This review originally appeared on ReviewCenter.com in 2002. It scored a 9.1 at the time.

By Carlos McElfish

KOEI is most widely known for kicking out strategy games. So the last thing this reviewer was expecting from them was an extremely entertaining music/rhythm game. KOEI has managed to not only avoid the common pitfalls of breaking into a new genre but also manages to kick the entertainment value up a notch or two — or three.

Gitaroo Man is the story of a kid named U-1, who, despite his highly original name, is constantly picked on by his classmates and picked over by the girlies. What no one knows (including himself) is that U-1 is the last of the legendary “Gitaroo Man.” Aided with a psychotic-looking guitar and a sarcastic, talking, transformable pet dog, U-1 is charged with saving the planet of Gitaroo from the clutches of the sinister Gravillians family. Along the way U-1 will learn to believe in himself, fall in love with a Bajoran and save the universe with the sound of music.

All in a day’s work.

Gitaroo Man is a musical-rhythm game along the same lines as Um-Jammer Lammy, or Space Channel 5. However, this game goes far beyond simple ‘hit the corresponding button at the appropriate time’ philosophy. When you are playing, because of the intricate motions that you have to go through to make your guitar sing, you feel as if you really are a skilled guitarist. You feel as if the awesome sounds being emitted from the TV should somehow be credited solely to you. KOEI has done a terrific job in keeping the transcending feeling of creating music intact.

There is a girl named Kirah who U-1 finds on a foreign planet and attempts to serenade her. The game’s manual describes Kirah as “shy and reserved with the heart of a warrior.” This suspiciously named girl is wearing a dress, on which the Star Trek Federation Communicator symbol is blatantly embroidered.

Graphics are cartoon styled, but not flat like Parappa. As you are engaged in musical-combat the action will evolve into a crazy, beautiful, 3D rendered cartoon. Having to pay undivided attention to making sure you are hitting the right buttons, and pushing the left analog stick in the proper direction makes it easy to overlook the wonderfully rendered on-screen action. Watching someone else play the game can be nearly as entertaining as actually playing it for that reason. Perspective changes around like a wild 3D cartoon hopped up on an illegal substance but can be most closely likened to a Parappa-view.

Gitaroo Man’s soundtrack is definitely it’s crown jewel, the music in the game sports some of the most catchiest tunes ever to grace a video game. The Japanese music group COIL produced the musical aspect of the game. Everything from heartfelt, catchy, guitar riffs to happy-happy J-pop is in attendance. There are 12 songs in total. You cannot help but bob your head in rhythm with the music along with Gitaroo-Man and his entourage. At times the grooves are so jammin’ that you will find yourself making a complete ass out of your person by providing auxiliary sound effects, sporting crazy guitar-playing-facial-gestures, and trying to get that trademark guitar “twang” by shaking the dual shock.

Voice acting is unique and fits the theme and style of the game flawlessly. From the high-pitched voice of Panpeus (the game’s equivalent of Glass Joe) exclaiming, “The Gitaroo is mine! Can I eat it?” to the leader of the Gitalline people of the planet Gitaroo who sounds nearly identical to the obnoxious old man in Ninja Scrolls or Goku’s mentor in Dragon Ball.

There are three different phases per round: Charge Phase, Battle Phase and Final Phase. The Charge Phase is your chance to increase the life-bar of U-1 by using the left analog stick along with the ‘O’ button to perform various guitar riffs. The Battle Phase will have you executing the same tricky-stick combinations but instead of charging your strength it will damage the enemy, also in Battle mode the enemy will instrumentally attack you so you must hit the correct sequence of buttons to defend. The final phase has you laying down the block-rockin’ beats to perform an aural fatality on the opposing character. It may sound complicated but believe me, after 10 minutes you will be kicking out the jams like a pro. What it all boils down to is that if you play good then you deal the enemy damage. If you play poorly, then you take damage.

One annoyance with the game though is that when you hit pause for whatever reason, you are forced to restart the level from the beginning.

Finishing the game once through on normal mode will open up “Master’s Play.” Master’s Play will take you through the same 10 levels but this time around you will be required to shred your axe in rhythm even faster, and enemy attacks are more devastating as well. There also seems to be some minor modifications to the levels as far as background characters and various on-screen goings-on.

Aside from the standard single player mode KOEI included a few additional modes and bonuses to extend the life of the game. Vs Play is a worthy addition, allowing you to play against a human opponent. The gameplay dynamics are the same, allowing you to charge your energy, attack, defend, and deliver a finishing blow. This mode screams ‘on-line play’ but as we all know, internet connectivity is not something Sony seams to want to deliver on until they can get a system up and running that they can charge for. You can also assign your opponent in VS mode to be computer controlled if all your friends are on vacation. The other bonuses are Theater and Collection. Theater allows you to view all the CG cinemas you have witnessed thus far. Collection offers up illustrations of characters and vehicles in the game, complete with bios. You will have to beat the game on Master’s Play in order to “catch’em all.”

