A video preview of the game Dynasty Warriors 6, chocked full of comments and analysis of the much anticipated game.

Latest Installment of KOEI’s Popular Action Series Ships to North American Retailers Beginning February 19, 2008

Burlingame, CA – February 12, 2008 -- KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Dynasty Warriors®6 has reached gold status and will ship to North American retailers beginning February 19, 2008. Dynasty Warriors 6 will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Consumers can find Dynasty Warriors 6 at the following retailers: Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, Game Crazy, Game Rush, GameStop, Gamefly, EB Games, and Wal-Mart.

About Dynasty Warriors 6
Selling over 15 million units combined worldwide, KOEI’s award-winning Dynasty Warriors series and Samurai Warriors series of Tactical Action games have become an astonishing success and are global phenomenon. With Dynasty Warriors 6, KOEI is reinventing the Tactical Action experience for the next generation.

Set in Ancient China during the 3rd century, Dynasty Warriors 6 immerses gamers in a truly cinematic kung-fu action experience. Celebrated characters have been completely re-imagined with new weapons and fighting techniques motion-captured from some of today’s leading stuntmen and women in Asia. With the game’s new “Renbu” attack system and game controls, players can execute lightning-fast combos and the most dazzling fighting moves with ease.

Developed from the ground up exclusively for next-generation platforms, the game’s proprietary engine delivers the most chaotic and challenging Tactical Action experience to date. Players can use the landscape to elude the thousands of soldiers swarming the battlefield. But as players move and attack, adaptable enemy A.I. devises offensive and defensive combat tactics, and can retaliate with packs of fierce hunting dogs and patrol boats. All of the explosive action comes to life in high definition, 60 frames per second (fps) graphics.

Based on the epic novel, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, Dynasty Warriors 6 depicts the massive battles ignited by the fall of the Han Dynasty when three rebellious states moved to overthrow the Emperor of China.

Created by KOEI’s Omega Force team, Dynasty Warriors 6 delivers breathtaking visuals in 720p HDTV, and in-game Dolby®Digital audio. This game is rated “T” (Teen – Violence) by the ESRB. Dynasty Warriors 6 is for 1 to 2 players. Press can find assets (watermark-free) at gamespress.com. For the latest information on Dynasty Warriors 6, visit www.koei.com/dw6.

Given the popularity of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, it’s surprising that it all began such a short time ago in 2000 on the PlayStation 2. While it is known for its tactical action-based gameplay, many fans have also come to enjoy the heavy rock soundtracks accommodating each title.

To get a few confusing items out of the way, Dynasty Warriors is known as Shin Sangokumusou in Japan which means as we are quickly approaching the February release of Dynasty Warriors 6 in the US, the game, and soundtrack are called Shin Sangokumusou 5 in Japan. Semantics aside, Dynasty Warriors 6 provides a tasty collection of rock by series veterans MASA and Michihiko Shichi as well as 2006 newcomers Masato Koike, Kensuke Inage, and Haruki Yamada.

MASA, who is one of two guitarists on the album, surprisingly begins sans guitar with the track, “Glare at the World, painting a bleak soundscape creatively interpreted with the droning of a bass note, thin synthesized lead, and occasional bursts of foreboding cymbal hits clattering in the distance. The track “Rock and Roll Over” delivers the satiating dose of rock that his fans have come to crave. One will expect to hear guitars chugging along in a layered fashion, harmonizing and ascending upwards, culminating with a brief guitar solo. MASA is credited for nearly half of the tracks on the album, with the buoyant “Gain Momentum” and homage to Megadeth in the midst of “Irritation” demonstrating his prowess with a guitar.

Haruki Yamada, the other guitarist who is one of the album’s arrangers, engages in 6 tracks, including “Beat It,” a bouncy alternative rock track guided by a sturdy melody. Yamada employs call and response here with two guitars, producing an interesting complement to the mix. Similar to MASA, he also steps away from the guitar with “After the Storm,” a track sequenced towards the end of the album providing a mellow, contemplative look back while keeping company with organ-esque pads and intermittent cymbal buildups.

The other album arranger, Kensuke Inage, blazes through 5 tracks. “Flame and Rapidity” features some impressive shredding alongside electronic beats, lightning-fast synthesizer notes and wailing guitar. “Geniuses’ Sanctuaries” also mixes rock with synthesized elements alongside fat synthesized bass, wailing guitars and hard-hitting percussion.

Masato Koike contributes to some of my favorite pieces on the album. Not only does he rock, but he establishes an interesting juxtaposition with ethnic Chinese themes into many of his 14 pieces. “A Ways Away” straddles a fine line in being out of place among the heavy metal that surrounds it on the track list, but is a refreshingly relaxing vacation in itself. Koike performs beautiful melodies on the dizi and the xiao (ethnic Chinese woodwinds) for this piece and other tracks. “Welcome to China” is best described as a rock/ethnic Chinese fusion with musical bantering between distorted electric guitars and woodwinds, which ultimately produces a highly enjoyable combination. Lastly, “Oriental Rush” makes an impact; rapidly ascending melody lines and dissonant woodwinds stand in contrast to the heavy guitars and galloping percussion. Koike provides a number of other memorable pieces for the Dynasty Warriors 6 soundtrack, and I am greatly looking forward to following his work in the future.

Oddly enough, Dynasty Warriors veteran Michihiko Shichi bestows only a single track on the album, and it’s a meager 36 seconds long. “In Conclusion – DW Prime Mix" is a rockin’ jingle of sorts, sounding powerful and complete with only the essentials: guitar, bass, and percussion.

As far as packaging is concerned, the CD is adorned with artwork from the game and a long message from MASA who served as Sound Director, as well as information about every track on the album. While this is pretty comprehensive, it is unsurprisingly all in Japanese.

Fans have a lot to look forward with Dynasty Warriors 6. It will be the first installment on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles and will likely feature stunning graphics, and, as we’ve seen here, excellently written rock music. While MASA (with a long history behind him) continues to shine, it will be interesting to see how the other composers grow within the franchise. I have no doubt that I will enjoy their works in the future, and am looking forward to Masato Koike’s works in particular. If you want to get your adrenaline pumping, be sure to import the Dynasty Warriors 6 (Shin Sangokumusou 5) soundtrack to go with your copy of the game in February!

Burlingame, CA – November 19, 2007 -- KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Dynasty Warriors®6 is slated to ship to North American retailers beginning February 19, 2008 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

“Dynasty Warriors 6 will deliver the massive scale battles that gamers have come to expect from the series, and will push the envelope of Tactical Action. Our goal is to redefine the Dynasty Warriors series,” said Amos Ip, Senior Vice President at KOEI Corporation. “We’ve created more immersive environments where players can use the features of the battlefield to their advantage, larger armies with a presence and strategy befitting their superior numbers, and re-imagined characters with the most authentic kung-fu showcased in a way only KOEI can deliver. This is truly the next great chapter in the Dynasty Warriors saga.”

About Dynasty Warriors 6
Selling over 15 million units combined worldwide, KOEI’s award-winning Dynasty Warriors series and Samurai Warriors series of Tactical Action games have become an astonishing success and are global phenomenon. With Dynasty Warriors 6, KOEI is reinventing the Tactical Action experience for the next generation.

Set in Ancient China during the 3rd century, Dynasty Warriors 6 immerses gamers in a truly cinematic kung-fu action experience. Celebrated characters have been completely re-imagined with new weapons and fighting techniques motion-captured from some of today’s leading stuntmen and women in Asia. With the game’s new “Renbu” attack system and game controls, players can execute lightning-fast combos and the most dazzling fighting moves with ease.

