Dynasty Warriors 5

"Koei continues to impress."

The new Dynasty Warriors game is here, and once again, it's simply superb. It has a spectacular arsenal of new weapons and attacks, massive landscapes to conquer, and much more. Well with me being a "die hard" fan of the series, I would say that but even if your not, then once you've played this game, you'll agree with me when I say that it's great.

Story: 10/10
This game has one of the best stories I know of. You follow 48 playable characters, of which 6 of them are new, in their quest to end the Chaos, from either the Kingdom of Shu (green), Wei (blue), or Wu (red). You can also play as people from the Later Han (various) who are people that do not fight for a Kingdom but for themselves. Each character has a unique story line. I think that the story line is one of the games best bits because it's fun and doesn't get boring like with DW4 where you play the same 16 or so stages with each character.

Game Play: 9/10
The DW game play hasn't changed much during the games history, but if something is great anyway, why change it? Many people say that all the game is is "button bashing", and in a way, they have a point, but it's the "button bashing" that makes the game more enjoyable and fun to play. Also, the Musou Rage feature is a good addition to the game, giving each character their own unique powered up Musou attack with an incredibly powerful last attack, just to make killing Lu Bu a little bit easier. Another effective change is the whole issue of bodyguards. You now only have one and that bodyguard is much smarter and much more efficient. These bodyguards have their own smaller Musou attack. The one-on-one duels have been removed which I think is a disappointment because I thought they were more fun and more of a challenge.

Graphics: 9/10
The DW graphics haven't always been that good, but that's why this game looks so much better. The different backgrounds make good viewing (but it's advisable to keep your eyes on the battle) and the different cut scenes and end movies are spectacular. It just makes you think how good the graphics for DW6 on the PS3 will look.

Sound: 8/10
This would have got a 9 again but the game producers or whatever you call them have changed certain characters voices, and on some occasions, not for the better, but that doesn't mean all the voices are bad. The background music during the battles is as good as ever, even if it is electric guitars which weren't invented then, but if you can have a fan that kills people, then why not have electric guitars in ancient China?

Replay value: 10/10
The reason this got a 10 is not because you'll want to complete the Musou Mode with everyone again and again, but because you do do some of the same stages with different characters, but you don't get bored of it. Also, the free play is good fun to do, especially with a friend.

Life span: 10/10
There are so many characters to complete it with (48) and then you will probably want to unlock all of the items and 4th weapons so you'll be playing it for ages and ages, which is a good thing, especially with a game as good as this.

Characters: 10/10
The characters factor is the second best factor which makes the game what it is. They have been greatly improved since the last games and look and sound (in some cases) much better. Their costumes also look a lot better than before. The officer edit has been taken away as well which I personally think is the wrong choice. I liked making my own people and having them pummel the opposition with whatever weapon I chose.

Rent or buy?: Rent first, then buy
If you are a fan of the other games and know what they're like then I strongly advise you to buy it. If you don't know what they're like, then rent first and see what you think.

Overall: 10/10
This is my favourite game and favourite game series and I think if you like these sorts of games, then I think you will really like it too. Well done Koei!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/18/06