Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires

"Very underrated."

The Dynasty Warriors franchise is one of the most popular out there. Koei's flagship series has brought them much success, mostly on the Playstation 2, but later brought onto the Xbox and now the Xbox 360. Some people think this may be another game, and I am here to tell you, it's not. It's a port, with some graphical upgrades and other minor things, but all in all, it's solid and very deserving of it's title.

Graphics: 8/10
The whole series has never been known for being a graphical powerhouse. It's been known for characters going around and hacking and slashing their way through hundreds of soldiers and generals on their way to conquering feudal China. The graphics, while better than it's predecessor, are still not really "next gen." But you get what you get with Dynasty Warriors, if you expect something to visually stun you, I'll go ahead and apologize on the game's behalf now.

Gameplay: 8/10
The gameplay is different than most other Dynasty Warriors games. Of course, it's exactly like the same titled game on the PS2, but unlike Legends and the normal games, this one requires strategy. Gone are the days of your allies riding around on horses in their bases and doing nothing to help you. In these, you can actually order your allies to move and attack, defend, or do whatever! If you are a veteran to the series, you'll know how much of a welcome addition this is. Also, you have to take all of the areas on the map, now, and battles are only 15-30 minutes long, instead of the normal 90. The battles have been made smaller with less enemies as well (getting 500 nets you a fourth weapon now).

All in all, the series will continue it's conquest and basic great showing as the only game series in this genre that really stands out. No other game can quite offer what Dynasty Warriors does (though Ninety Nine Nights is another game people may want to check out in this series). And for that, I do nothing more than tip my hat to Koei and commend them on a great job and another addition to the Dynasty Warriors family.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/06