Developed from the ground up exclusively for next-generation platforms, the game’s proprietary engine delivers the most chaotic and challenging Tactical Action experience to date. Players can use the landscape to elude the thousands of soldiers swarming the battlefield. But as players move and attack, adaptable enemy A.I. devises offensive and defensive combat tactics, and can retaliate with packs of fierce hunting dogs and patrol boats. All of the explosive action comes to life in high definition, 60 frames per second (fps) graphics.

Based on the epic novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dynasty Warriors 6 depicts the massive battles ignited by the fall of the Han Dynasty when three rebellious states moved to overthrow the Emperor of China.

Created by KOEI’s Omega Force team, Dynasty Warriors 6 delivers breathtaking visuals in 720p HDTV, and in-game Dolby®Digital audio. This game has not yet been rated by the ESRB. Dynasty Warriors 6 is for 1 to 2 players. Press can find (watermark-free) assets at gamespress.com. For the latest information on Dynasty Warriors 6, visit www.koei.com.

KOEI’s Crossover of the Blockbuster Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® Video Game Franchises is Available Now

Burlingame, CA – September 19, 2007 -- KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, announced today that Warriors Orochi™ is available starting today at retailers throughout North America, for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.

About Warriors Orochi
Without warning, the venomous Serpent King Orochi descended from the skies above. Using his unworldly powers to shatter time and space, Orochi kidnapped the strongest, wisest and most courageous warriors from Ancient China and Feudal Japan in a scheme to test his might against the heroes of these ages.

Most of the great armies of these two periods would succumb to the might of Orochi. Yet powerful warriors remain and are ready to continue the fight. Now, the greatest showdown in history is about to take place…

In Warriors Orochi the characters from both franchises must team-up to wage war against this new, yet powerful force. The game boasts an amazing roster of 77 playable characters from both the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors franchises, while four action-packed “crossover” storylines feature amazing team-ups and some long-awaited confrontations between characters from both series.

The game’s new “Team Battle System” and “Weapon Fusion” push Tactical Action to a whole new level. For the first time in KOEI’s Tactical Action games, players can create their own three-person tag team. At any given time, one warrior will be engaged in battle, while the other two are recuperating; restoring their Life Meters and Musou Gauges. Every character is categorized according to offensive ability, and with new fighting techniques, it’s up to the player to find the most lethal combination of warriors. “Weapon Fusion” lets players combine the attributes from different weapons for more devastating results.

Warriors Orochi for Xbox 360 delivers the complete Tactical Action experience with stunning graphics in 720p HDTV and in game Dolby® Digital audio. This game is rated “T” (Teen- Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, and Violence) by the ESRB. Warriors Orochi is developed by KOEI’s award-winning internal team, Omega Force. Press can find (watermark-free) assets at gamespress.com.

For more information, please visit www.koei.com/whoisorochi

We have your you two sets of 10 screenshots, the first set contains images of Zhang Fei in battle, whilst the second contains Xiahou Dun in battle.

Zhang Fei:



Xiahou Dun:



Check Them All Out In Our DW6 Gallery

New Screenshots have released for Dynasty Warriors 6:

Dynasty Warriors 6:

July 17, 2007 - The hits kept coming at today's PlayStation Premier press conference in Tokyo. Perhaps the biggest announcement, as far as the Japanese market is concerned, came from Koei president Kenji Matsuhara, who took the stage to announce that Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (aka Dynasty Warriors 6) is in development for the PlayStation 3.

Famitsu.com reports that the game's concept is "Extreme Action, Extreme Battle field." On top of the usual updates, including all new weapons, Koei is playing around with the formula a bit, adding the ability for players to perform practically unlimited combos. The game will also give players more freedom.

While today's announcement was unexpected, an even bigger surprise is that Koei plans on releasing the game to Japan this fall! A playable version will debut at the Tokyo Game Show in September.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (May 10, 2007) – Prepare for all out war as NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. and KOEI Corporation announced today a co-publishing agreement to deliver a new generation of combat with the late-summer 2007arrival of Dynasty Warriors®:GUNDAM® for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. From the legendary developers of Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM boasts fast-paced futuristic combat, stellar environments, and high definition graphics. With a host of Mobile Suits and multiple modes to explore, Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM transforms players into weapons of mass destruction to become the ultimate hero of the Universe.

“Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM is the result of a monumental collaboration between two great companies. This partnership extends far beyond the title’s development and encompasses all disciplines including marketing, sales and promotions in order to bring this unique title to North America,” said Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and COO, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., “Featuring interstellar environments and unmatched warrior battles, gamers will understand why Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM is the must have game for the Fall.”

In the future, rebel space colonies launch a brutal war for independence with a series of orbital strikes against the Earth. War is reinvented as advanced ECM renders long range sensors and communications virtually useless. In this chaos, a frightening new weapon, the Mobile Suit, is born. Agile, heavily armed and armored - optimized for short range combat with melee attacks and a wide array of weapons, the Mobile Suit is the ultimate instrument in this new age of warfare. The time has come to pick a side, choose a weapon and prove your supremacy.

Created by Koei’s renowned Omega Force development team, Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM takes gamers through an intergalactic conflict where the only hope for survival is to annihilate the encroaching opposing forces. It will be one-versus-many as gamers fight at lightning speed aboard their favorite Mobile Suit, the ultimate weapon of war. Bringing the epic fast-paced action of the Dynasty Warriors franchise to the futuristic battlegrounds of the rich, detailed setting of the Gundam universe, Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM will provide legendary entertainment for hours of enjoyment.

Gamers will have the opportunity to explore the rich and detailed setting of the Gundam multi-verse from a myriad of perspectives. Assume the role of legendary heroes and villains while strategically enhancing their power, skills, and abilities. Play out the legendary scenes from the rich storyline and marvel at the subtle twists viewed through the eyes of each character. Furthermore, unlock Mobile Suits and Pilots from different Gundam universe time lines while accomplishing secret missions adding limitless replayability. With a variety of game types including Official, Original and Versus Mode, gamers must overcome impossible odds to bring their Mobile Suits to victory.

For more information on Dynasty Warriors:GUNDAM, please visit www.namcobandaigames.com or www.koei.com

About DYNASTY WARRIORS DS: FIGHTER’S BATTLE
It’s time to team up with the legendary Dynasty Warriors and save Ancient China. Rival kingdoms and hordes of rebel soldiers are on the attack. In the Tactical Action game, DYNASTY WARRIORS DS: FIGHTER’S BATTLE, players must reunite a divided nation, but this is a challenge they will not face alone. History’s mightiest warriors are ready to join the battle. Plus, with the awesome of the Musou attack players will have the power to stop entire gangs of enemies in one sweeping strike! You won’t want to miss the action for all the tea in China!

In the game, players will take the role of one of three new characters, each with its own special attribute: the Phoenix (key attribute: balance), the Dragon (key attribute: speed), and the Chimera (key attribute: power). Using a “Battle Deck” of cards, players will select up to seven of the original Dynasty Warriors to serve as officers who will defend their bases.

A new “Obstacle Roulette System” lets players unleash tactics or spells using cards from the players’ Battle Deck. These Obstacle attacks can disrupt an opponent’s progress and are crucial to victory, especially in the game’s wireless Vs. mode!

DYNASTY WARRIORS DS: FIGHTER’S BATTLE will be available exclusively for the Nintendo DS. Wireless Vs. mode play is for up to 3 players. This game rated “E10+” (Everyone 10+ - Violence) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Media can find screenshots and assets (watermark-free) at gamespress.com.

February 27, 2007 - KOEI is up to its old tricks again. Unfortunately, that's a bad thing. Samurai Warriors 2 Empires, the simple action game with a smidgeon of strategy, is neither unique nor new, and sadly, there is nothing different or superior to the Xbox 360 iteration to recommend buying a next-gen version over a last-gen version.

