Koei has just announced that their tactical action game Samurai Warriors 2 has shipped to retailers throughout North America. The game, which is set in old Japan, is now available for the Xbox360 and the PS2.

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the game, Samurai Warriors 2 takes us through the civil wars in feudal Japan where players will get to take on the role of one of 26 samurai and ninjas including Musashi Miyamoto and Ieyasu Tokugawa. You'll get to be the leader on the battlefield, and you must battle it out with legions of enemy soldiers and complete missions that are crucial to victory.

70 cinematic visions of Japan's Samurai history will be featured as unlockables in the game, where you can also play in co-op mode or challenge your friends at Sugoroku, a bonus party game for up to 4 players. The said game will also have exclusive features on the XBL, including Vs. play and downloadable bonuses such as guards and horses.

Rated T by the ESRB, Samurai Warriors 2 will be sold for an SRP of $ 49.99 US for the Xbox360, while the suggested retail price for the PS2 version is $ 39.99 US.

Buy: [Samurai Warriors 2]

'Allo, mates! Ol' St. Nicky will be coming around in a few short months, and if you're reading us from Oz, then we here at QJ will be glad to help you with your Chrissie wish lists! We have this courtesy of your fellows over at PAL Gaming Network Australia who've compiled this list. After all, the Pacific should never be a barrier to people who share the passion for gaming.

All dates are subject to change if their respective game publishers decide to change them, though (it's happened before, right?). Stay tuned to QJ for any new updates to this list as we find them.

September 2006:
21: Just Cause, Test Drive Unlimited
22: Xbox 360 Joytech Control Center
28: Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged, Ninety-Nine Nights, Samurai Warriors 2
30: LMA Manager 2007

October 2006:
  5: Xbox 360 Genuine Wireless Entertainment Pack Bundle
  6: NHL 2K7
12: Import Tuner Challenge
13: Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (DVD ROM)
15: Crackdown
19: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, NBA Live 2007
20: NBA 2K7
26: Xbox 360 Genuine Xbox Live Vision
31: Sonic The Hedgehog, Phantasy Star Universe, Bomberman: Act Zero, Eragon

November 2006:
  2: World Series of Poker, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, FIFA 2007, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
  9: Tony Hawk's Project 8, Superman Returns
10: Championship Manager 2007, WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007
16: Need For Speed Carbon (and Collectors Edition), Call Of Duty 3, Rainbow Six: Vegas
22: Xbox 360 Genuine Wireless Headset
24: Viva Pi?, Gears of War
29: Xbox 360 Genuine Wireless Steering Wheel

January 2007:
31: Battlestations Midway

Since Samurai Warriors 2 won't be hitting stores 'till September 19th, we'll give you a quick glimpse via IGN's experience of playing the game. According to them, Samurai Warriors 2 is basically just like its previous title, but with more options on gameplay and button-wreckers.

Like its predecessors, the game is set on Japan's mythical history where you get to battle it out with various enemies with the goal of protecting or defeating battlefield commanders. All throughout the game you get a sidekick to help you out in your battles, and the more you use your guard, the more he/she will improve. If you're not satisfied with your guard, you can easily swap him with another who has more experience or skill, depending on your preference. You might also want to stay keen on items dropped by enemies or destructible environmental objects, as within them are contained power ups, bonus experience, gold, or health.

A mini-board game called Sugoroku is one of the additions in the game, where you basically get to play Monopoly minus the little houses and cars. The goal is to conquer Japan by purchasing the squares that you land on. Once you establish ownership over the square, others will have to pay you for rent or challenge you for ownership if they land on one of your squares. There are also special squares for enacting bonus or harmful status changes.

The full article awaits after the jump!

Koei has just launched the official website for Samurai Warriors 2, the upcoming action/strategy hybrid that puts players in the roles of various legendary characters, such as Musashi Miyamoto, Ieyasu Tokugawa, the unifier of Japan, and the enigmatic ninja Kotaro Fuma.

The website offers new screens, in depth explanations of the brand new features, and additional downloads. Also, players are able to find out about the special moves of all the 26 playable characters of Samurai Warriors 2. You can check out the site here.

The game will hit stores on September 22, so this might be the final batch of screenshots before you can get your hands on this promising title.

Those of you out there who are looking forward to the September 19th release of Samurai Warriors 2 can now download a theme and two picture packs from the upcoming game.

The theme costs the usual amount of 150 Microsoft Points while the picture packs each cost 200 Microsoft Points. The two picture packs include a New Characters Picture Pack and an Original Characters Picture Pack, although the exact amount or pictures in each pack is unknown. But hopefully it is a lot as the cost is at 200 Microsoft Points. If you have downloaded the picture packs, let us know how many pictures they include. If you want to download the theme or picture packs, check them out on the Marketplace.

