Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Updated Hands-On

Last time, Koei stopped by to give us an idea of how the multiplayer will work in its upcoming PlayStation Portable game Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, in which four players can team up to fight endless enemy hordes via ad hoc. This time, we're playing on an updated build to see how the action-oriented single-player mode works. The PSP demo is also available on the PlayStation Network in case you want to get a head start and see what the game has to offer. The story is split into three kingdoms, so we decided to start with the Wu Kingdom and picked Xiao Qiao as our fearsome warrior.

For those familiar with the characters, Xiao Qiao is hardly the most vicious-looking fighter, but she's still incredibly fast and deadly with her pair of war fans. Each warrior has his or her specialty primary weapon, but the secondary weapon can be switched so that you can have access to a variety of weapons, including the handy long-ranged type. You have a fury gauge under your health bar that is constantly building as you take damage and deal it, and once it's full you can enter fury mode, which gives you more speed and the ability to fly. When playing solo, the large-scale action still feels intact, but the battlefields are more confined. Furthermore, depending on the mission, you're not always going to be up against a mob of generic fighters. It actually takes some maneuvering and finesse to take down these enemies instead of plowing through a wave of fighters and racking up that kill count.

Strikeforce has a Monster Hunter-type feel to it, considering that you begin at the village, which acts as your hub, and take on quests from the notice board. You have access to everything here, such as the blacksmith, workshop, academy, market, store house, and more. To level up and advance the story, you choose and complete quests from either the notice board or gatekeeper. The missions are also timed, so it really does help--and it's more fun--to have multiple players to complete the quests faster.

There are customization options for your character as well, so you can use the loot and other trinkets that you collect during missions to build and modify weapons as time goes on. There are also more than 250 weapons in the game, so there isn't a shortage of deadly spears to try. Parts of the city can be upgraded by using officer cards that you receive from visitors. In your menu there is a city upgrade option in which you can place your cards in slots reserved for each part of town, such as the market or academy, and that area will level up as you progress through the game.

The game is visually impressive with its animated cutscenes, and from what we've seen in-game, everything looks great. The environments aren't as big as previous games, but they are varied, and each character has quite a bit of detail in his or her outfits. The enemies may begin to look generic after a while, but your warriors are well equipped with a luxurious wardrobe. A pleasant soundtrack with upbeat themes accompanies the action, but it'll take some more time before the music will be truly appreciable. For those who are tired of the same hack-and-slash formula, Strikeforce does offer more of the same, but with added features and a new way to play with friends to change things up--as long as you know people with PSPs. Look for Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce when it is released on April 28.