Samurai Warriors 2 Empires is an example of KOEI's slow-going iterative development process, one that adds just enough of a tweak to legally call any new game a sequel. To date, the company has made more than a dozen games in this vein. All of them vary so minutely from the next that it's not only confusing to try and explain the differences between them all, it's relatively pointless.

This bulging list of titles is split into Chinese (Dynasty Warriors) and Japanese (Samurai Warriors) series: Samurai Warriors, Samurai Warriors 2, Samurai Warriors: State of War; and Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends. Then there is Dynasty Warriors 2, Dynasty Warriors 3, Dynasty Warriors 4, and Dynasty Warriors 5; Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper; Dynasty Warriors 4 Xtreme Legends, Dynasty Warriors 5 Xtreme Legends, and Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme Legends; and Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires and Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires. Perhaps, just perhaps, there is too much of a good thing.

Should you purchase yet another Samurai Warriors? Will this be "the one" to show them all up? Did the last two Samurai Warriors games turn your fingers blue by bashing the same buttons over and over again? Truth be told, Samurai Warriors 2 Empires will not wow you on either system. It will not deliver brand new gameplay or heavenly new graphics. Instead, what you will get is a strategy-infused action game that fictionalizes the Warring States era of Japan in gameplay.

There is little to no difference between the two versions, except for visual appearances. You'll get a great deal of set-up strategy, some of which is useful, some useless, a cyclical elimination system that functions a little like Risk, a decent variety of enemy classes with which to fight, and some good, old-fashioned button mashing. If you've beaten the last few Samurai Warriors or Dynasty Warrior games, Samurai Warriors 2 Empires won't do enough to warrant a new purchase. But if you have not played this type of game in a while, it warrants a look, simply because over time this brand of slogging is mildly addictive.

Samurai Warriors 2 Empires consists of a few modes of play, Free and Campaign. There is also a nice option to create your own hero, which can be leveled up in the meat and potatoes of the title, Campaign mode. It's where you'll set up invasions of other clans, defend against attacks, form short- and long-term alliances with other clans, and organize your armies. Since Dynasty Warriors 3, KOEI's Dynasty and Samurai games have enabled a second player to jump on board and play cooperatively via split-screen offline, and it's one of the game's biggest bonuses.

The Campaign mode offers you seven historic scenarios in which to engage. You'll start with regional scenarios and then move on to unification scenarios. Once you start taking over smaller territories in fights such as the Tonoku, the Kanto or the Chubu region, you reach a new stage. You'll then engage in unification scenarios including the famous battle of Kawanakajima (1561), the Unification of Kyushu (1561), the Unification of Chugoku (1561), the Unification of Kansai (1561), the Unification of Chubu (1561), the Unification of Kanto (1561), and the Unification of Tohoku (1561).

If this just looks like crazy historical nonsense, well, it's close, but it's not nonsense. Though KOEI might be guilty of repeating games 'til they're way past dead, it is very good at digging into Chinese and Japanese history and culture and re-creating past events in videogames. You'll re-live the Honnoji Incident where Oda Nobunaga met his end, and engage in the largest and most pronounced battle of its time, The Battle of Kawanakajima. KOEI recommends the famous battle of Kawanakajima (1561) for starters, and provides information on the warring factions of that year. Strange as it may seem, you can learn quite a bit of history from these games.

As suspected, the main goal of the Campaign mode is to become the most powerful clan lord of Japan, and you'll do so by forming allies with other factions, growing crops and managing money, delegating lieutenants to fight particular battles, growing your own set of skills, and increasing the strength of your armor and weaponry. The game starts off slowly, which is one of its many weak points. Unlike previous games where you'll be given a little bit of leeway to start with, here you're thrown right in to the foray. You'll have few allies and no points to your character to begin with, but after a few successful fights and enough level-up points to your character, weapons and army, the game slowly ascends into moderate fun.

Strategic elements are blended into the mix before, during, and after a fight to break up the monotony of two- and three-button attacks. The game actually has a life outside of each battle, hinting at RPG-infused strategy games from the past. For instance, you don't just pick a warrior, slog trough battle after battle, and occasionally decide to fight one battle instead another as a means of strategy. Instead, the campaign mode offers strategy, consultation, formations, delegations, and offers you the style of battle you'd like to enter into before and even during the game.

Life between battles is kind of fun. Once you've picked the right scenario, you'll then pick all sorts of things that determine the type and style of fight in which you'll engage. For settings, you'll select the rates of growth, time limits, number of new officers, officer limit, and officer deaths. You'll pick fiefs, or warlords, each with distinct characteristics. Differing character qualities range from defense ratings (1-5), harvests (1-100), and Ronin (which are rogue warriors), and finally "Specials," which provide a unique ability for that particular character. Specials comprise grace, horses, potency, mines, focus, vitality, foundry, impulse, ninja tribe, karma, shop, imperial court, cavalier, trading post, and gunsmith to name a few.

All of these little micro-management techniques will either engage…or bore you. If you like to fiddle with your new bladed sword by adding a new elemental attack, or find pleasure in tweaking the style of attack formation for your army before a battle, you'll like the in-between strategic details. If you just want to fight, you can, but you'll have to scroll through a lot of stuff to get into battle. And, by doing that you'll substantially lessen chances of winning a battle. After each successful battle, players receive the spoils of war. Defeated fiefs and generals can be hired or fired, money is collected into a bank account, and players then have options to pick or chose a unique set of Policy Cards. These cards offer opportunities like listening to your people to gain morale support, supplying more troops to ally armies, or learning the skills of an equestrian.

Other options include fortification (increases in soldiers for bases), Arrows (increases attack strength of allied army), Equal Start (begins the battle with roughly half of the bases on the battlefield under your control) and a few others. Each consultation costs money, but each battle is likely to bring you far more. Finally, you will pick a battle phase: invade, defend, joint attack, or join an ally. It's a strange relief to have the option to not invade, but to actually defend a base or help an ally. You'll then be offered choices to decide a tactic and a formation (wedge triangle, square, etc.) and, finally, you'll be able to fight.

Also, instead of just picking the same war chief each fight, you can switch to other clans to fight their battles, depending on whether you decide to invade or defend an area. All of the clan leaders look and play differently, from the weapons they wield to their special attacks, to their manner of attacking. For instance, one chief wields a heavy, slow axe, which is powerful once mastered. Another uses hand-to-hand combat. There is a wide variety of ancient swords, clubs, axes, daggers, and a half dozen more ancient Japanese weapons -- all depending on the character you pick or create. Unfortunately, the actual combo sequences aren't different per character. They're all easy and familiar, which is great if you've just started playing the series, but dull as a doorknob if you've played more than one game in the series.

While some folks might think all this preparation is just petty ornamentation for the same old game, there is a degree of truth to the assertion. Samurai Warriors 2 Empires still plays like the first one of its kind, Dynasty Warriors 2, but with better weapons, more powers, and a greater breadth of enemy types. The basic gameplay notion is still about plowing through enemies using simple combos and fending off hordes of enemies. The only things that make this version any different than the previous games are its breadth of enemies, the pre-game strategy, and oodles of mini details, most of which don't affect the actual combat itself.

I'll admit it, there are a few neat little extras that separate this one from the pack. Creating your own officer is pretty fun. It's also relatively deep, too, with choices to set family crests, pick voices and special skills, or choose from three existing moves sets (based on swords, spears, or naginata), or copy an existing officer's move set. Then there is the ability to form an alliance and develop that friendship in battle using multi-musou attacks. With one other officer nearby you can unleash a lighting musou, with two nearby you'll employ a freeze attack, and with three others, you'll pull off the grand dame of attacks, the wind elemental, which blasts even blocking enemies.

