Warriors Orochi

Warriors Orochi combines the characters and features of two successful franchises into one game, but the convoluted crossover storyline, unimpressive production values, and lack of major innovation aren’t likely to have new players ready to enlist.

A must buy for any fan of the series to hold them over until Dynasty Warriors 6 comes out. For those who hate the series, you really won't find anything new to sway you to the dark side, and should probably avoid altogether.

Throw in some of the options that were removed from this release, such as new officer and duel modes, and they'll have plenty enough to land another $60 from the fans.

What's more maddening for this particular reviewer is that Japanese gamers seem to think the Western market is saturated with little more than banal first-person shooters, but then they flock in droves to the likes of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, lovingly embracing perhaps the most unrewarding and unchallenging gameplay mechanic ever created.

Proceed cautiously with this one. It's certainly not terrible, but it's not a great action game either.

It would've been nice to see Omega Software's Warriors series move forward with Orochi but unfortunately it seems to have stood fairly still in its mediocre hollow of repetitive combat/strategy gaming. Not much fun even if you were playing it on a very rainy day.

It's the same solid game you've been playing since "Dynasty Warriors 2" came out back in 2000.

It's the current best of the "Warriors" bunch, and long-time fans will eat it up, but everyone else should keep expectations in check. [Nov 2007, p.99]

It's just a shame that compared to the innovative excellence of Koei's other battlefield titles like Bladestorm or Gundam Musou, or even just Samurai Warriors 2, Warriors Orochi falls a little short.

With all the complaints a new player to the franchise could find, this game feels more like a dedication piece to all the fans of both series.

Oh, how many restless nights have I spent yearning for a Koei game that would combine the worst parts of "Dynasty Warriors" with those of "Samurai Warriors"! [Oct 2007, p.113]

Koei delivers another beat-‘em-up that pits players against hundreds of on-screen opponents, though it barely provides any type of worthwhile replay to attract players to devote endless hours of their time.

Warriors Orochi will offers a great deal of fan service to those who are already lovers of the Warriors series. For those not fans of repetitive button mashing missions there's very little on offer.

While the game can be fun in small doses, the countless hours of hacking and slashing required to complete the levels is enough to drive a gamer batty.

Warriors Orochi is nothing more than fan service from Koei and Omega Force.

Warriors: Orochi is the very definition of shallow gaming. There is not much to like here, at least not anything that you will not get very tired of half-an-hour in.

Koei's apologists will find Warriors Orochi to be an affable bit of fan service, but everyone else should just stay far away.

I suppose that kids might have some fun playing this with a mate for a short burst, and the real die-hard fans of the series might enjoy yet more of the same, but really there are far too many awesome games available on 360 at the moment to ever justify wasting your money on this.

With fantastic story lines, but without the fully realized team system, Warriors Orochi appeals much more to old fans than it does draw in new ones.

Overall this game will provide a repetitive and dull experience for the majority of players but like always fans of the genre will still find much enjoyment beyond the glaring flaws.

Warriors Orochi is really only for the hardcore fans of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors franchises. We freely admit that we’re not one of those. You either like it or you don’t. You either care about the story or you don’t. Put Average Joe Gamer and this reviewer down in the “don’t” column.

If you've played one button mashing Warriors game, you've played this one as well.

The genre's game of choice, but the better game of a bad, bad mix. Forget about it. [Dec 2007, p.85]

It is not something that we can recommend experiencing, as even for fans this instalment does little to push ahead or celebrate both games.

It wouldn't even set the last generation of consoles alight.