Dynasty Warriors 5

"A definate improvement to a long running series."

Introduction

Many people are familiar with the long running Dynasty Warrior series, either from playing it themselves or by hearing about it from their friends. I will be rating this entry both on its own merits and of course on comparison with other entries in the series. Unnoticed by few beyond the truer fans there were some definite improvements made, things the lesser fan is quite keen to overlook in light of the fact you're still killing hundreds of soldiers and for some that will get old very fast if they can't see past that.

Gameplay 8/10

The gameplay has definitely improved and to say it is the same button-mash fest it was before shows how little time some are willing to spend with a game before they pass judgement on it. That being said you will still do your fair share of button mashing. This game certainly isn't for everyone, but if you're into this type of game of which there really isn't any real competition besides the fine Kingdom Under Fire for the Xbox than you'll find this a worthy addition to your collection. Some may also rightly be bothered by the fact that some features were removed like Vs Mode, Duels and Create A Warrior or CAW for short to name a few. Alright so what has changed you may ask ?

For better or worse battles are scripted and by following or going against the grain of the mission is entirely up to you. This is perhaps what impressed me the most with the gameplay is that I could do a mission several different ways and I could actually noticeably change the results. By taking out a particular officer you can actually prevent certain events that can have serious impacts upon your morale. Morale is far more important now than it ever was before and letting it drop down and carelessly hacking and slashing will lose you a mission on more than one occasion. So to sum it up you actually have to plan to some degree now and mindlessly killing everyone is not only ill advised, but also dangerous.

The next highlight of Dynasty Warriors 5 is that you are portrayed perhaps as less as a hulking god of destruction and more as an actual person. What I mean by my previous statement is that I often found myself actually fighting with even the lower level soldiers rather just cutting them down in one hit, giving at least some impression that they weren't just willing to lay down and die simply because I swung my weapon in their direction, thus making me enjoy cutting them down that much more. The AI is also far more devious, taking every opportunity to sway things in their favor by backstabbing, doing synchronized attacks (these can really put you in a world of hurt) and even breaking your combos. Asides from the base AI there are also boosts that soldiers and officers will get and can quickly bring you from full health to nearly dead if you're not careful.

One notable addition to Dynasty Warrior 5 is the base system. At first you will play the game and see bases as nothing more than an obstacles in your path. As you play more however you will see that many of the levels were designed to use the bases to actually control the flow of the battles. Unlike Dynasty Warriors 4 - Empires however there is no tug of war for bases. The bases you start with are yours unless they're taken and than they belong to no one. The exception to this is neutral bases which are taken by whomever enters them first. Taking bases into account and planning your route lends a larger degree of strategy than possible before. In addition to halting your progress I found Supply Bases to be helpful and often required to keep me alive.

Bodyguards have no finally made an evolution in a most notable way. Much more akin to the officers you could take with you in DW 4 XL than the troop you've come to know. This single officer will lend you a much greater hand and function than the many you may have become accustomed to in the past. There is also a fair degree of variety amongst the looks, skills and weapons of your bodyguards. So now in addition to collecting weapons and items you also collect bodyguards. While some find 8 slots to be too few I found it more than enough to keep a good collection of your favorites.

I would not feel right if I didn't shine light upon the impressive level design. The levels in this addition are definitely a cut above any I've ever seen in the series. Each seemed to have a uniqueness too it and I never got that feeling that I was in the same stage with some minor rearrangements which I often felt in the past with the DW series. The way several levels were laid out lent especially well to what that battle represented far better than in the past. Bases are used to full advantage within the levels and their placement seems very well thought out. You may find as well that levels have an almost sandbox like feel and very few are linear in any sense, allowing you to tackle them how you like, with consequences of course.

Now on to the weapons and how the system has changed or rather reverted if you prefer. Anyone has played Dynasty Warriors 3 will recognize the weapon collection system used in 5. So is this anything revolutionary ? It certainly isn't revolutionary, the simple fact is however they did right as many enjoyed the older system more than the newer one used in Dynasty Warriors 4. So basically you're collecting your weapons once again, not leveling them up. What's nicer however is even trumping the Samurai Warrior series, you can now collect up to 4 weapons.

