Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends

"Unleash the power of the musou!!! A lot of fun, if you own the original..."

I've never played DW before the last expansion of the series came out. I simply bought it because I thought the concept of the game was interesting. And IT WAS.
The only problem is that to play it at full power (and two players, which is the real FUN!!!) I had to buy the original. Yes, DW4: Extreme Legends doesn't live up for long, if you don't have the original DW4. But if you do, it's one of the coolest and addictive action-beat 'em ups on the Play Station 2. Have you ever imagined being in the heat of a great Chinese medieval battle? Have you ever imagined slashing in all directions and seeing your enemies fly away like leaves from a tree, annihilated by your rage? And, most of all: have you ever imagined you and your friend opening your way through hundreds of enemies (I am not exaggerating), trying to reach their leader and turn the tide of a battle?
Well, this is basically Dynasty Warriors 4. Let's see it in detail...

Gameplay 8/10:
Let's make it clear from the beginning. Dynasty Warrior is not a game full of variety in gameplay. You basically have to slash your way to the enemy main official, and defeat him to win the battle. This is the main theme of all the modes you can choose between. What does change is that you can do that in many ways, because you can freely move on the battlefield, and even the same mission will be hardly done in the same way. More, all the battles are made of strategic moves that your troops do to defeat the enemy, or simply to survive: escaping, retreating, ambushing, attacking enemies at their back, and more. And so the enemy... So, reaching your objective can be a pain sometimes, because you also have to protect your troops and officers. And in the last battles they tend to become VERY weak, if compared to the enemy.
To do the hero job you have some moves at you disposal, which can be done in long combos. Last, but not least, you have a super energy combo called musou. Properly using musou is often the key to victory, because when you're low on energy it's extremely powerful, and makes you invulnerable for a few seconds. You can therefore use it to attack, to retreat, to charge enemies with your horse (you can even ride horses and elephants!!!). You also have up to eight comrades at your orders. They follow you and can be partially controlled through simple commands: "attack", "protect me" or "stay where you are". If there are two players, you can even perform a double mosou, which is terribly more powerful than the single one.

Graphics 8/10:
The are tons of enemies on the screen, tons of effects and a great battle involving hundreds of soldiers and officers like you, and all "flows" at a good frame rate. Not super-detailed, but very good graphics.

Sound & Music 8/10:
The games provides you with good sound effects and a music. The musical tunes themselves are a cross-over between rock and oriental themes. The result is not unique, but in my opinion is very good, and help you feel the rage growing inside.

Story 7/10:
You can play as one of the three kingdoms: Shu, Wu and Wei. Every kingdom has its officers you can choose from, and every officer has its own moves and style of combat, and plays a different role in the story of that kingdom. The story is good, but you don't necessarily have to pay attention to it. It's only an external frame. The core is power abuse!!! ;-)

Longevity 8/10:
There are a total of 40 officers, or a little more, and (with the original and the expansion together) 80 OR MORE BATTLES to fight! Your officer grows in an RPG-like style, and gains more combo attacks on the way. In two players it's even longer, and the fun factor doubles.

Overall 8:
Honestly, the game is very good and full of fun, especially with a friend. There is a good variety, and probably even when you have won the original game with all the officers (which alone counts for hours of slashing, running, planning strategies with your friend in order to finally succeed in that terrible battle, etc...), you will come back for more sometimes. The reason I don't give a 9 or 10 is that to enjoy it fully you have to buy DW4 XL AND the original DW4. XL alone simply isn't enough...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/17/04