The Dynasty Warriors Franchise can arguably be called a miracle of the gaming industry. In the series’ countless releases to date they have always made discrete and minor amendments to many of their games but by no means have they brought about anything revolutionary that will push the Dynasty Warriors franchise further ahead. Although we have endured great disappointment in the past from some of the many medicore titles, the developers keep churning out sequel after sequel until eventually they have left their hallmark for being the one of the most inconsistent success stories in the gaming industry. Will Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce preserve the franchise’s linear path?

It has been a while since we last saw the release of a Dynasty Warriors game. If a lot of are already missing the hack n’ slash button mashing, the abnormally repetitive gameplay and poor technical design then you can breathe a sigh of relief as the next installment is now upon us. If you are solid hater of the series then I advise you not to carry on reading but if you are a long time fan then you might find what else I have to say quite interesting.

Say hello once again to the thousands of AI hordes of soldiers all out to kill you (pity they never can). As some of you may well know, the entire series is loosely based on historical Chinese legends. After choosing a hero from one of three factions its now time to saddle up and begin your conquest in the Chinese territories. Although you start off with one initial character choice, you unlock the opportunity to use more playable characters as you progress through the game. With over 40 playable characters,the game has made an effort to create some scope for that much needed variety and switching between characters at later stages helps to ease the sterile nature of the game. The actual combat mechanics remain the same which is good but the monotonous button mashing doesn’t go away. Another major issue is the camera angle. Frequently you will find yourself in tight situations where yo rely on the camera angle to help pinpoint your foes. Unfortunately it is a little slow to respond to some of your movements and is particularly troublesome when fighting indoors and when performing some aerial moves.

Right from the word “go” the game tries to entice you into the Dynasty Warriors universe by placing you in your base of operations, the city hub, from which you can cycle through missions and customise your character with skill upgrades along with a few other things. For instance trading in Earth Stones and Malachite at the central hub will award you with more upgrades and abilities to use on the Battlefield.  Already the game’s first impressions are creating a slightly more plausible and down to earth scenario. The mission layout of the game has also changed from the game’s many predecessors. Yes there are lots of side missions to wetten you appetite for completing the main story which are layed out in a similar fashion to before - follow you order to achieve your objectives. The only difference this time is that the battlefields are reduced into more concentrated zones where you are expected to carry out your given task. Fortunately you can choose your character prior to deployment to give you a moreflexible approach in completing missions. Officer Cards are also a new introduction which add a more strategic dimension to the gameplay.

Another element of Strikeforce which adds further value to the game is the online multiplayer. Its nothing special but it serves its purpose of giving you a brake from the tedious AI opponents. Like in the single player mode, there is nothing much here to test your skills other than who can press a button the most before their hand starts to hurt. Nevertheless the co-operative play is probably the highpoint of online mode. Fighting your way through thousands of AI enemies is a lot more fun and a lot more efficient when working together as part of a group. Although you often get AI controlled team members when doing single player, their presence is hardly felt and playing with real people around the world is far more entertaining and gives added inspiration. It is also more enjoyable to play through some of the levels where you encounter more than just soldiers. Some of the mythical creatures are a much more welcoming sight and provide a pleasant change to all the soldiers you have been mowing down.

On a technical side the game hardly manages to stand on its feet. Like its predecessors it’s still littered with problems. Loading screens are too frequent and painfully slow. The visual fluidity needs some working on and, most importantly, Omega have got to get some decent sound scores for their next title. Yes they are an improvement on previous games but it still sounds like techno babble in the background. On a positive note, considering how much is going on at any one time, frame-rate stutters are few and far between. Nevertheless, under critical speculation this is a game seriously needs to improve its specs for competing on a next-gen market.

Love it or hate it, Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce has made a few tiny amendments from its predecessor but it is crystal clear that an awful lot more needsdoing. As a result it is a game that holds very little redeeming value. For fans of the series, you will delight in spending a few days slashing your ways through the Chinese armies but for the rest of you it would not be a worthy investment.   

+ Online co-op is fun and engaging

+ Good variety of missions

- Repetitive button mashing

- Apalling background soundtrack

- Disappointing visuals

- Problematic Camera angles

6.0/10

By Ian Ratledge Posted Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 6:10 pm