with Records your top scores for each mode (And each story arch in Musou Mode). The Trials are well done, and some are all but hair pullingly hard, and the record list is easy to manage and will show you everything you need to know with ease.
Sadly all is not well in the land of the Samurai Warriors. Several control issues plague this game. I cannot count the times I have ordered a block only for the block to go up a split second after the command was given...just enough time for the attack I was trying to block to get through. In addition some segments require you to "run" by pumping the Wiimote and 'chuck...which I also had problems getting to respond...and don't get me started on the horse. However, other than the horse, the jogging and the occasional block issue the controls are tight and responsive. You truly will feel like the "young warrior" as with a swing of your mighty sword or a pull of the trigger...I mean Wiimote or the push of the B button...I mean...well, it's kinda both accually...enemy soilders fall at your feet
Not just the controls are issues as well, sometimes the Level Design or even the bosses are the problem. One Mission required me to get through a castle in a certain time limit, I was told by an NPC that the castle had secret passageways, no notes to my mini-map or on the game as to where the passages were, or how to access them, just, there are secret passages in the castle...failed the mission twice trying to find the passages. I am not asking to be handed the missions, far from it, but in an rl castle with passages, if you were told about them, odds are you would be told what to look for to find them...and once you had, how to access them.
Some of the bosses were also...well, a little cheap, cheating...eh, maybe with one exception I wouldn't say that, but one boss had an attack which stunned me and made me unable to block or attack...while she lit me up with a 5 hit combo.
Still Komei...a very good effort for your first try in to this kind of game, just a few minor things to work on if you plan a Sequel...but a very good first shot...Alert the Pack, the Samurai Warriors are coming...and I'm sending 4 Wolves after them!
THE WOLF'S DEN REVIEWS
SAMURAI WARRIORS: KATANA
FOR THE WII
FOR THE WII
Take the Samurai Warriors games we have been playing on the PS...and the PS2...throw in a little Lethal Enforcers...sprinkle with a dash of Track and Field and throw in to a blender and what do you have...you would think a mess...surpisingly no, you would have Samurai Warriors: Kantana. Which is a suprisingly good game...all things considered.
There are various modes of play. In Musou you find yourself as a nameless young warrior, who, depending on the story arch you are playing, is using a diffrent means to find usually, fame, glory, and of course, fortune, the stories are well done, the plots are well writen, and, I don't know about my fellow reviewers, but I found the voice acting to be near top notch.
In Trials Mode, once you have gotten through a certain amount of Musou mode, will allow you to take on various...well, Trials for bragging rights and gold. Examples of such trials are "Defeat 3 Sky Ninjas in 30 seconds" or "Avoid being hit for 15 seconds".
Versus Mode could not be tested due to not having a second player...the descript suggests a head to head battle though, and you can check with Records your top scores for each mode (And each story arch in Musou Mode). The Trials are well done, and some are all but hair pullingly hard, and the record list is easy to manage and will show you everything you need to know with ease.
Sadly all is not well in the land of the Samurai Warriors. Several control issues plague this game. I cannot count the times I have ordered a block only for the block to go up a split second after the command was given...just enough time for the attack I was trying to block to get through. In addition some segments require you to "run" by pumping the Wiimote and 'chuck...which I also had problems getting to respond...and don't get me started on the horse. However, other than the horse, the jogging and the occasional block issue the controls are tight and responsive. You truly will feel like the "young warrior" as with a swing of your mighty sword or a pull of the trigger...I mean Wiimote or the push of the B button...I mean...well, it's kinda both accually...enemy soilders fall at your feet
Not just the controls are issues as well, sometimes the Level Design or even the bosses are the problem. One Mission required me to get through a castle in a certain time limit, I was told by an NPC that the castle had secret passageways, no notes to my mini-map or on the game as to where the passages were, or how to access them, just, there are secret passages in the castle...failed the mission twice trying to find the passages. I am not asking to be handed the missions, far from it, but in an rl castle with passages, if you were told about them, odds are you would be told what to look for to find them...and once you had, how to access them.
Some of the bosses were also...well, a little cheap, cheating...eh, maybe with one exception I wouldn't say that, but one boss had an attack which stunned me and made me unable to block or attack...while she lit me up with a 5 hit combo.
Still Komei...a very good effort for your first try in to this kind of game, just a few minor things to work on if you plan a Sequel...but a very good first shot...Alert the Pack, the Samurai Warriors are coming...and I'm sending 4 Wolves after them!
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