Dynasty Warriors 6

"Dynasty Warriors 6: Improved or not?"

Gameplay: 8/10
Music/SFX: 9/10
Storyline: 6/10
Voice Acting: 4/10
Characters: 3/10

While I say that Dynasty Warriors is one of my favorite series of games, and KOEI has done a fantastic job of bringing their new DW game to PS3, I have to say I'm disappointed in some aspects.

The gameplay is amazing, and very realistic. The maps and different events that happen are extensive and look really impressive. The amount of soldiers that can fit on the screen is pretty neat too, considering that 200 - 300 people can appear without causing any lag or disappearance of others. What's disappointing about it though is when people talk or a storyline fragment is on the screen and you can't read what it says because you don't have an HDTV to play on. That's about the only thing I could think of to improve is the text size for people who can't afford or simply don't have an HDTV. I mean, honestly, could it be any smaller?

For the music and sound effects, I'm impressed. I like the constant emphasis on the electric guitar KOEI has presented in each of the DW games. It strangely fits the setting of the game and the action taking place. The SFX have only improved with every new DW release, and they sound the most realistic in DW6. You can hit someone and it actually sounds like you're hitting a person, or a weapon if they happen to block, whereas before, the sounds for people and weapons were generally the same. Good job for this area, I must say.

The storyline, I think, has some major differences in areas, all for the better. I like that you can have some of the same battles with different people, but the results are always different (unless you're playing under the same kingdom). Now, for some of the stages, it gets quite repetitive, no matter what side you're on, but who doesn't love the occasional beat-everyone-up-for-no-reason battle?

The voice acting has been slowly getting worse through the progression of this series. Personally, my favorite voice actors/actresses were in DW4. The voices weren't NEAR as annoying as they got for some people. There are a few exceptions that have gotten better, mostly the girls. Now, Zhen Ji's voice has gotten to a point where it bugs the crap out of me now, even though she's one of my favorite characters. Lu Bu's voice is HORRIBLE and has been since DW5. I much prefer the higher pitch from 4. It suits him better. Not to mention his new trademark line: Can anyone provide me with a decent challenge!? is quite annoying after hearing it for the first two minutes of a battle. And for those who don't know what I'm talking about, you will, believe me.

The characters in this game, while still under the same name are now pretty much carbon-copies of each other. I hate that only a few are still unique, weapon wise. And the fact that only 17 characters have a musou mode is quite depressing, at least, to me. I mean, you could just compile a semi-musou mode through some of the free mode battles, but it's not genuinely the same. I rather liked the voice-over musou mode from DW5 that every character had. It let you get inside the character's head, while also figuring out why some of the battles were being fought. I got a new and deeper sense of understanding the characters through that method, but now, going back to the generic "story telling" version, I find it quite boring. Yes, the history side of it is neat, even if it's partially made up, but I think the character telling their own story was a much more interesting way to go through musou mode. What makes it even worse now is the standard sword/spear styles of fighting that almost EVERYONE now has. It's ridiculous that only a handful of characters are unique in their fighting style/weapon. Diao Chan is one example with her thorned whip, and she has greatly improved in range and power, compared to her maces from before. However, Guan Ping now using a pike that looks almost exactly like Lu Bu's old weapon, rather than his great sword... It doesn't fit, to me. And neither does Sun Shang Xiang or Yue Ying with a bow/crossbow and arrows.

Overall, I would say this game has improved greatly in many aspects compared to some of the others, but it's also taken leaps backwards in other areas. To conclude, Dynasty Warriors 6 is not my first choice in this series. The cons overpower the pros, I think. I would definitely recommend one of the previous games in the DW series to play first.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/09

Game Release: Dynasty Warriors 6 (US, 02/19/08)