When it comes to combat, the game's main strategies still remain the same they have always been: 1) clobber base captains to gain morale and territory; 2) clobber one clan leader at a time to gain territory and morale; and 3) when faced with overwhelming odds, run away and fight another day. Interesting variants on those three tenets include the use of horses to fight, building up special attacks, and hiring weird and eccentric fighters such as wind ninjas, bomb-type allies, and sumo wrestlers to accompany you.

Visually and sonically, Samurai Warriors 2 Empires follows an old-school trend of KOEI's, which is to say that both graphics and sound are poorly handled. The dialog, voice-overs and character interactions are primitive and laughable. While workmanlike on the PS2, the visuals are not improved in any way on Xbox 360. KOEI did very little to nothing in their simple port of the PS2 version to Xbox 360, and it's a shame. Pop-in and repetitive textures are everywhere. Characters fade in and out of thin air. Slowdown rears up regularly. This game looks like it did nearly six years ago, with very little in the way of visual or sonic improvements.

Closing Comments
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!

IGN Ratings for Samurai Warriors 2 Empires (PS2)
(Ratings are out of 10)
5.5 - Presentation
The elaborate and fascinating cycle of wars is made confusing and laborious at first. It then becomes mildly interesting and laborious.
6.0 - Graphics
For 360, the visuals are super crap. SW2E is poorly ported to 360 without any adornments, adjustments or improvements. Just plain shoddy work. For PS2, the visuals are workmanlike.
5.0 - Sound
Terrible, laughable voice acting. Predictable over-the-top action music that's strangely and frighteningly hypnotic (in all the worst ways).
7.0 - Gameplay
The strategy work, dealings, and politicing in between wars add a good deal to the overall game and have an affect on the all-to-familiar button mashing action.
6.5 - Lasting Appeal
For a short while, this is a great game to play offline with a friend. Otherwise, there are nearly a dozen previous games by KOEI that look and play exactly the same.
Overall (Not an Average): 5.5 - Mediocre

While Samurai Warriors 2: Empires is being called a follow-up to Samurai Warriors 2, the game is technically a follow-up to KOEI's other Empires game, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires. Beyond a handful of new features the real hook for gamers is that it lets players unify twenty-five regions in feudal Japan. So beyond the real aesthetic changes in this game, the key changes are characters and the regions that you'll conquer.

The Empires series is a bit different than the rest of the series because of how it handles the combat and what it adds to gameplay. At the heart of the game is a pretty heavy strategic level where you can do all sorts of things to make money, align yourself with other clans, keep your people happy, hire generals and lieutenants and raise troops. While the strategic level is interesting it isn't the real focus of the game. As you expect from a KOEI game, SW2 Empires is really all about combat. But the new tools at your disposal and the interesting strategic layer make for something that feels somewhere in between the game whose name it bears and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

You'll begin the game by choosing one of Japan's greatest Samurai as a lord - and if you have played the previous Empire title you know the choices thrown at you are vast (there are hundreds to choose from). From there you are given five other characters - two more generals (your lead character is a general) and three lieutenants. As you expand your character's territories and capture other officers you can have Fiefs that have their own armies (up to six offers per region) and can even provide a small amount of relief on the battlefield. The ultimate goal, just like DW5 Empires and all the other KOEI titles, is to reunite the territories under one rule.

As each you try to subjugate these areas you have your usual large scale battles where you try to take your enemy’s home base camp while defending your own. Like the last Empires game you can give all of your leaders orders and these orders are then carried out to the best of their ability. Depending on who you have under your command, these officers will in turn have their own troops to command as well. As you clear each area, it will turn blue and you'll subjugate the camps and dispatch the enemy either by making them retreat or by capturing their officers. The gameplay here is pretty familiar and hasn't changed all that much since the last Empires game. There are however some new ways in which certain elements are handled and some new gameplay elements altogether. The most noteworthy are Tactics and Formation.

Formation lets you put your army in a certain formation that has real battlefield consequences. This could include giving your army speed, regeneration, better defense and more. If you or your enemy has another formation that is weaker then that army is point at a disadvantage which makes the battle easier or harder. It's a nice gameplay element that can make some situations a lot more challenging.

The other element is Tactics, which are special cards that make things happen on the battlefield to directly affect both your troops or the enemy. This could include the ability to cause the enemy to want to defect to your side, give you a defense bonus or even force the enemy to have an even force. Having magic as a key element of these games has always been a hallmark of KOEI's approach to things and SW2 Empires is no exception.

The other subtle changes in this Empires game and the series in general include changes to your mount and the way weapons are upgraded. Now you can use the strategic phase to hunt for a mount, or buy one in a store if a fief happens to have one. Mounts now also earn experience that is automatically used to upgrade their stats. While the affect is limited it does give you some incentive to find the very best mount and use them regularly. The way weapons are handled is now different as well. Instead of finding 3 or 4 weapons in a battle and having to choose which one is best, now you get "spoils of war." Spoils of War, quite simply gives players stats that can be added to their weapon. This could include an elemental effect like fire or ice, or stats like defense +2 or Speed +4. This new system for handling weapons upgrades is much more streamlined and does give player more control in what their weapons are capable of doing.

The hardest part of the game is the strategy or planning phase, mainly due to the hundreds of activities that you can partake in that affect your game. The first phase of the game allows you to do everything from gathering allies to making coin for your war chest and all stops in between. At first this can be a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of it it starts to make some seems. There's the Consult section which lets you consult your officers on a myriad of topics. Usually you'll have three officers to choose from and each has a special strategic skills that you can take advantage of to make your situation in the region easier. There’s also a more open ended strategy layer that lets you choose any officer you want to get things done, though figuring out just what that is can be tricky. There's also a phase that gives you a myriad of choices for trade, negotiation, taxes and prestige that mixes in well with the rest of the game. After you've done all that you can in that phase you can move on to shuffling your troops to the best possible mix for an invasion. After you have shuffled your troop numbers to Fiefs that need them you can begin the war planning phase. This is where you can decide to help any allies you have by jointly attacking or defending. If you have a go it alone policy you can simply attack your neighbors and take their land with ease or (if you are under attack) defend your territories from attacks.

While I’ve kind of watered down my explanation of the game on all fronts, that doesn't take away from the fact that SW2 Empires can be as easy or as complex as you want it to be. You can use all the various game elements to their fullest, along with alliances to make the game go quickly or drag on as you see fit. And that's the beauty of the game. It's pretty open ended and allows strategy fans to have some fun playing games with their subjects' lives. The strategic layer, if anything, is a lot deeper than what was in Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires.

As usual, SW2 Empires offers Free Mode, Empire Mode, an encyclopedia and art gallery and more. Like DW5 Empires, you can also create your own character, selecting your favorite model, uniform, weapon and special attacks and abilities. While the choices are still pretty limited it is pretty easy to see why gamers may have an easier time going through the game utilizing a custom made Ronin.

There isn't much of a difference between the Xbox 360 and PS2 versions of the game, save enhanced graphics and achievements. The Xbox 360 version support 420p and 720p resolutions - which admittedly looks better than the PS2 version. The real advantage for Ps2 owners is that the game caries a lighter price tag - though both titles are cheaper than other games for these systems. Both support two-player split-screen cooperative mode, but neither is online capable.

We're pretty impressed with what Samurai Warriors 2 Empires delivers this year. Sure there's not too many changes from last year's Empires game but what has been thrown into the mix is fun. As is the case with these games, it's still an experience that only hardcore, die-hard fans will enjoy. For those folks, Samurai Warriors 2 Empires is probably a no-brainer purchase. We'll have a full review of the game when it comes out later this month. - James Fudge.

