Samurai Warriors: Katana

Nothing to do with a SEGA console. Sob.

	Version Wii	Developer Koei	Publisher Koei	Genre Action

By Ian Dransfield

I'm not one of these odd types that maintains the Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors/Bladestorm etc series' have anything going for them beyond hack-o-mcslash button bashing. But I have been known to be wrong. Once. A long time ago. Anyway, Samurai Warriors: Katana for the Wii is pretty much the same thing again, but with a few less enemies, from a first person perspective and involving far too much physical activity for my withered girlie man arms. The end, review over, go back to sleep.

More? Okay. The game is an on-rails affair, seeing you take control of some chap as he goes around stabbing people in Japan, some of them ninjas. It has much more in common with Ghost Squad or any other lightgun game than it does with the aforementioned Samurai/Dynasty etc games, and, well, it's pretty good fun.

There's a particularly uninteresting story aspect to things that no one with any sense will care about, and all it boils down to really is some rest time between flailing your arms about like a particularly insane chimp. You take control of an anonymous bloke as he goes around slashing up other anonymous blokes (and women), and that's about all you need to know. It doesn't take itself too seriously, mind, and this definitely works in its favour - floundering around in front of your TV as Katana forces you to would not really suit if the game were anything approaching serious.

Anyway, the controls. The wonderful, wonderful, not-a-gimmick-honestly controls. Press A to STAB STAB TWIST, slash to do special moves, press other buttons to do other things. It's simple; it works well enough, but by crikey is it knackering. If your arms don't hurt after playing for a few levels then you're either not playing it properly or you're some kind of SuperbMan (or just not a weakling, a la me).

Dicing through the legions of enemies does get boring, it has to be said, and the minigames that Katana throws up err on the wrong side of utter arse. But for a few quick blasts and one not taken too seriously, it really is a decent game. It won't convert the doubters into being fans of the Dynasty/Samurai series, but as an example of the stupid crap that gets released on the Wii it's one of the better examples, though only marginally so.

Is there much point in talking about how it looks? No, not really. It looks functional and sounds about the same. If you care about that kind of thing then go away, or buy another console.

Basically, this review has ended up as shallow as the game itself. It's a half-amusing distraction best taken in small chunks when you feel like it. The game, that is. This review is best savoured like a fine wine. You won't have a life-changing experience with Katana, but it really isn't the aberration that some would have you believe.