Dynasty Warriors 6 Review

September 3, 2009

Pick a warlord and ride into war in this fast paced hack ‘n slash game.

Story

As every other Dynasty Warriors game the story revolves around the three kingdoms Wei, Shu and Wu fighting for domination of China. While the kingdoms all aim for a similar goal they all have their own visions and ways to reunite and govern the land. Thematically, this is a story full of betrayal, friendship, loyalty, tragedy and sorrow as it depicts the bloodiest war in China’s history. The game has a story so complex that they have included an encyclopedia to cover it all, or at least most of it. This encyclopedia can be accessed through the main menu and is available from the very start so you can use it as a reference source to what’s going on in the game.

The Game

Dynasty Warriors is a fast paced hack and slash game all the way through and there isn’t a lot of depth to that – you’ll be mashing buttons and chaining together hundreds of hits and thousands of kills hour after hour. It is however entertaining despite its repetitive nature. Anyone can jump straight into the game and enjoy it as it doesn’t weigh you down with loads and loads of advanced gameplay mechanics.

Controls

The basic two attack button control layout from earlier games in the series is still there and you will be unleashing devastating attacks in no time. There are however a few new features introduced that hasn’t been done before. Combos are now done through building up your Renbu gauge rather than alternating between the two attack buttons like in the preceding games. Increasing your Renbu gauge is done by attacking enemies and staying in combat – meaning that if you avoid combat for too long it slowly starts dropping. Comparing to earlier entries in the series, this is a much easier system making this a lot more accessible to new players. When your Renbu gauge is low you can only perform minor combos that hits two or three times but as mentioned it fills up as you fight and it automatically allows you to make bigger combos.

Content

There are a couple of different game modes you can choose from such as Musou Mode which is the story mode, then there is the Free Mode which basically means “select a character and start the killing”. The one game mode that sticks out the most is the Challenge Mode which is where you will take on various challenges such as “kill as many as you can under the time limit” and you can compete with others as all challenges feature a score table. Sadly the Challenge Mode is the least interesting of the bunch as one try generally is enough for you to never look back at it. Sure it is a great addition but it fails to offer enough incentive to keep playing it.
The game does offer a local multiplayer option that is cooperative gameplay in a split screen set up. This is a great feature and it makes the game last even longer because it’s always a lot more fun to play together with someone. As two players you can either play through the Story Mode or just mash away in the Free Mode – nonetheless it’s a ton of fun. Sadly the game lacks online multiplayer options.

The story mode is based on completing various missions. Your objectives are typically straightforward and easy to grasp – instead you will be spending some time with a much more fun activity – planning your character and attacking the enemies! Furthermore missions now have bonus objectives unlike the previous game. Completing these bonus missions will grant you extra experience points, weapons and mounts. All missions have three bonus objectives and the tasks you will be engaged in range from “kill this general in 15 minutes” to “prevent X from happening”, so there is some variety to it and it does make replaying the missions much more fun.

Other great features such as climbing and swimming are now present in the game which adds a lot of new strategies and possibilities. However most of these possibilities are pretty shallow – for example; climbing only works on ladders so don’t expect to be climbing up cliffs and such. But overall these features make the game more fluid and interesting.

You can unlock even higher Renbu levels by leveling up your character. You increase your rank through killing enemies but stringing together combos and defeating enemy generals and captains grants additional experience. When you gain new ranks you can distribute points on various skills and attributes depending on what character you are playing as and each character has its own set of skills. You are given only a few customization options as you can either choose more defense or more attacking power, but there are several different abilities to choose from such as faster swimming speed or even increasing the maximum level of your Renbu gauge. This is indeed a great addition to the game and paves the way for some extra depth.

The final couple of features in Dynasty Warriors 6 are the weapons and mounts. They can both be found during combat or as mentioned above through completing various bonus objectives. The weapons have different elements and special properties such as increased elemental damage so in order to find a good weapon you need to play the game a lot.
The mounts in this game play a much more important role then they did in the previous game as they also gain experience and grow along with you. They level up they gain special properties as well and make the already fierce warrior even stronger. There are loads of different horses and they all have their own strengths shown by their attributes so finding one that suits your needs is also a task that requires some time.

Those that enjoy figuring out the more advanced mechanics and immediately start working out strategies to maximize their characters can do so. The game features over 40 playable characters and they all have their own fighting style. Changing character now and then makes the game feel new again as you’ll get to try out new skills and you’ll also experience new parts of the story along with that character. You can experience the story through every character’s point of view and get their side of the story which, in the end amounts to one really beefed out story.

All characters have to go through six stages of different difficulty and length. While it might sound like this is a short game, remember that you have 40 characters to play through and playing it through with another character might be a completely different experience. Most characters go through entirely different stages so you won’t be playing through the same few stages over and over again. But when you indeed revisit a familiar stage, that same stage will feel different the other time around as the winning conditions are met in different ways – that is to say, that the strategies and tactics vary on the battle field. Capturing the key enemy bases often turn the tide of battle dramatically and makes the battles very dynamic and ever-changing.

Graphics

Dynasty Warriors 6 has gotten a major face lift compared to previous games in the series and it supports even more enemies on the screen at one time. The whole visual design of the game is very easy on the eyes. The combat looks amazing as attacks cause sparks and vivid lighting effects and the animations are fluid and a joy to watch. The only things that this game really lacks are even bigger battlefields and more enemies. The game is chaotic as it is though, and it’s full of colors and special effects – simply put awesome.

Sound

Despite it having English voice actors they do an alright job at delivering shouts, taunts and various victory quotes. The voice acting isn’t solid though because it feels rather rushed. All in all a translation with subtitles would have been better. The soundtrack is filled with rocking electric guitars mixed with oriental instruments and it’s one of the things that defines Dynasty Warriors – a badass game with a fresh, badass soundtrack.

Summary

For many people this game is the bare minimum of what a game should be. Many people can’t stand its repetitive nature nor do they enjoy its setting and story. However, for the fans the game delivers exactly what they are seeking and that is simply; arcade style action and excitement.
The intense battles are very enjoyable and will keep you playing for hours. Grab a willing friend and you’ve got yourself a gaming evening worthy its name and remembrance. For those who are in the need of a long and entertaining hack and slash game, give this one a shot. It’s well worth the time and money.