KOEI has a pretty steady flow of games, and with their Dynasty Warriors series, and more recently their Samurai Warriors series, they've got a set way of doing their games. First, they release the base game, then (usually) release the Xtreme Legends version which adds more characters and storylines, then add in the Empires version, which adds in base control and a more strategic sort of gameplay.

With Samurai Warriors 2, KOEI skipped the Xtreme Legends game and went directly to this one, Samurai Warriors 2 Empires. SW2E features the same 'kill everything that moves' gameplay that all of the Samurai and Dynasty Warriors games have while mixing in some of the depth of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, with the ultimate goal in SW2E being to unify Japan under one ruler.

SW2E features a few different modes. First, there's New Officer mode, which allows you to create up to fifteen officers for use in either Empire Mode or Free Mode. While creating an officer, you'll create both the character's given and family name (although the format is Western, not Japanese), their model, animation and voice, along with their special skills and attacks. You can also choose their overall ability type, the weapon that they use, their crest and finally both the regular and True Musou kanji from a list of 142 different ones, complete with translations.

Empire Mode is the meat of SW2E, and involves more than eight scenarios involving the unification of Japan as a whole as well as just certain regions of Japan. It also includes an open-ended scenario which ignores the passage of time and history, allowing you to unleash as many characters as possible in an effort to take over Japan. These include many historical battles including the (fourth) Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561, where Uesegi Kenshin fought Takeda Shingen.

Once you choose a scenario, you'll then choose a fief and its ruling lord. The bulk of the game takes place in two phases: Strategy and Battle. During the Strategy Phase, you can take from one to five actions, depending on how many fiefs you control. You can Consult with your generals, allowing you to choose two actions that are suggested, Delegate the decision to one of your generals, allowing them to make the decision as to what to do, or Decree a decision of your own. You can also look at your tactics and formations as well as move your generals and lieutenants around between your fiefs, as you can only bring in troops from neighboring fiefs when invading or defending.

When you consult, periodically you'll receive both tactics and formations which can be used in battles. These are kept as cards which are used once and then discarded. The further you get in the game, the more powerful the tactics and formations found will be, and once you find a tactic for the first time, you can then use it in a decree at any point thereafter.

Once you've gone through the Strategy Phase, it's time for Battle. During Battle Phase, you can Invade any of the neighboring fiefs, Defend against attacks coming at your own territories, or honor an alliance you've made in the past with a Joint Attack or helping your ally defend against attack with the appropriately-named Help Ally.

Once you decide to either attack or defend, the game shifts to a map screen similar to those in Samurai Warriors 2. You'll choose your tactics and formations with which to start the battle and can look at the officers in play as well as the conditions for victory and defeat. Once battle begins, it's much like Samurai Warriors 2 is, as you hack and slash everything in sight. Not only will you have enemy officers to defeat, however, but as in the Dynasty Warriors Empires games, you have bases controlled by your allies and enemies, with a number of Base Captains for each.

Whether you win or lose the battle, everyone killed (except for officers, which merely retreat) is subtracted from the various officers' troop totals, which need to be replenished in Strategy Phase. You'll then gain XP as well as new formations. You'll also be allowed to choose enhancements for your main officer's weapon before leaving the battle behind. If you won, you'll be given the option to either hire captured officers (which doesn't always succeed), release them back to their Lord, or (once unlocked) execute them for their crimes.

Most of the game is conducted in Strategy Phase, as you'll have to build up your fiefs and officers as well as your troops to be able to adequately carry on a long-term invasion of the opposing forces against you. You have the option of being either a good or bad ruler, and the more good or bad you are, the more chance there is that the opposite actions will be removed and replaced with higher level actions in the style you've chosen. Take all the good choices, and more of the bad choices will vanish to be replaced with higher level good ones, and vice versa.

Also, in regional scenarios, if you defeat them by 1600, you have the opportunity to jump directly into a national campaign to unify all of Japan. Normally, the games last 200 turns (with each turn taking one season), but if you unlock the ability to turn off time in the menu, you can go all the way to the year 2000.

During the game, various effects will take place which affect your troops, your harvests and whether or not you can wage battle. Also, special events and cut scenes will happen which have effects that continue afterwards.

When you lose, the same happens to your officers. Of course, if you lose a defense of your capitol or lose all of your fiefs, your game is over. The nice thing is that all of the stats and bonuses given to your characters are carried over into Free Mode.

Free Mode is where you have the ability to fight in any fief you want, either on Offense or Defense, mainly to increase the abilities of the various generals you have. You can have up to 10,000 units per officer, and you can use any tactic or formation that you've unlocked in Empire mode.

If that wasn't enough, the game also supports two player co-op mode with a split screen battle view. With many things to unlock (helpfully viewed in the Archive menu option), this game has a lot of content in it. One thing that might be a drawback to people who are used to KOEI games being dual-language, however, is the fact that SW2E is English-only.

Much of the game is unlocked through numerous playthroughs of the game in Empire and Free mode. However, if you've got a save file from Samurai Warriors 2, it unlocks additional content of its own. Many of the scenarios and modes in the game are only unlocked by numerous plays through the game, which gives it much depth and replay value.

Samurai Warriors 2 Empires is already Gold and will be released for the Playstation 2 on February 28, 2007.

---Jason Ballew

SAMURAI WARRIORS®2 EMPIRES REACHES GOLD STATUS

KOEI’s Tactical Action Game for Xbox 360™ and PlayStation®2 will Ship to North American Retailers on February 27, 2007

Burlingame, CA-- February 16, 2007 -- KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that SAMURAI WARRIORS®2 EMPIRES has reached gold status. The Tactical Action game set in Feudal Japan will be available for both the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Consumers can purchase the game at many North American retailers beginning February 28, 2007.

About SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES
SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES combines the most exciting aspects of Action, Fighting and Strategy games. At the start of the game Feudal Japan is divided into warring states and it is up to the player to resurrect a nation using equal amounts of strategy and strength! The game’s ultimate goal is to unite Japan’s 25 regions into a single nation under one ruler. Prior to each battle, the player will meet with their war council to discuss military and political affairs; then it’s time for combat.

SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES is the first in KOEI’s successful line of “Empires” games to be set in Japan. Accordingly, the game’s deck of 90 policy cards, used to issue military commands and impose political policies, is boosted by 50 new cards inspired by Japanese history, while all-new formation cards are based on historically-authentic samurai attack formations.

Special events in the game chronicle major turning points in Japan’s history including “The Honnōji Incident” where the powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga, met his demise, and “The Battle of Kawanakajima,” considered the largest and most prolonged encounter of the Warring States era.

Key product features include vicious multi-Musou attacks with up to four officers, 5 “Unification” scenarios plus 6 “Regional” scenarios, over 400 playable characters to choose from, a create your own warrior mode, as well as 2-player co-op play.

Developed by KOEI’s award-winning internal team, Omega Force, SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES is rated “T” (Teen – Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, and Violence) by the ESRB. SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES for Xbox 360 is compatible with 720p/1080i/1080p HDTV, and features in game Dolby® Digital audio. Media can find assets at gamespress.com.

About KOEI Corporation
KOEI Corporation, the North American subsidiary of KOEI Co., Ltd. of Japan, established operations in 1988. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company is now in its eighteenth year and is recognized as a leading content provider in the highly competitive video game industry.

KOEI is respected worldwide as the premier brand for Strategy and Simulation games, and is the innovator of the Tactical Action genre. The company's Dynasty Warriors® series has generated more than 9 million units in sales worldwide since its first release for the PlayStation game console in 1997.

