Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires (PlayStation 3)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.5 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Kevin VanOrd
• Reviewed on: 06/29/2009
• Released on: 06/23/2009
• Originally published on GameSpot: Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires (PlayStation 3) Review

The human thumb is a resilient thing, and the Dynasty Warriors franchise has exploited that digit's agility for years now. So if you find your own right thumb growing particularly stiff of late, Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires is here to provide your workout routine the button mashing needed to whip it into shape. This comes as no shock to those accustomed to the monotonous and unoriginal combat for which the series is known, of course. Like other Empires rereleases in the franchise, this version of last year's Dynasty Warriors 6 offers a light turn-based strategy overlay to the tedious battles, providing them some welcome tactical context. This addition doesn't make the mind-numbing swordplay easier to stomach. It does, however, allow you to take a breath between battles and exercise your gray matter while crushing rival factions. This makes for better pacing, and while it isn't enough to raise this series from its years-long rut, it does lead to a slightly more fulfilling experience than many other Warriors games.

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Like previous Dynasty Warriors games, this one offers a humongous number of different playable characters, each with his or her own weapon and poorly acted, excruciating dialogue. Like with previous games, you endlessly mash the attack button to slice through swaths of cookie-cutter bad guys that only occasionally find it in their hearts to swing back. And like with previous games, you can unleash a powerful musou attack that lets you hew through even thicker hordes of baddies. So it's more of the same, though there are some additions and tweaks to combat that add a tad (though not a lot) of variety. As you progress through the game, you'll be able to purchase weapon effects that, for example, increase your attack radius or let you do elemental damage. You can also purchase special attacks and abilities, up to four of which can be assigned at any given time; these include fire attacks, falling rocks, and more. Enemy lieutenants and generals are tougher to take down and seem to do a lot more damage, and these effects and attacks help balance the slightly higher level of difficulty. The renbu system from last year's Dynasty Warriors 6 works differently in Empires as well. In DW6's renbu system, you increased your combo count by sustaining a long chain of attacks. Now, your renbu level rises (and your combo potential increases) as you upgrade your weapon, which means there's less reason to care about racking up long chains during battle.

These modifications don't make the combat in Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires feel substantially different from that of previous games. You mash-mash-mash the attack button, and it's just as wearisome as ever, though combatants throw in the occasional string of frustrating knockback attacks to keep you on your toes. It's up to the turn-based Empire mode, then, to breathe life into this otherwise stale endeavor--and to its credit, it makes a stand-up attempt. Rather than plowing through one of the franchise's typically nonsensical stories, you can play as a ruler and attempt to take over China by capturing regions from rival factions. You and each AI officer in your employ possess a card that may be played prior to battle, and you draw an additional one at the beginning of each turn; together, these cards comprise your deck. Cards have various effects, such as increasing troop attack power, increasing the number of resources you earn at the end of the turn, restoring lost troops, and more. Each card has a resource cost; when you can't or don't wish to play any more cards, you can then purchase new upgrades and effects, buy a horse from the stable for riding in battle, or train your base stats. Then, it's off to battle.

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