Dynasty Warriors 6 (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.0 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Carolyn Petit
• Reviewed on: 12/11/2008
• Updated on: 12/12/2008
• Released on: 11/18/2008
• Originally published on GameSpot: Dynasty Warriors 6 (PlayStation 2) Review

When it was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 earlier this year, Dynasty Warriors 6 did little to distinguish itself from its predecessors, but it did at least benefit visually from being the first game in the series designed for the most current generation of consoles. Now it has been ported to the console on which the series has made its name, but this PlayStation 2 game is a complete disappointment. Dynasty Warriors 6 not only delivers more of the same extremely tired gameplay the series has relied on with little change for many years, but it also suffers from the severe graphical problems that have long plagued the Dynasty Warriors games.

In excruciatingly typical Dynasty Warriors fashion, you choose one character from among a large number of warriors who all share tremendous combat prowess and a distinctive taste in fashion. You're then set free on large open battlefields, where you mow down enemy soldiers by the hundreds, by doing nothing more than running around and pressing the attack button over and over. For their part, the enemy soldiers seem all too happy to accommodate you, standing around idly as you slaughter them along with 15 or 20 of their identical comrades. Once in a while you'll encounter an enemy officer who may require you to charge up a more powerful attack to break through their guard, and when you grow tired of tapping the square button, for a thrilling change of pace you can push the circle button instead to perform a special attack that lets you annihilate your enemies even more efficiently than usual.

To win battles, it's not enough to just kill hundreds of enemy solders. Each battle has certain conditions that must be met for victory, such as defeating a specific enemy officer or escorting a character to safety. You're constantly receiving status updates on clashes happening elsewhere on the battlefield, units being broken up, and allies meeting victory or defeat. All of this should contribute to a sense that you are fighting in a large-scale battle, but what you see around you undermines this feeling. It's hard to get caught up in any sense of intense battlefield excitement when you're likely to be surrounded by enemy soldiers just standing around looking confused instead of soldiers desperately fighting for their lives.

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