Gitaroo Man is a surprising, welcome, diversion to the as-of-lately stagnant music/rhythm genre. Fans of previous rhythm games will eat this title up like a kid in a candy store, and even casual gamers who rarely enjoy games of this nature will surely find a place in their heart for Gitaroo-Man. Quite simply, Gitaroo Man lays the funk down on all competing musical games currently on the market with enough left over style to put a particular K9 back in the doghouse

KOEI, publisher of Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce for PSP, announced today that beginning tonight, and spanning the months to come, free add-on content for the action/strategy game will be available for download over the PlayStation Network.

Starting at approximately 6PM PST, the first set of DLC for the title will be available and ready for you to download as a gift from KOEI to you. Aww, isn’t that nice.

Here’s what you’ll be getting in the first free content pack.

Arena Challenger – Assault Wu and gain rare materials. (Difficulty: 2)

Battle of Guan Du X – Return to Guan Du to finish the fight. (Difficulty: 5)

Multi Attack! – Use Multi Attack with your allies to take on Cao Cao. (Difficulty: 1)

Battle of Mei Castle X- Return to Mei Castle to finish the fight. (Difficulty: 5)

Ice Bi Xie Appears! – Defeat Ice Bi Xie at Hu Lao Gate. (Difficulty: 9)

Worldwide purveyor of strategy and action games, KOEI, unveiled their E3 lineup of titles today, void of the triple A service that Activision and Electronic Arts will be showing, but exciting in their own right nonetheless.

In addition to the following titles, KOEI plans on lifting the veil on two brand-spankin’ new games, marking the first time the company has done so outside of mother-nation Japan.

TRINITY: Souls of Zill O’ll

Warriors: Legends of Troy

Monster Racers

WARRIORS OROCHI 2

What could KOEI possibly be withholding from us? The only way to find out is to stay to tuned to Blast for our E3 2009 coverage beginning next week!

Written by Tall Writer

Set in Ancient China during the third century, this action-filled title delivers free-roaming fun amid epic battlegrounds, with expanded actions like climbing and swimming so players can fully experience the boosted graphics. This series continues to build on its appeal (great individual first-person fighting without lots of micromanagement in the overall stages), but must incorporate more random elements and innovations to win more new fans.

The increasing challenge of defeating wave upon wave of enemies (complete with improved AI, so they don’t just stand there and take your best hits) doesn’t stop after the battle. Canines and dogs can track you down long after the battle is over, even after you’ve defeated all enemy officers. Even individual solider purpose and functions are expanded like the unarmed bannerman who raise overall morale.

The new "Renbu" battle format combines speed and consecutive moves (a.k.a. chains) as players advance their skills and powers. Once you get right in the thick of things, it’s easy to rack up 200+ chains. Once you take heavy damage or haven’t hit anyone in a while, the chain is broken. Players must also strategize when breaking down gates to advance their respective army.

The movements are pretty fluid as players must exclusively use the left stick (the down directional button) calls your horse. Move the camera with the right stick for some great camera shots, especially using the usually earth-shattering musou attacks. As in previous installments, your power attacks, holding the triangle button, become more powerful, and more entertaining, when you run at a group of enemies and release. These running attacks are very entertaining and break up enemy groups extremely well. If you’ve got enough back up, you can quickly advance by breaking up enemies with these special running attacks then advancing into waves ahead so they engage your troops.

Veteran players can expect the familiar individual battle lock ups, involving even more button mashing, and stuns. Clipping remains a small issue at times, plus activities like constructing watch towers or battering rams often land right on top of you. Luckily your health doesn’t take a hit and the interruption is usually minor. The new and expanded fighting moves are amazing. Great credit to the motion-capture team who got the best moves from Asia’s leading stuntmen and women, including some nifty somersaults (press L1 while in the air).

Game modes include a two-player co-operative in the musou and free modes. You even get double musou when you’re close to each other. Players can’t have the same officers (hmm…two Lu Bus laying waste to their enemies would be awesome!) Players can continue in the two-player mode even when the other player leaves or takes a break, so the action keeps coming. Single players can achieve great upgrades in free mode, then reap the benefits in the musou campaign mode. Challenge modes, complete with online rankings, include sudden death (one blow ends you), speed runs, havoc (destroying environmental items), and the gauntlet where you can test your movement skills. The havoc challenge didn’t really live up to its name because you can only destroy certain elements – all neatly lined up in groups for you.

When you need a break, go to base camp where you can survey the progress you’ve made across all of your unlocked characters, weapons, and horses. Learn about the three kingdoms and related history in the encyclopedia section. Players can also save up to 20 different games. If you’ve never experienced Dynasty Warriors (or even Samurai Warriors), you should definitely give this title a try. An essential Playstation 3 title for action fans.

Quick hits:

Publisher: KOEI
Developer: Omega Force
Platform: PlayStation 3 (reviewed), Xbox 360
Genre: Fighter
Players: 1-2
Launch Date: February 18, 2008

Playability: 4 out of 5 stars