One of the best PSP games available. A pleasant conglomerate of everything you'd want in a hack and slash.
The interface is very similar to the first game, so if you enjoyed Untold Legends, you're sure to like The Warrior's Code. It's a little more streamlined so it is somewhat easier to level up your character and spend attribute points.
The storyline has been alleged to be weak, but I have yet to play a hack and slash game where the focus is on the storyline. As with most hack and slash games the focus is on levelling up your character and making them more and more powerful as the game progresses.
New elements that really make this game worth while are firstly, the ability to "transform" your character temporarily into a beast or creature depending on your character type. This adds a nice balance or dynamic to the game, particulary when you're being mobbed by monsters or confronted with a boss who's immune to your skills. It's easy to use and collecting enough powerups to enable your transformation is realistic so you can use it frequently enough without losing it's charm and novelty.
The other new addition which contributes to the game is the ability to play online through the infrastructure network. This element alone makes it very worthwhile as a player is no longer bound by geography to play with friends. The gameplay is almost seamless (as long as your home network doesn't hang-up) and there's enough for you and a friend to do in the game to make it go on for hours. The chat system is only mildly hampered by the lack of keyboard, but it still works well regardless, with an in-game onscreen keyboard. It only appears in the chatroom itself, but there are good communication shortcuts in the game to allow co-operation and communication between you and a friend.
The new character types are more interesting than the previous installment and the ability to powerup your armour and weapons remains, interesting and challenging to find a good balance for your character. It would have been perhaps a bit better if the previous characters from the first game could have been imported to continue the story. Just a suggestion rather than a complaint.
On the note of complaints, the only significant problem I have seen in the game is the presence of "overhanging" structures to create the illusion that "you're really in the game", such as tree branches and building arches. While this visual can help immerse the player, it has on occasion, blocked the field of veiw during combat. The overhanging structures do not go opaque as they do in some games, so luring monsters away fom these, so you can see what you're fighting, may be a necessity.
The game has fully animated, fully voiced cutscenes (an inexcusable rarity for most PSP games) which really helps shoot down the argument that the storyline is weak. I find that since the effort was made to inject these fully animated fully voiced cutscenes, it really helps contribute to the storyline. It's easy to follow and makes sense.
Lastly, one of the best achievements I have seen for this game is the environments themselves. For most PSP games, of this genre, there is a generic layout of "bubbles and passages" for the levels. Warrior's Code somehow defeats that. While the bubbles and passages system still exists, they have done a wonderful job of allowing the flow and progress of this structure to somehow conceal itself. The bubbles are larger and the passages are shorter, especially in the "outdoor areas". The dungeons still possess this aspect to their level structure, but somehow it doesn't seem or feel as apparent. Perhaps this has been achieved through some fine work with the outstanding graphics. The zoom in appearance to the game is great and is actually worth keeping it in that point of view while playing the game. the models are well built and colours are well used throughout the game to generate enough eye candy.
This game is definitely a buy. For any dungeon crawler fan looking for a great game that will engage and keep them coming back for more, Warrior's Code is truly that game.