Having moved on to the next-generation of gaming consoles, leave it Koei to continue bringing gamers the same button-mashing action game it has releasing in a seemingly endless cycle. Sure, Dynasty Warriors has branched out into new gaming territory with the likes of Samurai Warriors and now Warriors Orochi but the core mechanics has not changed. The first Warriors Orochi showed us that it’s still fun to rip through hordes of enemies as Japanese or Chinese heroes but Warriors Orochi 2 simply doesn’t do anything to breathe new life into a series that is starting to show its age.

Taking place directly after the first game in the new series, Warriors Orochi 2 finds the Serpent King Orochi bored and in need of testing his might in order to prove to himself that he is a forced to be reckoned with in any timeline. So plucking heroes from different eras (from each series that range from the original Dynasty Warriors to Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends), he brings them together to pit his armies against legendary heroes that finds themselves questioning their loyalties and forming strange alliances.

Once again, you are given a choice between different kingdoms that range from different dynasty eras of Chinese legends to samurai warriors. It’s still something of a thrill to be in the same battlefield that includes historical figures such as Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Nobunaga Oda and Hanzo Hattori. Story Mode takes you through a number of battles against the Serpent King’s allies and followers such as the devious Da Ji. Of course, you’ll also go through familiar faces that have aligned themselves with Orochi.

All the elements from the last game are back including the character RPG-styled leveling up and you can also upgrade your weapons to dish out more damage against commanding officers on the field. Like the last game in the series, you can also rendezvous with other friendly units on the field to form a complete unit. Say you’re attempting to take down an enemy commander and don’t want to do it alone, well, you can aid a friendly hero like Shingen Takeda on the field and then have him join you to take down the powerful enemy commander.

Having control over three characters also allows you to switch them on the fly to take advantage of their unique abilities and weapon specialties. You can also perform a chain Musou attack when two members of your three-warrior team has a full Musou Gauge and perform an even powerful attack that can wipe out a dozen enemy foot soldiers at once. Once again, the controls are simple enough that even gamers new to the series can easily pick up a controller and start ripping into the enemy without much trouble.

Of course, as I mentioned in the beginning, gamers who have been playing Koei’s hack-and-slash games will find that even with the 90 or so characters in the line up this game feels like every other one in the franchise. No matter what dynasty you pick in Story Mode, the end result is always the same even though the locales are different. Thankfully, other modes such as Survival Mode break up the repetitive and dated cycle of the game’s Story Mode. Survival Mode actually plays like a Survival Mode in most fighting games and this is a fun twist. In this mode, you can pick three characters from any of the available dynasties or any character you might have unlocked while playing Story Mode and battle against a three-man tag team. The more teams you defeat the more points you win.

Making its debut is Dream Mode, a mode that offers a number of interesting scenarios that play out much like the ones in Story Mode. The catch here is that it features characters that would normally wouldn’t be seen together such as the odd pairing of Yoshimoto Imagawa, Xing Cai and Ginchiyo. The situations are actually the most interesting seeing as they include objectives that have you attempting to save a friend or provide a diversion in order to aid another squad as they attempt to breach a castle.

Free Mode is also back as is the game’s two-player VS Mode. VS Mode, once again, contains interesting multiplayer fun such as Tower and Elimination but once again, the four game match types are only played on a single console with only one friend. Once again, online multiplayer is a no-show and that hurts the game’s multiplayer mode plenty seeing as this game would have been a blast to play with more gamers. 

On the visual front, the game does not change its visual style either. This is not to say that it’s completely bad seeing as the character models look good in action and during the brief cut scenes but the backgrounds are still an eyesore. The washed out textures and the hazy fog that suddenly disappears just doesn’t belong anymore and the PlayStation 2 certainly could do a lot better than what we see in Warriors Orochi 2. Even the neat effects aren’t able to keep from noticing the awful-looking environments.

The game’s sound fairs a tad better but not by very much. The same heavy rock guitar riffs are back and they play throughout each battle without changing the beat. Of course, there are times in the game (such cut scenes or different game modes) contain some decent tunes that should have replaced the guitar tunes. The voice acting is also slightly better. In past games, the dialogue has been handled poorly but here even the game’s narrator does a passable job.

While some fans of Koei’s button-masher take comfort in its familiar style, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the repetitive action is starting to get dated. We love new characters tossed into the mix and a new game mode as well, but this is not enough to distract us from the truth that the series just isn’t as exciting as it once was when Dynasty Warriors was first introduced. If you missed the first Warriors Orochi game and must have one then this sequel is the one you should buy. Other than that, there’s very little about Warriors Orochi 2 for the PS2 that feels fresh or original.

Gameplay: 5.5
Historical Japanese and Chinese warriors ripped from time do battle against the evil forces of the Serpent King by hacking and slashing your way through the enemy hordes like the last game. Nothing much has really changed since the last Warriors Orochi game so expect more of the same with Dream Mode being the new kid on the block.

Graphics: 6.5
The character models are decent enough on the PlayStation 2 and the visual effects are appropriately flashy when Musou attacks are being unleashed. Unfortunately, the backgrounds contain flat, washed out textures that would feel better on the original PlayStation instead.

Sound: 6.5
Once again, we are treated to some cheesy rocking guitars but at least this time around, the game mixes in some delightful Asian flavors to the soundtrack. At least the voice acting has improved a little.

Difficulty: Medium
If you’ve been playing any of Koei’s similar games you know that the real challenge doesn’t come from dominating the map but rather going up against your opponent’s top commanding officers. While the game tosses in some huge enemies, there’s nothing that will have you worried about your trio.

Concept: 5.5
Survival Mode is back again and it’s actually a fun tag-team styled game mode. Dream Mode offers some interesting scenarios to keep players busy after finishing Story Mode. There are also close to 90 characters in total to use but other than there is nothing that really sets it apart from the last Warriors Orochi game.

Multiplayer: 5.0
The game’s VS Mode serves up two-player action that should already be recognizable to devoted fans of the series yet the lack of online play certainly continues to hurt the series as far as the multiplayer fun is concerned. I mean, would it not be fun to have up to two other friends join you on the battlefield online?  

Overall: 5.5
Warriors Orochi 2 for the PS2 doesn’t change very much and this is both a blessing and a curse that keeps this from being a game fans of the series will be excited about again. The truth is that the series’ hack-and-slash formula that had so captivated us is starting to get old. It’s time that Koei consider exploring new ways of make this much loved series freshly addictive again.