Rich in hacking and slashing, but not much else.
The major letdown was the graphical appeal. Many of the battlefields were on the bland side, and several constantly repeated themselves after a while. The thing about Dynasty Warriors that made it great, was that it had several different styles of battlefields, rather than the bland, sandy fields of Samurai Warriors. It makes you wonder, was Japan really just a desert back then?
But don't just think that the game is a complete waste of time. There are some good factors behind getting the game. Many of the characters are Japanese-style samurai, and possess great styles of martial arts and fighting styles. There are plenty of enemies to kill and mame on the battlefield, so don't worry about that. But your allies always seem like pushovers next to enemies soldiers. Often times you will see these wimpy foot soldiers getting the upperhand over your allied commanders. How does this happen, when each commander has bodyguards and foot soldiers of their own? I can never understand it. And then when you see a hoard of foot soldiers invading your main camp, and there are three or more commanders there, including the commander general, and plenty of foot soldiers and body guards, but somehow they are always overrun.
The main reason to get this game would be the story mode. Some of the storylines are interesting, and follow good plot base. Don't expect those winter battles from some of the Dynasty Warriors games, though. This is pretty much based around the summer or autumn, and in the plains or on a hill of sorts.
Is it too much to ask for a little bit of sunshine in these games? It always seems like they are foggy or depressing looking. Maybe it's because of the dark influence of Nobunaga Oda at the time.
Here's the breakdown:
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Storyline: 7.5 out of 10
Gameplay: 8 out of 10
Fighting: 9 out of 10
Graphics: 7 out of 10
Cutscene Graphics: 7.5 out of 10
Audio: 9 out of 10
Extras and Bonus Value: 8 out of 10
Replay Value: 7.5 out of 10
Overall: 6.5 out of 10
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I don't know, I just wasn't very impressed by this game. I recommend this game to fans of the Koei hack-and-slash games like Dynasty Warriors, fans of action games, fans of fighting games, and fans of classic Japanese style games.