Dynasty Warriors 7

Dynasty Warriors 7 builds on the hack-and-slash style of the other games in the series. It’s gained a large fan base for its gameplay, especially in Japan where sales are high, but despite the sales figures, the series doesn’t appear to have changed much over the years. So what’s different about Dynasty Warriors 7?

The game splits into two main game modes: Story Mode and Conquest Mode. Story mode is still the most popular , which makes up the bulk of the game, and in DW 7, it’s split up into four different sagas. Each segment of the single player mode is around 8-12 hours long, so there’s a lot to play through.

Gameplay

The game is still based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, but this time the Story Mode allows you to play through the campaigns of the three kingdoms of Wei, Wu, Shu as well as the new kingdom of Jin. By completing the sagas, you unlock more content, such as information about various battles, videos and character art.

Aside from the new unlockables and the addition of the fourth kingdom though, one of the best aspects of the game is the roster. There’s an impressive 62 characters in the game, and each mission is now suited to a certain character. So you no longer have the ability to select which character you want to play, but instead, a character is automatically assigned.

A worthy addition to the combat system is the ability to dual-wield weapons. Only certain characters are suited to each type of weapon however, and when they are using their favored weapon, they can use a special EX attack. One negative about the combat system, is that the move sets are still the same throughout the roster.

In Comparison

It’s hard to look at Dynasty Warriors 7 and find any distinct changes that have made the game a much better experience from the earlier games. Dynasty Warriors 4 still stands out as the best in the series. The one-on-one dual mode was a fantastic addition, as well as the new weapons and cinematic upgrades, the experience is yet to be beaten by any other DW game. Dynasty Warriors 5 tried to increase the character depth and create a unique personality around them, which was at the height of the DW franchise. It seemed like the series was going somewhere, but the next two instalments feel like a dead end.

Rating

Still, something the DW games have struggled with, is graphics. The games have always had that outdated look and feel.

Pros

• Quite a lot of content to play
• Long story mode
• A lot of characters

Cons

• Same Dynasty Warriors Feel
• Graphics not that great