Asides from the usual power, attacks and attached bonuses there are also weights to the weapons. The weapon weight system actually adds much more depth, using heavy weapons while more damaging will make you swing slower, while light weapons are swifter but less damaging. All these factors add quite a bit to the collection process. Collecting definitely adds length, at least until you get your fourth level weapon and than you will more than likely stick with it instead as it will be way more powerful than any 3rd level weapon you may have.

Now for the characters themselves. Being that there are 48 characters in total there is certainly enough in just this one area to keep you busy for a while. Each character in this addition has their own Musou(Story) and even have their own ending cinematics. Beating certain characters or even a certain amount from a particular force will unlock more characters. As an added bonus you are able to edit the real time intro using any of the character's you've unlocked so far. You will find definite variety in the characters and with a cast as large as 48 that certainly is impressive in its own right. The only downside to the large cast is that you'll probably have to play as characters you simply don't like for one reason or another to unlock ones you do.

The final things I'll note in regards to the gameplay is the Musou Rage and Evolution attacks. Musou Rage takes the place of the taunt used in 4, allowing you to enter a near invincible and much more powerful state. The best part about Musou Rage is that unlike other pickups you can use it whenever you want by pressing R3, this gives you much more control and helps you through some of the tougher battles. Evolution attacks are simply 3 extra attacks you get if a weapon has a blue sphere beside it and your Musou bar is full, allowing you 9 normal attacks rather than usual max of 6. Considering your normal attack combos are much quicker and instantaneous than your charge combos it makes them also safer, making the Evolution attacks quite useful in their own rights.

Graphics 9/10

I'd first like to say that not everyone is going to impressed with the graphics, but I certainly was. The main thing to know is that draw distance is significantly improved and fogging is all but removed. The main thing however that I noticed is the vibrant, but not overly so palette used within the game, making everything seem that much more beautiful. The characters themselves and even the grunts look much better now and it nice to see they got detail of their own. Enemies are also less likely to pop in out of nowhere like they have in the past.

Sound 7/10

This is perhaps the lowest point as I mesh in voices with sound effects. The sound effects themselves are actually nothing bad or great, they're just average. The voice acting however on several characters and even grunts seems strangely out of place. The main detractor in the score is the voices, some of which are just incredibly bland like Cao Cao who sounds like he could really care less about anything. It's also important to note that the grunts seems to have several different pitches at which they yell when they die and some sound too much like a girl yelling out than a man. Overall the sound isn't and shouldn't stop you from enjoying the game, but it certainly is on the low end of its appeal.

Music 8/10

The music in Dynasty Warriors 5 is actually quite good. While I doubt I'll be humming along to it, like I did with the Samurai Warrior music at times, it certainly does help immerse me. I never got that feeling that the music just didn't fit. So basically everything fit pretty well and even matched the pacing the of the stage to boot. While I would possibly give this a higher score, the music isn't that terribly memorable either. It certainly isn't anything you'd buy a soundtrack for. You can however listen to any of the music you've unlocked in the options, which is a nice feature in and of itself.

Replay Value 10/10

This area is where the series has, since the second version, and on always shined. Even if you rush through each Musou, if you play them all you're likely to get around 50 hours from this game easy. With a buddy you're much more likely to spend even more time with this game. Add to that the 4th weapons and all the extra items that require special conditions to unlock and you're likely to invest perhaps even months into this game. There is also the already mentioned fact that many stages are not linear at all and allow you to try several different things, in the least there is usually an easy route and a hard one to passing a mission.

Overall 8/10

Overall this game is going to appear to detractors as just another entry in a series that has more additions than any other, always more or less minor changes made in each addition. What separates this one indefinitely however is the amount of polish I feel was put into the game. Yes everything is 'basically' the same, but why change something that works so well ? Despite what some may think this isn't likely to renew anyone's faith in the series, it is however the best entry to the series yet and that is exactly what a sequel should be regardless of what was added or changed it should be better.

Buy or Rent

This is a tough one to say. If you're a fan of the series you should definitely love this entry, even if you're just into action games this a great addition. However if you're just not sure or you're fairly negative towards the series as a whole than you'll be much safer renting it than buying it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/05