Samurai Warriors 2: Empires

Samurai Warriors 2: Empires (戦国無双2 Empires, Sengoku Musou 2 Empires) is an 'Empires' version of Samurai Warriors 2, in which players would try to rule Japan. It was the first 'Empires' game since Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires to be released before the Xtreme Legends version of the game.

Bases
In Samurai Warriors 2: Empires, the main concern of the battlefield is not generals but rather bases. Bases are groups on the map that appear red (enemies), blue (allies), or gray (neutral) and effect the dynamics of the map. Victory conditions for winning a battle are to either to kill the commander or take the enemy main camp. Neither options are available unless players take over the bases in a line from their main camp to their opponent's. Bases are taken by taking out all generals and base captains in a given area, and stationing one of the player's general there. Alternatively the player can stay and capture the base. Successful base captures turns the corresponding icon blue on the map.

Officers
Another change in the battle system is the general system. In Samurai Warriors 2, generals were just killed to win, which in contrast not the case in Empires. They are able to follow orders such as attacking or defending bases. The player can give orders to the generals under them, and also can recognize patterns as orders on the opposing side. Generals also may not die when defeated, they may return to the battlefield if the enemy have enough points for them (seen at the top of the screen, under a tetris-like shape), or unless they are captured. After the battle, any captured officer may be kept on either side.

Generals are captured if they are defeated if they have a red "halo" around them, these halos appears depending on their remaining troops and the influence the player has on the map. Influence is decided by the bases the player owns in the area, if the road is light blue, he or she has a better chance at capturing them at higher troop numbers, and if the map is dark blue the player can almost certainly capture them, and vice versa for their troops in their area.

Formations
Another change to the battle field is the addition of formations. Formations are fundamentally stat-boosts that the player deploys to help his or her troops. They are divided into three different levels, and three different categories: Attack, Defense, and Speed. Additionally, Formations cancel each other out on the higher leveled, and a triangle of weaknesses: Attack < Defense < Speed < Attack. If a Formation is of a weaker category it loses a level, and if it's at a weaker level is canceled out. If both opposing formations are at an equal level, both are canceled out.

Formations can only be used if the player has enough points, and if the player has the Formation in his or her inventory (This is shown by an icon.) If the player uses Formation, then the Formation is used up out of their inventory. The player also receives a point every second. The cost to use a Formation is determined by the level. Level 1 Formations cost 60 points, Level 2 Formations cost 120 points, and Level 3 cost 180, which is also the maximum the player can hold. Formation effects wear off gradually as time passes.

Free Mode
In this game the Free mode is rather different than the original Samurai Warriors 2. In this game the player gets to choose a place within Japan and then chooses both allied and opposing armies. In the main force, one can choose three generals and three lieutenants, and one general and one lieutenant for the relief force.

Empire Mode
This is a new mode in the Samurai Warriors series. First, the player chooses which era the battles will be fought in. The eras are 1561, 1570, 1582 and 1600 or a divided land were the player gets to create their own clan and place them in Japan's map. Then, the player chooses which clan they will fight with.

Create-a-Warrior
The feature returns to the series after an absence since the original Samurai Warriors.

Allusions

 * The game uses various artworks and images from Taiko Risshiden V.