The sixth installment of the famed Dynasty Warriors series is the first that's been exclusively developed for next-generation content, and it shows.
While the core hack-and-slash gameplay remains, and won't pacify those who look for more depth in their action games, the extra headroom allowed by a more powerful machine has meant that there's been a raft of new ideas implemented to improve the experience.
Core gameplay remains much the same: the main 'musou' mode contains a plot based on a famous Japanese novel but, handily, shoehorns you into plenty of battles with ridiculous odds: you need to run around, kicking the heads of a thousand identical warriors, while followed by a few legions of your own men – who are largely ineffectual when compared to your stunningly powerful warrior, of which there are 41 to choose from.
This time, though, there's plenty more to do on the battlefields. Many more objects have been made interactive: climb towers to take out the arches at the top, or use ladders to scale battlements and destroy cannons raining down on your men. Water is able to be traversed in rowing boats, and you can take control of the occasional piece of heavy weaponry, should your special – and often comically devastating – musou attacks not be thorough enough.
An odd inclusion are packs of wild animals, like wolves, who will sometimes attack you but, on other occasions, go for your enemies. Duelling makes a return, too, but this isn't much more than a button-bashing contest that allows for a couple of free hits on a boss. Bases are also more important and require plenty of effort to break into them – although they normally just lead to another area full of enemy troops. While the new additions certainly help to break up and decorate the gameplay with a few fancy tricks, there's no getting away from the key hack-and-slash components of Dynasty Warriors 6 – which you'll already know if you like or not. It's a game that's not done much to win over new fans.
The graphical muscle of the next-generation consoles also doesn't appear to have been used to the fullest. Character models aren't hugely detailed and suffer from some distracting clipping in cutscenes. The environments are rendered pretty well – although can be pretty sparse – and some of the particle and weather effects can look a bit old-school. All in all, visually, this is a wasted opportunity – while there's nothing hugely offensive and it does look quite nice, games like Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank prove that next-generation titles can be eye-poppingly stunning, even at this early stage. Dynasty Warriors 6 just doesn't live up to these heady standards.
A bit of longevity beyond the main story is provided by an intriguing challenge mode and the ability to level-up and improve your character. There's weapons to unlock and skills to learn in typical RPG fashion, although it's disappointing to note that, where in previous games characters had individual move sets, some minor players now have generic ones shared over several fighters: certainly a step backwards.
Over the six incarnations of the Dynasty Warriors games – as well as spin-offs like Warriors Orochi and a few others – the core gameplay has remained intact and refined. The new additions are a bit varied in quality, perhaps, but if you enjoy hacking and slashing with wild abandon – and don't care too much for deep games – then you'll certainly enjoy this. Just don't expect too much next-gen sparkle: this is certainly an evolution rather than a revolution, and there's no better Japanese battler out there.
