For a digital download, this game is worth the full price of admission; maybe even more.
The core gameplay elements that make up Dynasty and Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi carve their way once again in this installment; similar to previous Warriors Orochi games, players take three characters from a roster composed of Dynasty and Samurai Warriors characters and slash, strike, shoot and generally just attack any and every enemy on battlefields reminiscent of prominent areas in actual Chinese and Japanese history. This might seem a bit too simple for some, but there are a number of factors that weigh in more on the experience both old and new. Each battlefield corresponds to a certain story portion of the game, providing players with certain objectives such as protecting certain units or defeating others. This provides even just a slight sense of urgency for players who are trying to just destroy everything in sight, especially on the harder difficulties where key allies take way less hits to bring about your defeat. It is also a way to show players the massive number of enemies in every battle; unlike previous Warriors games where it would be a chore to get as much as 800 kills, Warriors Orochi 3 is a bit more generous with its kill counter, with kills averaging 1,500 and other stages allowing for 3,000 kills or more. As such, the player simply cannot just kill everything in sight anymore, and some stages require even just a bit more strategy than what previous entries would require.
Some new elements include character-specific abilities including faster EXP gain or increased attack, the new Wonder class type which allow for guard breaks: press the right button in the middle of a combo and throw your opponents off guard for yet another one of your attacks. The weapon system has also been given a slight overhaul, providing a compatibility meter that raises a weapon's attack power the more a character uses it. One thing to note as well is the increased aggressiveness of the enemies this time around, wherein enemies will attack soon after each other, and this can pose a great threat in harder difficulties even for those who have levelled up quite a bit.
Although the Warriors Orochi series is not famous for great storytelling, there is still a plot to be had in this game, and while it may confuse players who replay stages in different orders, the overall plot itself isn't bad at all. Following the events of Warriors Orochi 2, the combined periods of the characters are now at a time of peace when a new threat in the form of an 8-headed snake decides to wreak havoc on the land. This catches them off-guard, and humanity is down to its last hope. Luckily, a new mystic name Kaguya arrives at a critical moment and decides to bring man's last hope back in time to reverse their allies' deaths and alter others' futures in order to deal with this new threat. The plot summary may be confusing, but it starts to put itself together once you actually play the game.
The game comes packed with a whole lot of content which is impressive for a download-exclusive title (besides Xbox 360 users and PS3 users in Asia) from characters to constumes to music. There are a whopping 120+ characters in the game each with their own look and feel, although several characters do share movesets or weapon designs, but each levels up individually and will provide hours and hours of grinding for completionists. Content-based trophies line the PS3 version of the game, so collecting weapons, costumes and equipment for all these characters can be quite an enjoyable distraction from the story mode.
Speaking of modes, the game features a distinct few besides the main story mode: free mode and Musou Battlefields. Although I have not spent much time on either (because yes, the story mode itself takes that long to finish,) Musou Battlefields, in general, lets players replay stages while editing them, changing up the officers participating in the battle to the lines they say all the way down to the enemies you will face in the level. These can be uploaded online for others to try and is one way to earn Crystals, a slightly rare form of currency in the game.
Overall, Warriors Orochi 3 solidifies itself as a great action game despite its slightly clunky weapon shop system with its amount of content and solid gameplay. For a digital download, this game is worth the full price of admission; maybe even more.