Samurai Warriors 4: Empires

If you are a fan of the Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors games, I think you should give this one a go. The new strategy sessions in between missions is enjoyable and the easy-to-learn combat is the same as it has always been.

After releasing the fantastic Samurai Warriors 4, things slowly started to go downhill for Koei’s flagship franchise. Instead of continuing to innovate, it felt as though developer Omega Force decided to take a breather, letting its guard down as stagnation began to set in. This is definitely the return to form fans were no doubt hoping for.

Samurai Warriors 4 Empires is a nice change of pace for those who want more to the Warriors franchise than just hack and slash. Not that the hacking and slashing isn't fun, but the addition of the strategy elements makes it and even better game and one that is a blast to play.

Samurai Warriors 4: Empires takes the characters and interpretation of Japanese history from that of the previously released Samurai Warriors 4-II (and technically Samurai Warriors 4). You can check out our review of Samurai Warriors 4 here and Samurai Warriors 4-II here. Most who are well accustomed to the Warriors/Musou franchise know the underlying mechanics that make the basis of the age-old formula – that is, learning about Japanese history while you hack and slash as your favourite historical figure. However, prior to Samurai Warriors 4: Empires, there was Samurai Warriors 4-II as well a...

All things considered, Samurai Warriors 4: Empires is another solid entry in the series, but there’s nothing here that’s going to draw in those that aren’t already fans. Like its graphics that are now becoming wholly underwhelming, it just fails to provide that spark of excitement required to make it more than the sum of its parts. It’s undeniable though that if you’re after some solid strategy action to exercise both the brain and the thumbs that Samurai Warriors 4: Empires will satiate your desires; just don’t expect it to blow you away.

While the hack and slash aspects of Empires aren’t anything revolutionary, and the presentation still remains unimpressive, Empires contains some very well fleshed out modes that will have you sinking a lot of time into, if it’s your thing. Samurai Warriors 4 Empires is definitely worth playing if you are even mildly interested in the Warriors franchise and Japanese Feudal history, and if you haven’t touched a Warriors game since, is still worth a purchase.

No katanas and sandals for me, thanks.