When it first started out, the Warriors Orochi series sounded like an excellent idea. Mashing up the highly popular Dynasty Warriors with the equally entertaining Samurai Warriors series seemed like an instant gold mine, but so far, the efforts have been pitiful. So before you think that this gigantic mash-up of your two favorite series is going to be gaming heaven, I’d advise you read on before running out to your local electronics store to pick up a copy.

If you missed out on the first iteration, Warriors Orochi provides players a chance to play as many of their favorite characters from both the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series as they face off against Orochi, the Serpent King. Orochi has messed with time and history, so it’s up to these Japanese and Chinese warriors to make everything right.

In terms of the plot outline, Warriors Orochi 2 features several storylines to play through. Orochi’s own storyline permits players the chance to see how Orochi accomplished his sinister plans in order for the first game’s story to come to fruition. Another storyline included is the Samurai story; it follows Orochi’s former army member, Dong Zhuo, as he terrorizes the villagers for cheap entertainment. There are five stories overall to play through, so it’s not the shortest title this fall.

Perhaps the biggest attraction to Warriors Orochi 2 is the ability to play with the characters from the first game plus an additional 13 that have been added in. The running total is well above 90, so the variety is surely a benefit to fanatics who can’t get enough of either series.

If you’ve ever played a Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors title in the past, you’ll know exactly what to expect with Warriors Orochi 2. If you haven’t done so before, then be prepared for button-mashing with constant hack-n-slashing results. Having to face off against large numbers of opponents on the screen at one time, Warriors Orochi 2 features a lot of action going on at one time but none of it is that enthralling. Each character comes equipped with a special weapon to slice through the enemies, but with so many characters featured, they all tend to blend together after awhile.

The gameplay still supports up to three warriors on the battlefield that can be switched on the fly. Having little to no changes from the first game, Warriors Orochi 2 will be a safe haven for players who hate change. The only real changes that are noticeable have to be the team assists and the triple attacks. Team assists allow for characters that aren’t in the thick of the action to assist the main player who is being attacked. As for the triple attacks, they allow for two other characters to join in on a triple Musou attack (super attack in other words).

The only area that’s received a noticeable improvement has to be the multiplayer and online section. Teaming up locally is fun but having the chance to play cooperatively online is a definite benefit. The reason why I favor online play over local play is the simple fact that it’s hard to convince friends to join in on the drudgingly stale gameplay. At least you’ll be able to find a hardcore fanatic that’ll play no matter how dated the series is.

There are several game modes to trek through including: versus mode, tag-team mode, elimination, tower mode, survival mode, dream mode and horseracing. Of the aforementioned, only the dream mode and versus modes are worth spending your time with. Versus mode allows players to select three of their favorite characters and battle against one another. Dream Mode sets up three different characters within unique scenarios within the 20+ stages provided. The rest, such as the horseracing game mode, are a waste of time and effort.

As expected, Warriors Orochi 2 looks and feels dated. The graphics haven’t vastly improved nor has the gameplay. If there’s any reason to play Warriors Orochi 2, it’s to play through a mind-numbing hack-n-slasher with a friend to pass the time. Other then that, avoid at all costs.

Gameplay: 4.8
Koei and Omega Force seriously need to focus on improving the gameplay next time around. The monotonous action becomes tiring right out of the gate.

Graphics: 3.5
The graphics are ugly by any standards.

Sound: 3.9
The voice-acting is so bad that it’s laughable. The only entertainment that comes out of the sound is the ability to sit around with a group of friends and imitate the voice-actors. I’d dare say it’s almost as fun as imitating Christian Bale’s voice as Batman in The Dark Knight.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 6.0
Behind all of the below average affairs, Warriors Orochi 2 is still a clever idea to mix two popular franchises together.

Multiplayer: 6.5
If you have friends that are interested in button-smashing with you, then there might be some fun to be found within Warriors Orochi 2 for you.

Overall: 4.8
There’s no advocating anyone who wants to buy Warriors Orochi 2 as it’s basically identical to the original with a few new tweaks and game modes.