KOEI develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems and personal computers. For fiscal 2005, KOEI posted worldwide revenues of $223 million. KOEI maintains operations in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Lithuania. The company constantly seeks the fine balance between entertainment, technology, art and education. More information about KOEI game products can be found online at koei.com.

Samurai Warriors, Dynasty Warriors and the KOEI logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2007 KOEI Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. “Dolby”, “Pro Logic”, and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Musou Orochi -- set for release in Japan on March 29, 2007 and undefined time for other regions -- supposes an interesting concept for its staple hack n' slash genre series. Instead reliving historical battles in yet another sequel, both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors are teaming up in one complete game based on a fictional premise.

Details are sketchy at the moment, but apparently the evil Orochi, the ultimate villain of the game, has made a move to conquer the Earth, distorting space and time to the effect of melding the Warring States era of Japan with the Three Kingdom era of China.

The leaders of Wei, Wu, and Shu have gone missing. In lieu of his vanished father, Cao Pi allies those willing of Wei to Orochi. Meanwhile, Sun Ce journeys in search of his abducted comrades as Shu falls apart. From Japan, Nobunaga Oda joins forces with Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi to lead the bulk of the straggling anti-Orochi forces in a final move in this near-apocalyptic world-shattering scenario.

Featuring a roster that swells into the eighties, Musou Orochi appears to promise playable characters from previous iterations, including notably the return of Kunoichi, Goemon Ishikawa, and Yoshimoto Imagawa-- previously discarded from the Samurai Warriors franchise. New attributes include experience growth now goes to level 99 and each character will have two costumes.

Check back to your favorite portal source for developing details on perhaps a North American/ European/ Australian release date and more specifics as they become available.

Official Musou Orochi site

About SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES
SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES combines the most exciting aspects of Action, Fighting and Strategy games. At the start of the game Feudal Japan is divided into warring states and it is up to the player to resurrect a nation using equal amounts of strategy and strength! The game’s ultimate goal is to unite Japan’s 25 regions into a single nation under one ruler. Prior to each battle, the player will meet with their war council to discuss military and political affairs; then it’s time for combat.

SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES is the first in KOEI’s successful line of “Empires” games to be set in Japan. Accordingly, the game’s deck of 90 policy cards, used to issue military commands and impose political policies, is boosted by 50 new cards inspired by Japanese history, while all-new formation cards are based on historically-authentic samurai attack formations.

Special events in the game chronicle major turning points in Japan’s history including “The Honnōji Incident” where the powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga, met his demise, and “The Battle of Kawanakajima,” considered the largest and most prolonged encounter of the Warring States era.

Key product features include vicious multi-Musou attacks with up to four officers, 5 “Unification” scenarios plus 6 “Regional” scenarios, over 400 playable characters to choose from, a create your own warrior mode, as well as 2-player co-op play.

Developed by KOEI’s award-winning internal team, Omega Force, SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES is not yet rated by the ESRB. SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES for Xbox 360 is compatible with 480p and 720p HDTV, and features in game Dolby® Digital audio. Media can find assets at gamespress.com

About KOEI Corporation
KOEI Corporation, the North American subsidiary of KOEI Co., Ltd. of Japan, established operations in 1988. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company is now in its eighteenth year and is recognized as a leading content provider in the highly competitive video game industry.

KOEI is respected worldwide as the premier brand for Strategy and Simulation games, and is the innovator of the Tactical Action genre. The company's Dynasty Warriors® series has generated more than 9 million units in sales worldwide since its first release for the PlayStation game console in 1997.

KOEI develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems and personal computers. For fiscal 2005, KOEI posted worldwide revenues of $223 million. KOEI maintains operations in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Lithuania. The company constantly seeks the fine balance between entertainment, technology, art and education. More information about KOEI game products can be found online at koei.com.

Samurai Warriors, Dynasty Warriors and the KOEI logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2007 KOEI Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. “Dolby”, “Pro Logic”, and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

DYNASTY WARRIORS® VOL. 2 REACHES GOLD STATUS

KOEI’s Heavenly Slice of China to Ship to North American Retailers on October 24, 2006

Burlingame, CA – October 5, 2006 -- KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that DYNASTY WARRIORS® VOL. 2 has reached gold status and is ready for production. The martial-arts themed Tactical Action game for the PSP®(PlayStation® Portable) system ships to North American retailers on October 24, 2006.

About DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2
Ancient China’s greatest warriors have rocked the foundations of heaven and earth for over 2,000 years. Now KOEI’s ‘Warriors Worth a Thousand’ return in a sequel that eclipses the original with an exquisite array of features!

For the first time, up to 4 players can engage in multiplayer combat including a Battle Royal mode. Players can now unlock up to 300 officers (three times as many as the original), and then wirelessly trade these officers with other players. Players can also manage a stable of up to 8 horses and elephants. Each mount will gain experience during battle and will prove a valuable military asset when setting out to conquer the game’s more than 50 stages and 31 maps.

DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2 includes the complete pantheon of all 48 Dynasty Warriors®, with branching story paths for each kingdom. Game modes include Musou, Multiplayer and Free mode, plus a Camp mode where players can view detailed information on weapons, officers and stages. The game also gives players a full view of the battlefield action using the PSP®(PlayStation®Portable) system’s wide-screen display.

Developed by KOEI’s award-winning internal team, Omega Force, DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2 is rated “T” (Teen- Violence) by the ESRB, and can allow play for 1-4 players using wireless (ad hoc) (Vs. Play). The suggested retail price is US$39.99.

Gamers can learn more at the DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2 official minisite coming soon at www.koei.com.

About KOEI Corporation
KOEI Corporation, the North American subsidiary of KOEI Co., Ltd. of Japan, established operations in 1988. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company is now in its eighteenth year and is recognized as a leading content provider in the highly competitive video game industry.

KOEI is respected worldwide as the premier brand for Strategy and Simulation games, and is the innovator of the Tactical Action genre. The company's Dynasty Warriors® series has generated more than 9 million units in sales worldwide since its first release for the PlayStation game console in 1997.

KOEI develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems and personal computers. For fiscal 2005, KOEI posted worldwide revenues of $223 million. KOEI maintains operations in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Lithuania. The company constantly seeks the fine balance between entertainment, technology, art and education. More information about KOEI’s products can be found on the Internet at koei.com, koei.co.uk, koei.fr, and www.koei.co.jp.

Dynasty Warriors and the KOEI logo are registered trademark or trademark of KOEI Co., Ltd. “PlayStation”, “PS” Family logo, and “PSP” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required. Memory Stick Duo is a trademark of Sony Corporation. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

###

For more information:
KOEI Corporation
Jarik R. Sikat
Sales & Marketing Manager
email: sikat@koei.com (press inquiries only)
phone: 650-692-9080 ext. 230

DYNASTY WARRIORS® VOL. 2 COMING TO NORTH AMERICA

KOEI Preparing a Heavenly Slice of China for PSP®(PlayStation® Portable) Owners This Fall

Burlingame, CA -- September 7, 2006 -- KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that DYNASTY WARRIORS® VOL. 2 has been scheduled for a North American release. The martial-arts themed Tactical Action game will be available exclusively for PSP®(PlayStation® Portable) this Fall. DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2 is the sequel to KOEI’s 2005 best-seller for the PSP system.

About DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2
Ancient China’s greatest warriors have rocked the foundations of heaven and earth for over 2,000 years. Now KOEI’s ‘Warriors Worth a Thousand’ return in a sequel that eclipses the original with an exquisite array of features!

