Dynasty Warriors V Empires (Xbox 360)
I would like to separate this review out amongst two crowds of people. The first is for folks that have never really played a DW game. The second is for folks who have played one or more of this series before, and are wondering if this is worth the money for an "upgrade".
NEW FOLKSOK, so for you newcomers... Dynasty Warriors V Empires is basically a 3rd-person hack and slash beat 'em up where you will find yourself cutting down hundreds of peons and some boss generals with skills similar to your own. The feeling of "one man turning the tide of battle" is fierce in this game. You will find yourself amongst many allies and many more enemies with limited AI, but their lack of talent will glorify your achievements that much more.
The fighting is fairly straighforward and you could possibly get away with just hitting one button the whole time and do alright (until you start playing more difficult settings). But the beauty of the game is mixing up charge combos, musou attacks, and the fact that you can choose from a multitude of different generals with quite unique and interesting fighting styles.
Because this game is an "Empires" version, there is a bit of strategy thrown into the mix, but make no mistake, this is still 98% an action game. You pick a scenario and a ruler. You have control over one or more provinces. Depending on how many you control, you get a set amount of actions you can take to develop your forces (make items, train officers, make alliances with other rulers, hire officers, and much more). The strategy phases will only take you a minute to get through per turn for the most part - it's very quick and painless. In order to actually accomplish anything, you need to win battles (invading a territory, helping allies, or defending your own) and all of the battles are done via the 3rd person action mentioned earlier.
When you start a battle, you can choose to control any of the generals that you currently have in your force. This is nice because you are not stuck with any single character while playing a campaign (although you will probably stick with a handful of favorites since they level and gain skills that make quite a difference in performance as you play them more).
Best of all, you can play the campaign in COOP! All battles (except, sadly, when you are called on to send help to an ally) can be joined by a second player. Battles take place in horizontal split screen and this has a very minor impact on actual visual playability. Coop works fantastic and is great fun. Tina and I can play this for hours on end when we have time.
The nice thing about Empires is that now you have a set long-term goal (take control of the whole map by defeating all the rulers). As opposed to "musou mode", where you just play one scenario at a time and you are done (this mode is still available though for when you just want a quick skirmish or to play around with a new officer). I really like this a lot. The strategy aspect adds to the game, but does not complicate it to the point where it becomes a chore.
VETERANSOK, so what about folks that have played this series before? Is it worth "upgrading"?
The answer is yes. I've had DW3, 4, and 5. I've passed on all the Xtreme versions and passed on Samurai Warriors and passed on the original Empires. In fact, my favorite was 3. But now, DW5 Empires is my new favorite. Here is why...
First, despite what other reviewers say, this game looks good in high definition (consider that there are 100+ units animated on the screen at any given time). The generals have very unique and colorful outfits and detailed faces where you can tell all the important generals apart just by seeing them coming. The backgrounds range from very good to great. It looks TONS better than on the PS2, I don't know if other reviewers are hooking up their 360s through S-video or what. Go component or HDMI.
Second, sound is fantastic. The voice acting is very good, if not a little bit campy. There are some absolutely hilarious lines and all of the unique generals have different sayings for different things. For example, one of the female "tribal" generals named Zhu Rong (wife of the king of savages) says "That oughta learn ya" in a total trailer-trash voice when she defeats a general. Another female general who looks like a kid says "Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat! Too scared to fight even a little girl!" when she taunts another officer, getting them to attack her (I can't tell you how funny it is hearing an enemy officer react to this). I was impressed with the attention to detail and uniqueness given to such a large array of generals, not just key generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei (who of course still have their excellent distinguishable voices).
The music is very good overall. During the strategy phase, you have dramatic music playing that changes depending on what province your ruler is in. During battles, the music changes to more energetic music. There are tunes that I love (so much that Tina and I will start humming them while playing) and others that aren't so great. The awesome thing is, they give you the option to select which track you want before battle! I absolutely love this. I can hear the default track that will play and if I don't like it, I can easily switch it with one of my favorites. The game contains a ton of tracks from previous DW games as well as new ones.
Third, there is a nice create-an-officer feature that allows you to create your own custom officers. You can make male or female, customize their face, clothing, voice, and fighting style (based on any of the generals in the game plus a few unique ones). It's a lot of fun making your own characters to throw into history and do battle with legendary generals. It saves your levels, stats, and weapons, so leveling up your character is like its own little RPG.
Fourth, the sheer volume of unique generals to play around with is incredible. I'd say there are over 50 and for the most part they play so different that you really do need to spend some time playing around with all of their different abilities to master them. This also means that if you start out with a general and have a bit of trouble or don't like the way s/he plays, you should try a different one. If you're a twitch gamer, try a speed officer like Ling Tong (my personal favorite - I used him as my custom general template). If you prefer a slower pace with power to back it up, try the lumbering Meng Huo. If you want to be overpowered, try Lu Bu. Guan Yu has been toned down in this version, but he still kicks butt if you get used to his new strengths and weaknesses.
And fifth, this game features coop in musou and campaign modes as mentioned earlier. I can't stress this enough - this adds tremendously to the fun factor as well as adding some fantastic elements of strategy that you and your partner can employ (split up to capture bases faster, stay together to double team bosses, etc).
SUMMARYDon't be fooled by poor reviews of this game. Career reviewers are sordid beats, having been locked up in cages and forced to play games ad nauseum while living off of mac and cheese dinners. They cannot always be trusted. Especially when they are forced to play a series that has been milked so disgustingly badly as this one has.
Let me give you the lowdown.
If you've never really played this series before and are looking for a fun action beat 'em up, get this game.
If you've played this series in the past and liked it and are looking for a sequel that's worth the money to upgrade, get this game.
If you played this game and didn't like it, or played it so much that you're sick of how it plays and are looking for something to totally change it up and "revolutionize the formula", don't get this game.
This game wins no awards for breaking new ground. But it is the finest execution of the series to date. Make your decision with this in mind and you will not be disappointed.
On a single player scale, I give this game an
8.0. On the coop scale this game gets a strong
9.0. This game will provide you and a friend many hours of semi-mindless enjoyment. Recommended.
