Customer Reviews
Note the fun rating. It IS a fun game. But...
It's overpriced.
Wait, before you lambaste me, let me explain. I played the PSP version extensively, hours and hours on end, got farther than I even remember getting. I didn't like it at first, thought it didn't have that Dynasty Warriors feel, and that KOEI or Tecmo was trying too hard to make the game difficult, thinking the increased challenge would improve the game's value. Sadly, that's the polar opposite thing to do if the game itself isn't fun. It's really not fun, until after you've had a chance to build up your character to some decent levels to where you can fight off enemies without dying at every turn, then the game turns it up a notch and you really can unleash some doom.
Those who have not played the game, skip to the very bottom. I've got something for you.
The PS3/360 versions of this game, despite what others might tell you, are 100% identical in gameplay to the PSP version. Meaning if you've played the PSP version, you already know what to expect on this version; from Bi Xie to Yellow Thunder to the Phoenix to the Yellow Turban battles...all are perfectly identical to the PSP version. That's both a good and a bad thing - it's good in that if you liked the PSP version you'll like the next gen versions if you can excuse the fact that the graphics are clearly PS2-ish. It's bad in that really, these versions of the games should be 30 bucks AT MOST. I can actually tell you the reason they cost more.
The PSP version supported multiplayer via adhoc, meaning if you and a couple of buddies all had PSPs in the same room, you could set up an adhoc network and go at it that way...think of it as a wireless System Link setup. The PS3 and 360 versions take this a step further by using the PlayStation Network / Xbox Live to allow friends to battle online together, up to four at any given time (Which I find to be a bit overkill, more on that later). This is definitely a cool feature; even the demo lets you do this to get a taste of what it would be like, and if you've got friends who are on the fence because "it doesn't feel like Dynasty Warriors", you should introduce them to this mode and I guarantee they'll be hooked. The PS3 obviously gets a slight nod here for being free to play online, but it's clear that they added a $20 premium to the game because of the online gameplay. That's their prerogative, but it's really infuriating.
Before you ask, no, you can't cross platform. Meaning you can't use your PS3 version to connect with a friend that has the 360 version. When you want to set up online, you'll create your own "online city", and then invite a friend to that city. The invite is sent within your friends list or within the ID system of the PlayStation Network, up to three friends can join. You can't send invites via email, for example, and there doesn't seem to be any other way to send these invites, so no cross platforming, which is okay. Latency is definitely an issue; I have a NASA-quality connection of 20Mbps down/2Mbps up, and my connection was fine, but my friend had 7Mbps down and probably 512Kbps up, and I noticed him stuttering at times. It didn't detract from the experience with just the two of us, but keep in mind that most of these types of peer-to-peer networks will generally use the lowest connection speed to determine the experience, so if you've got four people going to battle, make sure they've got good internet.
Speaking of the number of people, I mentioned earlier that I've played the PSP version extensively. I've played that version by myself, never did multiplayer (my friends are not local), and I got pretty far by myself. I also mentioned that there will come a point where you can handle any scenario thrown at you, for the most part. Because of this, you could look at the difficulty level like this:
1 person: Extreme at first, Tough after gaining some levels, but not impossible nor a breeze
2 people: Tough at first, still tough after gaining levels, but eventually you'll breeze through things
3 people: Tough at first, a breeze thereafter
This is because of the nature of the game. With the exception of a select few stages where you have to pass objectives to open the path forward, for the most part you could do little more than speed to the bonus objective, pass that, then kill the final general and get mass amounts of points. Lather-rinse-repeat on the same stage, and eventually you'll be at a level where you can dominate your enemy. Two people make this even easier; the experience and items you gain in multiplayer carry over to the single player and vice versa from what I can tell. I might be incorrect in this assessment, but it appears as though the character increases are cumulative. My friend and I are waiting for a significant price drop and then we'll be buying copies to test that theory, but that's what it looks like.
HAVEN'T EVER PLAYED THE GAME?
That's okay. What I said above still applies; it's overpriced. If you've at least played Dynasty Warriors you already know what to expect in terms of selecting a fighter and going out to fight hordes of mindless minions. What Strikeforce does is challenge the way you accomplish the task by presenting it like a cross between a role playing game and Dragon Ball Z. If that sounds confusing, don't feel bad...it's an odd mixture. You'll pick your character, and you select quests at a message board in the town. These quests vary from bandit defeat to saving peasants. Each time you complete a quest you'll be rewarded with experience and money, which both can be used to build up your character. You can also acquire materials in the battle which are used, in conjunction with the money, to build and buy accessories or enhance your weapons. Each warrior has two weapons, a primary and a secondary, to use in battle, and generally the primary is the stronger of the two. The secondary weapon is almost always faster and lighter, and more effective against wizards and the like, though that doesn't stop you from using it other places.