For the first time, up to 4 players can engage in multiplayer combat including a Battle Royal mode. Players can now unlock up to 300 officers (three times as many as the original), and then wirelessly trade these officers with other players. Players can also manage a stable of up to 8 horses and elephants. Each mount will gain experience during battle and will prove a valuable military asset when setting out to conquer the game’s more than 50 stages and 31 maps.

DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2 includes the complete pantheon of all 48 Dynasty Warriors®, with branching story paths for each kingdom. Game modes include Musou, Multiplayer and Free mode, plus a Camp mode where players can view detailed information on weapons, officers and stages. The game also gives players a full view of the battlefield action using the PSP®(PlayStation®Portable) system’s wide-screen display.

Developed by KOEI’s award-winning internal team, Omega Force, DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2 is rated “T” (Teen- Violence) by the ESRB, and can allow play for 1-4 players using wireless (ad hoc) (Vs. Play). The suggested retail price is US$39.99.

Gamers can learn more at the DYNASTY WARRIORS VOL. 2 official minisite coming soon at www.koei.com.

About KOEI Corporation
KOEI Corporation, the North American subsidiary of KOEI Co., Ltd. of Japan, established operations in 1988. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company is now in its eighteenth year and is recognized as a leading content provider in the highly competitive video game industry.

KOEI is respected worldwide as the premier brand for Strategy and Simulation games, and is the innovator of the Tactical Action genre. The company's Dynasty Warriors® series has generated more than 9 million units in sales worldwide since its first release for the PlayStation game console in 1997.

KOEI develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems and personal computers. For fiscal 2004, KOEI posted worldwide revenues of $270 million. KOEI maintains operations in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Lithuania. The company constantly seeks the fine balance between entertainment, technology, art and education. More information about KOEI’s products can be found on the Internet at koei.com, koei.co.uk, koei.fr, and www.koei.co.jp.

Dynasty Warriors, and the KOEI logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2006 KOEI Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

###

For more information:
KOEI Corporation
Jarik R. Sikat
Sales & Marketing Manager
email: sikat@koei.com (press inquiries only)
phone: 650-692-9080 ext. 230

KOEI’s Tactical Action Sequel for Xbox 360™ and PlayStation®2 has shipped to North American Retailers

Burlingame, CA – September 20, 2006 -- KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that SAMURAI WARRIORS®2 has shipped to retailers throughout North America. The Tactical Action game set in Feudal Japan is available now for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.

About SAMURAI WARRIORS 2
Set after the collapse of Japan’s Ashikaga Shogunate, SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 chronicles the civil wars that consumed feudal Japan and the events that lead to the country’s unification. In the game, players choose the role of one of 26 samurai and ninja including the legendary Musashi Miyamoto, Ieyasu Tokugawa the unifier of Japan, and the enigmatic ninja Kotaro Fuma. As a leader on the battlefield, players must face off against legions of enemy soldiers and complete missions critical to victory.

The sequel to 2004’s Samurai Warriors takes players on a powerful journey through all new tales in Story, Free, and Survival modes. The new game seamlessly blends castle warfare with field combat. Now players can move in and out of castles on the battlefield to complete missions and gain a significant morale advantage. Once forbidden techniques for each warrior are also newly revealed. Gamers can set traps, summon horses, or manifest ninja decoys. Powerful attacks and the first-ever Triple Musou gauge also give the players unprecedented might.

Throughout the game, players will unlock over 70 bold cinematic visions of Japan's Samurai history. Gamers can also team up with friends for 2-player Co-op play or challenge them at Sugoroku, a bonus party game for up to 4 players.

SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 for Xbox 360™ offers exclusive features through the Xbox Live® online game service including Vs. play. In Vs play you’ll race against your opponent in a challenge to be the first one to defeat an enemy boss. Vs. play is for two players, and both players will appear on their own separate battlefields. Every player who competes online through Xbox Live will be assigned an ongoing score as Vs. play Rank Matches are won or lost. These Rank Matches will determine the world’s top player. Also exclusive to Xbox Live are downloadable bonuses including special guards and horses! In addition, enhanced widescreen graphics presented in HDTV and in-game Dolby Digital 5.1 sound help deliver the most stunning SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 experience created.

Developed by KOEI’s award-winning internal team, Omega Force, SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 is rated “T” (Teen- Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence) by the ESRB. The suggested retail price for the PlayStation 2 version is US$39.99. The suggested retail price for the Xbox 360™ version is US$49.99.

Gamers can learn more at the Samurai Warriors 2 official minisite at www.koei.com.

About KOEI Corporation
KOEI Corporation, the North American subsidiary of KOEI Co., Ltd. of Japan, established operations in 1988. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company is now in its eighteenth year and is recognized as a leading content provider in the highly competitive video game industry.

KOEI is respected worldwide as the premier brand for Strategy and Simulation games, and is the innovator of the Tactical Action genre. The company's Dynasty Warriors® series has generated more than 9 million units in sales worldwide since its first release for the PlayStation game console in 1997.

KOEI develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems and personal computers. For fiscal 2005, KOEI posted worldwide revenues of $223 million. KOEI maintains operations in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Lithuania. The company constantly seeks the fine balance between entertainment, technology, art and education. More information about KOEI’s products can be found on the Internet at koei.com, koei.co.uk, koei.fr, and www.koei.co.jp.

Samurai Warriors, Dynasty Warriors and the KOEI logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2006 KOEI Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. “Dolby”, “Pro Logic”, and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

###

For more information:
KOEI Corporation
Jarik R. Sikat
Sales & Marketing Manager
email: sikat@koei.com (press inquiries only)
phone: 650-692-9080 ext. 230

Can making war in Koei's newest feel like the first time?

Spiffy - Charismatic new characters; great sense of progress and power.

Iffy - Slightly reminiscent of a dozen or so other similar games.

The name Dynasty Warriors is synonymous with an entire genre: the battlefield beat 'em up. A game can't put hundreds of warriors on a battlefield, waiting to be mowed down like blades of grass, without being called a Dynasty Warriors clone. This is partly because Koei seems to do it best, and partly because there have been more than a dozen sequels, upgrades, and variations on the series in the past six years. Samurai Warriors 2 is the heir to all that history, and judging from this preview build, it's making good use of it.

To paraphrase the History Channel, Warriors games are where history comes alive, and kicks ass. You choose from one of many warriors, each of whom equals several hundred men on the battlefield, and fight your way through historically-based battles that tie into that character's personal storyline. You mash combinations on the attack buttons and use special skills by holding a trigger button while attacking. Each character has two of these special techniques to add variety to the gameplay. For example, in addition to his regular attacks, the chaos-loving ninja Kotaro can summon fireballs and grab opponents from a respectable distance with his stretchy shinobi arm. Another newcomer, the lovely Ginchiyo Tachibana, can strike opponents with lightning or cover her sword in crackling energy for a little extra oomph.

As you hack your way across feudal Japan you become more powerful, learn new moves, and earn battlefield accessories. Each memorably designed character has their own story as told by narration and a few handsome-looking CG cutscenes, which, along with unlockable characters, give you a reason to keep playing. You might not dig every single member of the cast, but there's probably someone in this flamboyant group that will tickle your fancy. Still, the sense of progress and the resultant feeling from being able to take out thirty enemies with one super-powerful attack and generally stride around on the battlefield like a living god are pretty enjoyable on their own. In fact, the way your warrior picks up new skills through a combination of beating up enemies and shopping could be one of the game's biggest draws.

