A slightly fresh foray into the Three Kingdoms era.
Graphics: 7/10
Meh. None of Koei's Simulation games have overly spectacular graphics: it's some you learn to ignore. Unlike some other of their games however, DW4: Empires boasts a decent graphic engine as well as streamlined menus and maps. On the battlefield, there's really nothing overly amazing. The character models are decent; the better side of the graphics spectrum, but still remain imperfect. You can see where if a company like Square-Enix made this game you could really be stunned by the experience of darting through beautifully crafted backgrounds in the heat of battle. Unfortunately, Square-Enix didn't make this game. It's a good thing that Koei managed as well as it did with though.
Story: 10/10, or 5/10
If you've read a review about a game like this one, you probably already know why I put those two radically different rankings, but I'll tell you anyway. For those of you who have read the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", or know the story perhaps through SGZ or some other resource, then 10/10. It really is quite an enthralling story, told in the right manner. Though this game does little to tell it well, if you already know it, than living it is all the more enjoyable.
For those of you Three Kingdoms callow peoples, well, I don't know what to tell you. Find out the story from a friend, read the novel, read a summary of the novel. Hell, go to your public library and get a Chinese history book with brief info about the era. It really is quite an amazing time.
Sound/Music: 7/10
Another meh. Personally, I prefer the more Chinese-ish tones of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series, but it works to a degree. The voice acting is disappointing, but hey, what are you going to do?
Gameplay: 9/10
For gameplay, I'm not as much talking about the excruciatingly repetitive but admittedly enjoyable battle system as I am the whole menu strategy design. It really works for me: enough to be quite a bit more casual than a ROTTK game, but with more control than an average DW. It's a great, thought not perfect merge. The leveling system is effective, and the ability to make your own characters is quite fun. But just remember, when making characters, if you want a character with higher stats than Lu Bu, go ahead and use a Crusader. However, they're nauseatingly slow. Personally, I still went for it, but only used him when I had a good Speed Scroll or a Horse Saddle. Well, I'm not about to go into detail about the item system, but just know that it's at the very least manageable, and at the most quite cool. Gameplay wise, great game.
DW4: Empires was quite enjoyable, but slightly flawed. The lack of spectacular graphics through every DW game is quite disappointing, but acceptable: a point off there. And then a point off with a combination of the others. Still, I couldn't possibly give it lower than a 8, considering the addictiveness of it. Addictive for perhaps a week.
8/10