Devil Kings is like Dynasty Warriors...but with flair!!!
Devil Kings is a different offering from Capcom. The game's Japanese version if more historical than the American counterpart. Reason that is is because most of the characters in this game are from Japanese history. Capcom decided that since Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and Warriors Orochi were giving you history lessons, Devil Kings would give you some fantasy action! Good move on Capcom's part because this game is pure fun. Simple, yet addictive gameplay is why Devil Kings is a game to have in your collection.
If you've played Dynasty Warriors, Devil Kings' gameplay should be familiar to you. You enter a battlefield and commence to slaughter thousands of enemies until you get to the final boss (or general). Despite that sounding simple, the gameplay actually requires lots of strategy and tactics. Learning the strengths and weaknesses of each of the 12 characters is essential to winning the battle. Some characters are slow, but powerful. Others can me fast, but weak. Learning to use their weakness and making it into an advantage is half the fun of the game.
The controls are pretty simple too. The square button is for regular attacks, triangle for Prime attacks, circle is to unleash Fury, X is to jump, and R1 is to guard. For the entire game, you'll mostly be tapping square, triangle, and circle. But don't let that turn you off. Each character plays different and their attacks are fun to look at. Not to mention, it's satisfying to look at your character slaughtering thousands of enemies.
Graphics wise, the game looks good. Textures are smooth and animations are pretty good. There's not a lot of graphically hiccups and each area in the game has something unique about them. You'll be fighting on sandy shores, tropical jungles, arctic tundra, and much more! Each area is unique and different and boasts some great visuals.
You won't be staying outside all the time though. You'll be fighting outside and inside. While that doesn't sound amazing, it's different from Dynasty Warriors, where you're just outside on the battlefield. The character models look great and have smooth animation. The enemy models are also very different depending on what army general you're fighting. This is great, because you're not just fighting the same types of enemies over and over again. It's little things like this that make Devil Kings stand out.
It's also worth mentioning about the game's CG and anime scenes. Certain scenes in the game will boast some great looking CG graphics while others will use well drawn anime sequences. It's kind of confusing why Capcom chose to use both instead of just one or the other, but nevertheless...they're great to look at. To view the art, movies, characters, and more, the game games with a Gallery.
The game's soundtrack is also something that gives the game it's own uniqueness. Mostly composed of rock music type tracks, hearing these tracks will get you fired up for battle! What I also like is that some of the songs still retain that Japanese feel to them. Voice overs are done well and seem to match the characters. But it does get annoying hearing the same stuff repeated over and over again. But that's just something minor.
Devil Kings is like Dynasty Warriors...but with flair!!! The characters have so much personality, the gameplay is fun and addictive, and the soundtrack is full of great stuff. Devil Kings won't be for everyone. Hack and slashes are fun, but this one has tons of strategy. Some people might not think so, but playing the game long enough will make you see it.