Samurai Warriors 2 doesn't hit stores until September 19th, but that hasn't stopped Koei and Microsoft from putting content for the game on the Marketplace. The content that has become available enables users to buy more horses and warriors from the in game store, but unlike "unlock keys" that have happened in other games, the downloads for Samurai Warriors are going to cost ya. Horses or mounts available for downloading are Matsukaze, Persian Mare and Moon Child; and cost 60 Microsoft Points each.

The rest are guards available for employment: Nobutsuna Kamiizumi, Koji Kashin, Chiyojo Mochizuki, Juzo Kakei, Tsuru, Tenkai Nankobo, Otsu Ono, Seikai Miyoshi, and Hisahide Matsunagu. But before you go on a guard shopping spree, you might want to consider that each guard costs 40 Microsoft Points, and unless you got ample Microsoft Points, you can't get your hands on them all.

So once you get to play Samurai Warriors 2 upon its release, you might want to check out the Marketplace to see if any of these downloads meet your gaming needs.

After showing you the screenshots, the previews and the trailers, here's the icing on the cake as we show you the glory that is Samurai Warriors 2.

Though currently still a work in progress, Omega Force's sequel to Samurai Warriors for the Xbox 360 promises to be one title to watch out for as it comes out in September of this year. So, let's see how this game fared with one of Gamespot's reviewers.

To get started with this game, you will of course have to select your character. Sounds simple enough? Well, what if we told you that there will be 26 characters to choose from? At first, there will only be 10 (and even THAT'S a lot), but the other 16 can be unlocked as you progress though the game. You will be able to go through the story mode for each and every one of those 26 warriors, thus seeing everything from different perspectives. Each character also has a different set of skills to work with, a different set of strengths and weaknesses, as well as different attitudes. Mastering each characters special moves will already be something to look forward to.

So, after you've settled with a character, the next thing of course would be to carry out a mission. You will be provided with a map of the terrain, the location of both armies as well as information about the warriors who will accompany you.

As you play through the game though, you will gain access to new abilities, new weapons, as well as gold and skill points that you could spend on either new and better equipment, or new and better bodyguards to watch your back in the battlefield. Mind you, though, that getting the biggest, brawniest of the bunch is not always the best thing to do, as you will need to ensure that your equipment and your people are always well-suited to the environment or mission that you will dive into.

What sets this title apart from the usual hack and slash type of game would be the challenges that are involved in planning, prioritizing and carrying out missions.

So, as far as we can tell at this point, Samurai Warriors 2 is deserving of being in the ruling class.

The funniest thing just happened just right now. Browsing through the QJ site for get more information about Koei's Samurai Warriors 2, we noticed that we've already given you detailed information, loads of screenshots and even gameplay trailers of this game that takes us back to the Sengoku, but not one single photo of the game's pack shot. Funny isn't it?

You want to know something else that's funny? When we went to Koei's official site, the pack shot that was there had some discrepancies with the one above. Our guess is, Koei's advertising department thought that a tough yet beautiful katana-wielding chic right smack in the middle would be more attention grabbing than a creepy, evil-looking samurai dude.

Samurai Warriors 2 will slash its way to the Xbox 360 on September.

Today, Koei announced that they will be bringing Samurai Warriors 2 to Europe this September. This title boasts 20 characters, each of which possesses their own unique fighting style. Furthermore, there won't be any loading times when switching from interior to exterior battles, and new combo configurations and better special attacks can be found thanks to an enhanced combat system. Basically, Samurai Warriors 2 is a beat-em-up game, but there are plenty of RPG and tactical elements that prevent this from being just another button masher.



Download: [Samurai Warriors 2 Gameplay Trailer]

Explore the Sengoku or 'warring states' period of Japanese history once again in the sequel to the popular Koei title, Samurai Warriors, for the Xbox 360. Samurai Warriors 2 takes place in the eruption of a series of wars at the collapse of the political power of the Ashikaga Shogunate after the succession dispute of 1467. Like the first title, this game will still take players in control of elite band of samurai and ninja leader Sanada Yukimura.

Samurai Warriors 2 for the Xbox 360 is still anime-infused and will still include the same Samurai Warriors-brand of beat-'em-up style. Choosing your own character, you will have to run around the ancient Japanese environment to kill enemies and capture bases and castles.

Although not much has changed with regards to the game's setting and gameplay, Samurai Warriors fans can expect a few new things. There will be ten new playable warriors - legendary Musashi Miyamoto, Japan-unifier Ieyasu Tokugawa, and enigmatic ninja Kotaro Fuuma included - in the array of 26 playable characters. New fighting techniques are also in the works: ability to summon ninja decoys plus use of up to three different musou gauges for special attacks. Aside from previously existing modes, new modes such as Story, Free, and Survival modes are also included.

The latest Samurai Warriors also promises to have a cinematic effect, with The Princess Blade director Shinsuke Sato supervising the over 70 sequences that can be seen in the game. New music from fusion artist Minoru Mukaiya also contributes to this game's picturesque world.

Samurai Warriors 2 is expected to slash its way to the Xbox 360 this coming September. Meanwhile, enjoy the screens from the said game.