Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires coming to America

Just a few weeks after it debuted at the top of the Japanese charts last month, Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires is now planning to conquer America. Koei announced today that its tactical action game will hit American PlayStation 2 consoles in September 2004 at a retail price of $29.99.

"Building on the successful Dynasty Warriors 4, this game will offer new twists on the tactical action genre," said Amos Ip, Koei's vice president of sales and marketing. The "twist" Ip is talking about is that Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires isn't exactly a proper sequel to Dynasty Warriors 4 but rather an improved version of the game with a bevy of new features.

Like Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, last fall's other semi-sequel, Empires will feature the same 40-plus characters as Dynasty Warriors 4. However, it will sport several new features, including a strategy-implementation mode, a fighting mode, and a character-editing tool with a visual catalog. New gameplay elements include a warrior advancement system, new terrain, new battle techniques, and political influence, which allows you to turn enemy warriors into traitors.