Once a battle's won, the next phase of play emerges, and ruling the hero's growing kingdom comes with an array of options. Marry weapons to certain elements and boost hero abilities. Execute stratagems to increase offensive and defensive capabilities. Move accompanying captains around a battle space to turn the tide in your favor. Via raids, invasions or territory defense, the chosen hero gloriously chops through thousands and thousands of enemies. Each hero has their own weapon of choice with a commensurate fighting style.Īs one might expect from something with Warriors in the title, battle is the staple of play here, and it's a grand affair. The game begins with the player selecting a timeframe and hero from Chinese lore, and then an accompanying kingdom as a starting point. It's basically a simple glossary for the oodles of menus that bury a player in complexity. The tutorial doesn't help things, either. Thumbs up to the attempt for sure, but thumbs down in execution.įor those new to the Empires series (as I was) be warned - Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires has a learning curve roughly equivalent to getting behind the wheel of a Maserati without knowing how to drive stick. I give Tecmo Koei credit, because packing such a sophisticated PS4 title into a Vita offering is borderline crazy. Too much content is packed into too small a package, and what results is an overflowing hodgepodge of options that are poorly executed.

His marriage spoke of a true dynasty in the making, and neighboring provinces fell like dominoes.Īs my rise to power with Dong Zhuo shows, Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is able to tell a great tale, but unfortunately, it's ultimately defeated by its own ambition. During this time, his iron grip tightened while morale soared. He also brazenly challenged Yellow Turban opposition from his Tianshui stronghold, but also showed a more compassionate side by frequently donating to the peasants and quickly accepting defeated leaders into the ranks.ĭong Zhuo and I spent almost 20 hours together. No one dared stand in his path! He plowed through enemies like a scythe cutting wheat, and always with a devilish grin.

He was fearless, and lobbing bombs across battlefields regularly earned him upwards of a thousand casualties and many epic victories.

WTF Picking off enemies running alongside you… to nowhere. LOW Roaming endlessly through nondescript maps and menus. HIGH The thrill of watching the kill-count rack up over a thousand.

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