Have you ever seen those epic Chinese films where one lone man decimates an entire battalion of pitiful soldiers with one hand tied behind his back. Well, Samurai Warriors 3 is the direct gaming translation of these kung pow masterpieces. It runs in a lineage of period based beat-em-ups where your mighty character is required to match the might of entire hordes of Japanese soldiers on the backdrop of warring, 15th century Japan. This latest installment follows closely in the footsteps of its predecessors with each character's storyline based on the history of the time. It's kind of like an interactive history lesson come arcade smasher - if only the education department would come to their senses and trade in their textbook for game controllers. On that note, you can either use a Wiimote/Nunchuk controller or resort to the more traditional classic controller, the latter being the better fit.

Samurai Warriors puts your hero on the battlefield with a number of tactical objectives to accomplish, and these simulate general battle strategy. Objectives range from protecting other allies to routing the enemy as well as a few sub objectives such as defeating various enemies on the way. In the moment, you really feel thrust into the thick of battle as various commanding officers bark out orders as your adversaries constantly egg you on. Along the way, you'll be confronted by hundreds of enemies and I'm not even exaggerating - in an average battle you'll defeat easily over 100 soldiers in a blink or an eye. These unfortunate sods serve as the cannon fodder of the game, with the stronger adversaries dotted throughout the map. The pure head count can get addictive as the game flashes your score each time you hit a landmark, say for instance after you carve up two hundred soldiers. And the inclusion of various power gauge systems which allow you to unleash a serious amount of hurt in bullet time just adds fuel to the fire. But fear not, this decadent destruction serves a greater purpose as your character will gain experience, equipment and upgrades as they plough through the enemy masses - and these additions that will allow you to destroy even more hapless grunts! I'm a sucker for levelling up characters, and I played a copious amount of Samurai Warriors 2 in order to get that perfect weapon. Consumerism, you gotta love it...

In regards to the equipment system (i.e. armour and weapons), Samurai Warriors 3 has greatly simplified its mechanics since its predecessor. Before, you'd really have to spend some time working on your rig, however the ease of the latest installment seems a bit too shallow. On the whole, the game seems more straight forward than its previous iterations - for instance, you will be spoon-fed instructions on exactly what you must do next with your mini map acting like an onboard GPS. It feels as if Samurai Warrior's move to the Wii has resulted in it being overly simplified to appeal to a wider market. The problem is that the greater part of the strategic gameplay seems unsatisfying obvious, with very little focus or attention demanded from the player.

If you've played previous Samurai Warrior titles, there'll be nothing new for you as this one is more of the same old: you get that same urgent pace coupled with an electronic/traditional music score, you'll navigate the battlefield smashing buttons like a lunatic on acid and you'll end each boss or mission with those semi-pretentious catchphrases voiced by cheesy voice over artists. You'll either love it or hate it but all these elements are part and parcel of the Samurai Warriors franchise that I've come to love over the years. The down point is that these can become repetitive, especially if you've played the previous twenty titles in the series. It wouldn't have hurt to tweak the gameplay a bit or introduce a few new mechanics. There is a new adventure mode which pits you against marauding demons and which funnily enough utilizes the Super Mario Bros 3 level system, but it just doesn't add enough That said, you can call me a sucker, but I can't help but love the unadulterated destruction, maybe after I take out my 4000th grunt I'll grow weary. Yep, it'll last me till about tomorrow...

Unfortunately, Samurai Warriors 3 falls short of expectations in its execution. The general interface and cutscenes are pretty slick, but the moment you get into the game, you'll run into some really unflattering aspects. To start with, the gameplay has a really sketchy framerate. I clocked up a silly amount of hours playing Samurai Warriors 2 on the PS2 and I can't remember it being this bad. To make matters worse, the characters are modelled rather shoddily with various postures and movements looking a tad mechanical. In general, the game doesn't feel as polished as it should be - certain animations are rather lackluster and environments seem empty. Whether this is because of the Wii's weak processing power or laziness on the part of the developer is debatable, but it feels as if the franchise took a step backwards. At the end of the day I find it inexcusable that this latest iteration doesn't match up to its predecessor, expecially when it has been created for a current-gen console. You can give me tons of excuses about the Wii's weak processing power but there are ways around it if you just look at some of the top games on the little white box.

Samurai Warriors 3 is a fun hack-and-slash beat-em-up and if you're looking to smash some buttons while brushing up on your knowledge of feudal Japan, you've come to the right place. However, for the veterans, there is nothing new and the over simplification leaves the game feeling a bit shallow. If you can look past these shortfalls and graphical issues, you'll have a fun game on your hands.  However, after previously spending so much time tearing up medieval Japan with a spear the size of a lamppost, Samurai Warriors 3 feels like a shadow of what it should have been.