KOEI announced today that Warriors Orochi has reached gold status and will be available at retailers throughout North America beginning the week of September 18 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2.

Warriors Orochi tells the tale of the venomous Serpent King Orochi, who has descended from the skies above. Using his unworldly powers to shatter time and space, Orochi kidnaps the strongest, wisest and most courageous warriors from Ancient China and Feudal Japan in a scheme to test his might against the heroes of these ages. Most of the great armies of these two periods would succumb to the might of Orochi. Yet powerful warriors remain and are ready to continue the fight.

In Warriors Orochi the characters from both the Dynasty Warriors and Sanuria Warriors franchises must team-up to wage war against this new, yet powerful force. The game boasts an amazing roster of 77 playable characters from both the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors franchises, while four action-packed "crossover" storylines feature amazing team-ups and some long-awaited confrontations between characters from both series.

The game's new "Team Battle System" and "Weapon Fusion" push Tactical Action to a whole new level. For the first time in KOEI's Tactical Action games, players can create their own three-person tag team. At any given time, one warrior will be engaged in battle, while the other two are recuperating; restoring their Life Meters and Musou Gauges. Every character is categorized according to offensive ability, and with new fighting techniques, it's up to the player to find the most lethal combination of warriors. "Weapon Fusion" lets players combine the attributes from different weapons for more devastating results.

Warriors Orochi for Xbox 360 also features graphics in 720p HDTV and in game Dolby Digital audio. This game is rated "T" (Teen- Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, and Violence) by the ESRB. Warriors Orochi is developed by KOEI's award-winning internal team, Omega Force. Find out more about the game by visiting www.koei.com/whoisorochi .