Characters will level up to become more powerful in general simply by getting kills -- oops, I mean KOs -- on the battlefield and picking up items dropped by defeated officers, but you'll also collect gold which can be traded in at the game's shop for new skills, weapon upgrades, bodyguards and horses. Skills come in several different categories, with some giving you a straight-up stat boost, others affecting your growth when you level up, and others affecting your battle performance -- improving your weapon reach to level 3 for those hard-to-reach necks, for example. While you're at it, having a better chance to deal devastating critical hits could tie in nicely with that. No skills are mutually exclusive, so it looks like given enough time, you could theoretically create the ultimate, maxed-out version of your favorite character if you so desire.

Between the shop with its always-changing inventory and the off-chance you'll learn skills while fighting enemy officers or find a new weapon on the ground, the game gives you a steady sense of accomplishment from battle to battle. At the same time, because the potential for growth is so huge, you're not in any danger of topping out too early. It's a smart mix that's definitely capable of afflicting "one more game" syndrome. The game also goes a bit easier on you if you get yourself killed, letting you keep the gold you picked up beforehand. Skills have to be purchased separately for each individual character, but all your earned gold and progress are stored under one handy game save.

Players looking for big differences between this game and other Warriors games before it will find that the changes are small but very interesting. It's worth mentioning that the game is slightly more complex as a result, and probably has fans in mind for its target audience, although it's still a pretty approachable game. If somebody hasn't played it before, tell them, "Just hit these buttons and whack the guys with the red bars over their head." They'll catch on. The strategy aspect of the game is predetermined, so watching your map and managing the flow of the battlefield is important. Like the latest Dynasty Warriors games, a lot of shifts and events happen on the battlefield, and having a second player to cover ground can be handy. Co-op play adds an extra dimension, and take it from the fans: It's the ideal way to enjoy the game.

One benefit of the series (or family, possibly even dynasty) having run for so long is that Omega Force, the developers of the whole shebang, can squeeze a pretty amazing technical performance out of the PS2. Even with horizontal split-screen play, with two players executing their special-effects-spewing musou attacks in tandem, the action continues to move at a perfectly playable pace. There are a few instances of enemies flickering in and out, but all in all the technical performance is pretty impressive.

While there doesn't seem to be anything shockingly new about Samurai Warriors 2, anyone who isn't already sick of the series would be justified in thinking that this could be the best game the genre has seen yet. To sweeten the deal, the developers are even throwing in a board game with action mini-games. If that doesn't sell you on the game right there, check with us in September for our full review.

Sony honors Japanese top sellers

Sony Japan doles out feel-good accolades for more than a dozen of its best-selling games at its 2006 PlayStation Awards show.

Final Fantasy XII led Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's list of winners at this year's PlayStation Awards. The July 25 awards show recognized PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable titles that have become best sellers, based on sales data gathered through April 30.

This year's awards placed the titles into three categories: double platinum, for games that have sold between 2 million and 3 million copies; platinum, for 1 million to 2 million; and gold, for 500,000 to 1 million.

Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII--set for an October 31 release in the US--took home the only double-platinum award, despite being one of the most recently released games on the list. A dozen other games--11 PlayStation 2 titles and one on the PSP--scored appearances in the other two categories.

In the platinum category, the two latest Winning Eleven titles were honored, along with Square Enix's Disney-themed role-playing game Kingdom Hearts II. Among the gold-category honorees were Resident Evil 4, Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 12, Dirge of Cerebus: Final Fantasy VII, and five other titles, including the lone PSP game, Monster Hunter Freedom.

A complete list of this year's winners--with their platforms, publishers, and Japanese release dates--is below:

Double Platinum
--Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix, March 16, 2006)

Platinum
--World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 (PS2, Konami, August 4, 2005)
--Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (PS2, Konami, April 27, 2006)
--Kingdom Hearts II (PS2, Square Enix, December 22, 2005)

Gold
--Resident Evil 4 (PS2, Capcom, December 1, 2005)
--Monster Hunter Freedom (PSP, Capcom, December 1, 2005)
--Monster Hunter 2 (PS2, Capcom, February 16, 2006)
--Samurai Warriors 2 (PS2, Koei, February 24, 2006)
--Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 12 (PS2, Konami, July 14, 2005)
--Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PS2, Square Enix, January 26, 2006)
--Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (PS2, Bandai Namco, October 6, 2005)
--Tales of the Abyss (PS2, Bandai Namco, December 15, 2005)
--Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 (PS2, Banpresto, July 28, 2005)

Samurai Warriors 2 Fights Way to Gold

The tactical action sequel will soon be fighting a two-front war on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2.

KOEI announced today that Samurai Warriors 2 has gone gold and is ready for production. The tactical action game is scheduled to ship to North American retailers on September 19 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 2.

The second entry in the Samurai Warriors series places players back in control of Sengoku era generals. In addition to new warriors, the game includes new gameplay systems and updated areas. The X360 version will be Xbox Live enabled.

As reported here, Koei has announced some of their E3 lineup. There seems to be no more news on Dynasty Warriors 6 at this point in time, so it would be surprising to see it as a launch title for the PS3. Dynasty Warriors BB (working title), Samurai Warriors 2 (PS2 and Xbox 360), Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2 (PSP) and Dynasty Warriors DS are the DW/SW games that look like making a showing at E3 at this point in time.

Read the linked article for the full details.

Here is a rather interesting video I found earlier today, showing Lu Bu in Samurai Warriors. Now, we all know that it's possible to fight Lu Bu on Level 30 of the massively hard Abyss mode, but I had no idea that it was possible to control Lu Bu in the game. The video quality isn't great, but it definitely looks to be him and his moves, as well as the SW1 environment. Was it possible to make him in the CAW mode? I never used it so I'm unsure, anyone who knows the answer about this feel free to let me know.

Edit: The answer appears to be GameShark, which doesn't surprise me. Details can be found here for those who wish to know, CAW was indeed involved. An interesting video nonetheless.

The Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires opening movie is now available for download via the link below so be sure to check it out if you've not already.

Download Here On Files.Neoseeker.com

The Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires video will be uploaded soon, so check back in a day or so for that if you've not seen it already, it revolves around Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi which, given the strategic elements, isn't really much of a surprise. Also there's a new poll (on the right of the page) so be sure to cast your vote on that one.

As reported here, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires has gone gold in Japan. This will be good news as the release date for America on Xbox 360 and PS2 approaches.

With DW5:Empires on it's way, Koei have decided to release a trailer to keep their fans content until it arrives. The video is just over a minute and half in length, and is nothing more than a fight sequence similar to that which Koei released for DW5.

Koei announced that Dynasty Warriors 2 for the PSP will be released in March in Japan. Supposedly, Dynasty Warriors 2 for the PSP sports a few new features, such as many more levels, customizable horses, and 300+ generals. A North American release hasn't been confirmed at this point - stay tuned for more information.

Koei managed to add a few new features to DW5 to meet with the demands of the next generation. Updated visuals was one of the more noticable, Special runs at 790p at 60 frames per second. In game additions include nearly all of those seen in Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends for the PS2, including new items and modes (Legend and Shura).

Both versions of Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires will launch in March in Japan. No date has been set for a US/Europe release. No differences between the PS2 version compared to the Xbox 360 version has been stated at this point either, which really doesn't bode well for the Xbox 360 version given it's a next-gen console and what people probably expect from it.

It looks like someone, somewhere has gotten information about a Dynasty Warriors 6 as Kongming has got a section for the game up on his website. Keep tuned to this page for more information as we get it!

The era in Japanese history known as the Sengoku or "warring states" period occurred when the political power of the Ashikaga Shogunate collapsed in the succession dispute of 1467, the islands of Japan erupted in a series of major wars. And now Koei serves up another dose of Sengoku action with the official announcement of a sequel, Samurai Warriors 2, due out in Japan in February 2006. Any wider release information is unknown at this time.

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