jesus_sandals's Full Review: Dynasty Warriors 2 for PlayStation 2
Ever wanted to shout Chinese obscenities, wield sharp pointy blades and run riot in a battlefield full of sword fodder in the name of war? Then you might have found just what you're looking for. But before you put up your Mr Miyagi posters and start slicing at your noodles, be warned; Dynasty Warriors 2 promises much but delivers little.
Graphics
One of the highlights of the game are the graphics and they show a massive leap from Playstation One to it's big brother. You can see up to 30 detailed fighters on the screen at the same time which means whilst you're hacking your way through an army, your fellow troops will be doing the same around you. It's a nice touch when there's a whole group of you moving up through the level together and meet the enemy head on.
With 30 warriors on screen all dying for their cause, there are compromises. The first compromise is when more than 30 of the little Chinese warmongers fill the screen. The surplus soldiers simply fade away until the number drops below 30, when they fade back in. This isn't really noticeable in the first few stages where the soldiers have the stamina of a mosquito and therefore all die rather quickly but in the later levels, it does become noticeable.
Also the scenery is fairly bland. This is obviously to allow all these soldiers to fit on the screen but once they're dead and have faded away (bit of a cliché in the beat-em-up genre but never mind), there's not much eye candy left. Trees and suchlike must be a rarity in China.
A major problem in the game is the camera that can't make up it's mind between swooshing all over the screen or stubbornly sticking to one angle. It's not rare for the camera to whoosh around the screen before jerking to a stop facing your character or in an equally useless angle. The only way you can change it back is by switching to the arrow firing mode and back. The game is crying out for two of the shoulder buttons to control the camera but, alas, that option isn't catered for.
However, big thumbs up goes to the fact that there's no slowdown, often the bane of games with fighter filled screens. Occasionally the pace might drop but it's never enough to put you off or annoy you. And while the scenery may be bland and the soldiers fade away, it's preferable to slow down.
Sounds
They could've done so much more with the music! Games such as Tenchu have an oriental soundtrack that fits the mood perfectly and really sets a nice Chinese atmosphere. So it's a shame that while playing Dynasty Warriors 2, you have to put up with the cheesy rock it throws at you.
Having said that, the sound FX are spot on. You can hear war cries all around you, as swords clash, arrows whistle through the air and random noises of destruction go on. The volume of the SFX are related to the distance as well so you can hear if there's already a battle going on up ahead in the distance.
Gameplay
This is where the game loses out. For the first few hours, racking up the kills is nothing but fun all the way. Until you're asked to do it again... and again... and again. It'll get to the point where you can cut down the hordes of enemies whilst blindfolded, one hand tied behind your back and doing the macarena (try it, it'll be more entertaining than this). Not since the International Track & Field series has there been a game so reliant on manic button bashing.
It doesn't help that your characters has less moves than Chuck Norris after a night down the pub. You have two attacks; standard and strong. The two can be combined for combos and er... that's it. Try pressing them with different directions and you'll do the same move. Not good. You can charge up a "Musou" meter, which unleashes a special move when full but that's about it. You can also jump but there's not much point really as jumping during combat will see you get smacked right back down to earth. The limited array of moves leaves combat pretty boring and considering this makes up the bulk of the game, it's amazing KOEI didn't bother with more moves. Every level can be completed by pressing the attack button over and over again. Yawn.
The only other variations on the hack 'n' slash theme are horseback and arrow firing. Getting on horseback is a good idea in theory until you realise the control is so clumsy, you would've been better off in a bumper car with a spear stuck on the front. Also, on horseback is the only time you can attack your own forces as well which adds up to a very frustrating experience as you charge towards enemy lines to help out your own side, only to splat members of your own team against the castle walls simply because the horse is swinging about wildly and out of control.
Then there's the arrow firing. This is a nice touch until you find out it's auto-aiming. It's not like the computer is 100% accurate with the aiming either. Try to change the aiming the computer lumps you with and you're more likely to fire so high you'll hit Australia instead of the enemy troop 10 feet in front of you.
The game isn't as realistic as it likes to think it is either. You can happily charge into a massive group of enemy forces knowing they'll all die with one or two hits. This sees you constantly winning against ludicrous odds and worse still, you can end up finishing the level having killed an astronomical number of warriors. I completed the first level the first time I played with... get this... 658 kills! It doesn't make for a very realistic experience when you're out there killing everyone because your own forces and allies don't have the AI to go out there and kill for themselves.
The AI is ropey and unimpressive. Soldiers will stand around and look bored, polishing their swords and singing songs while their commander is being killed off. They'll stare at their opponents for half a day before actually trying to hit him. And they'll give you no support at all. The troops on your side stay in groups and only move through the level when certain events are "triggered", the worst being that every enemy in their area has to be killed before they move on. So even if there's one enemy they can't kill, instead of moving on and leaving a few soldiers to finish him off, about 3 soldiers fight him while the rest stand around and pose.
The game is full of frustrating moments, such as the archers who can hit you from 100 feet away even if you're surrounded by enemy opposition. Makes you wonder why they ever invented sniper rifles when they could've had the military precision of these guys. So to kill the archers, you have to hack your way through enemy lines and cut them down before they run away, which they're damn good at I might add. And even if you do kill them, you'll turn around and find half of China armed, dangerous, breathing down your neck and looking pretty angry. Time for another half an hour of button mashing...
Then comes the "strategy" (feel free to laugh). Every now and then you'll find a gate captain who, when killed, can't call up back-up troops from that part of the level. And that's it for the strategy. So basically, the only tactics involved is that whenever you spot a gate captain, you aim your button mashing in his direction until he's dead.
You have two game modes, Musou mode (which is just bog-standard story mode) and Free Mode (replay the levels you've completed). While the choice of 9 characters, plus unlockable ones, gives you slight variation it's not really enough to give the game the variety it desperately needs.
Replay Value
You'll need the patience of a saint to struggle to the game's ending as the levels are huge. And even when you do complete it, the addition of new characters won't make you scream with joy but instead groan as you realise you'll have to complete the game several times to get the other characters. Not many people will have the patience to do this. Most of us buy games for fun, believe it or not.
With the replay value being so low, the only way this game can be recommended is rental. It's the ideal game for rental because trust me, you'll have seen everything this game has to offer by the end of the first night. The characters bar the dodgy dress sense and wonky catchphrases are virtually the same, the levels are almost identical except for the textures used and there's just no variety in the gameplay to keep you hooked.
Overall
Unfortunately Dynasty Warriors 2 is little more than a showcase of what the Playstation 2 can do with it's graphics rather than gameplay. After all the hype, this game was a huge disappointment. At first you'll be attracted by it's stunning looks but before long it'll be gathering dust on the shelf. Rent this game for a night or two but don't spend all your hard earned wad on such a shallow game.
This is a new type of action game that allows you to relive first hand the experiences that made these men and women the Warriors of the Three Kingdom...More at eBay
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