Samurai Warriors returning

Koei is planning to bring Samurai Warriors 2 kicking, screaming and swishing swords to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 this September - and the 360 version will feature a two-player versus mode over Live.

Filleting our way through the release, SW2 sounds like another of Koei's legendarily orthodox sequels - with things like the ability to charge up your Musou gauge three times over and level up during combat figuring highly in the "new features" area.

Another hackandslash on a huge scale, SW2 will introduce character-specific special abilities triggered with R1 (or the right bumper on 360, presumably), which can also be combined with the face buttons to set traps and generate decoys. You'll also be able to unlock special abilities by tackling enemy generals on the battlefield.

Improved graphics ought to demonstrate more reaction on the part of enemies, who have a greater range of attacks at their disposal too to mix things up, and with 26 playable characters in total you can expect some ten newcomers - including (no idea here) Musashi Miyamoto, Ieyasu Tokugawa and Kotaru Fuma.

Another new addition is a board style affair for four players called Sugoroku, based on the Japanese game of the same name, which hides a number of head-to-head challenges, while the usual Story, Free and Survival modes, along with co-op play, remain in place.

Fans can also expect 70 cut-scenes supervised by The Princess Blade director Shinsuke Sato, with music from Minoru Mukaiya.

Expect a review of the whole lot nearer release, and we've some screenshots oft yonder.