Review by: Mitch Dyer

It’s been a while since Dynasty Warriors picked up its game and added something fresh, but Strikeforce has finally added enough noteworthy abilities and features to force you to pay attention. Sure, the same ol’ press-square-until-the-credits-roll approach that makes the series so easily dismissible is here, but Koei crammed quite a bit of cool content into one tiny little PSP UMD.

With 40 characters to choose from, each with his or her own unique weapon, style and strengths, Strikeforce is initially overwhelming. Regardless of which Asian ass-whooper you choose, your genocidal rampage across Chinese territories is bound to be dumb-fun.

Smashing yellow-turbaned baddies with a giant chain-and-ball, split naginata, or ludicrously long sword is a blast, provided mashing your square button into paste sounds like your idea of a good time. The predictably limited combat manages to spice itself up a bit, though. The new aerial attacks allow you to briefly hover over your enemies and unleash a world of hurt from above, and the new targeting system allows you to stick to a target while dealing out a new set of attacks (though it’d be nicer if it locked on to the enemy you were looking at rather than the nearest). When you kick off your Fury mode, unlocked by continuously killing dudes, you can double dash and jump extra high, giving you an even sharper edge on your brainless opponents. Think that sounds easy? Just wait.

Strikeforce, for the most part, is a comfortably challenging action game with a light coating of RPG elements. Upgrading your hub city between missions, selecting new gear from a seemingly endless list of weapons, items, ability-enhancing orbs and powerful chi bonuses adds a new dynamic to an otherwise straightforward button-masher. It doesn’t do anything special with its leveling system and upgrades, but they fit so cozily in the Dynasty Warriors franchise that it’s a wonder it took this long to embed.