Whenever an evil individual with ambitions of their own or for something greater comes, that always leads to a group of individuals who decide to take down the powerful enemy. As is the case with most fighters, but still it always presents an entertaining take on that sort of story. In this case, though with this game, we see a different sort of fighting game, where you do not have to memorize complex moves. No instead, you may have to use strategy or even quick reflexes to win the battles that you will face. In Samurai: MK 2, we see a different take on this sort of game and overall it does a nice job of pulling off these new sorts of ideas. With easy controls, an interesting concept, great music, and many unlockable features, this game will keep you amused for some time.

There is a sort of story but it really is not explained in too much detail, and really is revealed through the biographies of the characters. Many of the fighters are fighting against an evil enemy that shall remain nameless, cause really, you will find out soon enough. In addition, with many of the characters you unlock, it will reveal some more about the story and what their purpose for fighting in this tournament is.

First, you will notice you can pick between two different modes to start with strategy and reaction. You can choose either mode to begin with when you are advancing through the tournaments. Now strategy consists really, of what is being said. You and your opponent each have a set of different choices you can do in the fight. Want to attack right away, you can do that by selecting the action command. Maybe you want to raise your strength power so it is higher; you can do that too. Alternatively, maybe raise your defense to lessen the damage if your opponent attacks. The goal of this game is to reduce your opponents health to zero, but how you go about it, is where the strategy element comes in. It is a thinking sort of idea that really keeps you on your toes. Especially when you advance farther in the tournament or if you want to crank up the difficulty, a unique sort of idea that really is more interesting to see in action.

The other mode you can try is reaction. The main idea of this mode is quick reactions. You and your opponent each have two actions; you can attack by hitting the control key or block by hitting the shift key. However, here is where the quick reflexes come into play, you can only attack when the flashing exclamation mark appears on screen. So you may think, well then maybe I will just hit the attack key before it appears that way I will hit my enemy when it does appear. So think your so smart, well the game has you beat on that front. See if you do that the game will flash a red X on your character and you lose that turn, so your enemy gets a free turn on you. Therefore, you have to be quick with your fingers as you try to be the first one to get the attack and beat your opponent.

The music that you hear in the fights I thought was all well done. There is one track that you may recognize from the Mario series, but the rest are all original tracks that really are nice to hear and they fit perfectly with this sort of game. As well, there is a lot to unlock in this game. You start with only three characters, but with victory in either strategy or reaction mode in the tournament you will unlock new characters. There are 21 characters to unlock, so a lot for you to do. As well once you unlock all 21 characters, you will get some new modes to try out, that gives a different perspective on some of the concepts within the reaction and strategy modes.

At first, the challenge is quite high and it may take you a few rounds to get the hang of it, but keep plugging away at it and you should get the idea soon enough. Another issue is that in tournament mode, you only have one life, once the computer beats you game over and you have to start again. That was harsh I thought, even a continue would have been nice but it really is annoying especially when your on level 5 and get beaten and have to start again.

Still though this was an original fighting game and it excelled in what it offered and really enjoyed this game. Definitely, check it out, its called Samurai MK2, a fun time killer.