Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends

"An Xtreme Expansion"

Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends is as deep as an expansion pack as any expansion pack gets.

Style: 6
Compared to DW3, XL does not do much to improve graphics. A few new locations and details, but the environments are still a bit boring. Another new edition is the light/dark level change.

Replay Value: 8 or 10
Depending on if you already own the original or not effects gameplay. There is plenty of hours of playability in the XL version alone, but combined with the original you could have anywhere from 100 to 250 (if you plan on maxing out all characters in the game) hours of gameplay alone. That's more than a week of continuous playing. All 42 characters are playable in XL, but only 7 are able to be played in Musou Mode, the best part of the series.

Jukebox/SFX: 8
There is nothing like killing ancient Chinese officers to 80s American Hard Rock. The sfx havn't changed nor have the tunes, but that's okay for most fans of the series.

Control: 9
The controls havn't changed, which is a good thing. Controls are able to be converted, though. There should, however, be a manual aim for bows.

Storyline: 8
The Three Kingdoms is Koei's trademark. One of the purposes of the XL expansion was to add on to DW3. New maps, new events, and a more accurate 3Kingdoms timeline. This adds to the depth of an already depthful game.

Overall Gameplay: 6 or 9 if you already own DW3
The purpose of XL is an EXPANSION to DW3. Included is seven new musou characters, two new difficulty modes, Lv 5 weapons, over a dozen new weapons, in depth bodyguard customization, and new stages and events. It is not recommended to pick up this title unless you own the original. There are, however, new versus and challenge modes which will occupy your interest for at least a few hours. The real pride of this series is no doubt the Musou mode, which is not as polished as the original's, but it is longer than DW2's and better
laid out than DW4's. There is just something sooooo fun about killing hundreds
of Chinese warriors.

Recommended?: Yes, nut only if you already own DW3, plus its probably cheaper to get the original by now.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/04