Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes Preview

Let the blood of the taco run through your veins... or whatever the voice-acting said.

The setting: 16th century Japan. The goal? Unification. Warring factions have segmented the country for generations. Battles break out wherever there are people, and the warlords all over the land believe that THEY are the ones to bring an end to the fighting... by fighting. That's where you come in, in this action title from the developers of Devil May Cry 4.

Akin to Dynasty Warriors, you take command of one of the leaders of these factions and choose your direction, then carve your path through the forces blocking you from your destination. There are seven powerful fighters to choose from, each with a loyal cadre of warriors behind them and a slew of deadly arts and skills in their arsenal. Some of the characters are fairly standard for the genre, like the optimistic, headband-wearing, and twin-spear-wielding Yukimura Sanada and the disfigured swordsman Masamune Date.

But there is a more unusual entry: a young lady with a shotgun. Yup, a shotgun. And a pistol. And hand grenades, a machine gun, even something called “demolition tools”. She's even got infinite ammo. Magoichi Saica is the leader of a clan of assassins as opposed to a political faction, and in the setting of 15th-century Japan she can be found blowing away hordes of samurai one shell at a time. Needless to say, the fights can get a little interesting and, let's just assume, unrealistic. (Hey, I wasn't there, there could have been a woman in leather showing off her midriff brandishing 20th-century weaponry... maybe Marty McFly hooked her up, I dunno.)

After each battle, you can upgrade your equipment, look over the skills for battle, even take materials that are picked up in the fray to synthesize and create better accessories to add to your weapon of choice. Having tons of materials creates a large collection of new pieces to assist you in the annihilation of your foes (and of course, increase your massive and ever-growing body count), with each accessory having a different attribute to improve your abilities and stats. It's not particularly deep, but it's easy to grasp and get into. You can buy items also with cash that you take from fallen foes, but where's the fun in that?

There are multiple modes, but only the initial campaign was demo-ready. You can also play the campaign cooperatively; though this splits experience between the two of you, you both can revive each other if one of you gets knocked out. Look out for Sengoku Basara this October.