Samurai Warriors: Chronicles 3 review – stylised history, little to wow

(PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Tecmo Koei, cert: 12)

Take up your katana in this hand-held hack-and-slasher as a samurai in the service of legendary warlord Nobunaga Oda. Samurai Warriors: Chronicles 3 is a highly stylised version of real events, moving between breezy gameplay and dry retellings of the Warring States period of Japanese history with a few "what-if" scenarios mixed in. There are multiple game modes and plenty to uncover, if you have the patience.

The actual moment-to-moment combat is fairly unchallenging, mowing through hundreds of mooks to get to more powerful officers and generals. Managing the army is more interesting; the 3DS's second screen can switch between characters, manoeuvre officers and react to the battle's changes. This is a port, however, based on a console version and hence looks a little stripped down; the Vita's hardware handles large areas and mobs better than the 3DS. It's a solid package overall, but there is little here to wow the player.

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