TGS 2008: Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Hands-On

TOKYO--Dynasty Warriors games are hack-and-slash action titles that pit your powerful hero against legions of foes in a wide variety of large environments. With Strikeforce, developer Koei has narrowed this scope a little and now challenges you to conduct raids on enemy strongholds. We played the 2008 Tokyo Game Show demo and have the skinny on this streamlined approach to a classic formula.

The focus here is on quick infiltration missions, and the map of the level we saw reflected that. There were a number of small battle areas chained together by relatively narrow passages. A timer counts down during each mission, and since it didn't seem necessary to kill all the enemies in one area before advancing to the next, there's an opportunity for some competitive speed run action. One level we played took place in a snowy mountain pass; the other took place outside a samurai keep during an autumn evening. The variety was welcome, and the environments were colorful and well-textured, providing a nice backdrop for our slicing and dicing.

There were three characters to choose from: a woman with a tall bow, a man who wore an eye patch and wielded a large staff with a serrated blade, and a ponytailed man with a long spear. Each also had a secondary weapon that rounded out their repertoire to include both ranged and melee attacks. In addition to the weapon differences, the characters had different speed and jumping abilities, so each provided a reasonably different combat experience. To defeat our enemies, we used a combination of light and strong attacks, switching between our weapons to attack at the appropriate range as we jumped and dashed around the area.

With all this commotion, it was nice to have the target button to allow us to stay focused on one enemy at a time. Our opponents ranged from stationary artillery batteries to fairly weak foot soldiers to hardened veterans. The latter of these foes required advanced combat techniques, like sustained midair attacks or charged strikes. Holding down the attack buttons for a few moments allowed us to charge up our attacks and unleash powerful magical strikes. Good times.

Though we weren't able to try any multiplayer action, Strikeforce does include four-player cooperative combat. Running four-player raids should provide intense action, and we're looking forward to giving it a shot. There's no North American release date yet, but we'll keep our ears to the ground and bring you more coverage on Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce as soon as we can.