You can obtain accessories that will enhance your abilities even further. Those who remember Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4 might remember the various elements that were presented in the game. With these accessories, you'll be able to add these elements to your attacks. It might seem pointless, but these elements can mean the difference between total defeat and easy victory. Also, the Musou has been changed, to a two level style...the first is an "enraged" mode (thus the DBZ reference), the second is the actual Musou attack. In rage mode your attacks are significantly stronger, and if you have an element like fire on your weapon, your character might add projectiles to his/her standard attacks. While in rage mode your Musou bar will go down, so this should be saved for the most difficult of fights.
In town you can buy various items like meatbuns; they are sometimes found out in the field, but you'll observe in this game that the level of difficulty makes it almost a requirement for you to buy items beforehand. If you try to rely on what's in the field, you'll find yourself face down frequently. While you do get 3 lives (instead of the instant death of the previous games), you will find some quests that will fail you after one death, so better safe than sorry: spend the cash and get some meat buns. There are other items that enhance your weapons as well.
The difficulty in the game is sincerely ramped versus other Dynasty Warriors. This is in part because the enemy generals can also go into rage mode, causing your attacks to not stun or knock them down, and their energy is often so high that repeated attacks don't appear to be doing much damage at all. There are also oversized "character helpers" throughout the game, like Lu Bu's Bi Xie, a giant lion, or the Yellow Turbans' Yellow Thunder, a giant mechanical lightning generator. These add to the difficulty by giving another way for you to die without even realizing it. You can't focus on the generals if these helpers are alive, so the game encourages you to take them out first, but doing so might cost you the bonus for that quest, so be careful.
Is it a bad game? Not at all. It's a lot of fun multiplayer. It's fun single player. But it's overpriced at retail. Definitely wait for a price drop before buying this, because unless you're just addicted to mindless fun, the game is just not fun enough to warrant its current price point, and despite what anyone tells you, besides the multiplayer it's the same exact game as the PSP version (currently available for 20 bucks).
Good hack n' slasher with alot of variety.
Recieved the game (PS3) on the 22nd, and have been playing it off & on for some hours now. It's pretty good if you like fighting games w/leveling perks or are just a fan of the Dynasty Warriors series.
I myself have only DW6, DW:Empires and now this one on console. I've played some of the older games on my PC, so I am a little bit used to the series, albiet not an expert. So far this is pretty fun, not overly complicated but also not too simple. The audio is well done and the graphics are nice although alot of the enemy troops look like clones, this does work well enough for this game as it can get pretty hectic and fast & furious with alot going on at once, it hasn't hiccuped or slowed down at all-plays smoothly. The jumping and fighting in the air is pretty cool, especially since I am using an archer as my primary weapon is a bow. Can pull off some cool double jumps and start firing away in flight, and since I'm basically starting out, I have been fighting mostly ground troops. Jump up on a few ledges and leap off from there spraying arrows into the crowd below, this is works well when they start climbing up the ledges/areas after you. The controls are easy enough, well placed and very responsive (just a tap on a button and it responds instantly). I havn't tried online yet as I am just starting out and checking out of what little I can see of the map so far & getting a feel of the game. The towns offer storage, blacksmith, shrines, guards, merchants,quest boards and more. I think I counted 8+ or so NPCs I could interact with at the beginning town of the clan I chose. The map can be zoomed in and out, you can change secondary weapons with a button press. So far a good hack n' slash fighting game that expands more as you move up in experience, to distribute skills as you see fit for your chosen character. There are 3 clans, each with 10 I think different characters to choose from that are all completely different from each other, although some seem like hybrids of the primary "class" types. DW:Strikeforce allows you the option of installing it to your hdd. The animations are good, the graphics look nice especially the special effects. This was a topic that I had planned to write up a proper review after I play this some more and experiment, but alas there is no review yet. I think it's safe to say people that like KOEI games will enjoy this very much. To me this one is better than DW:6 and DW:6 Empires. There seems to be more options available and more flexability in Strikeforce. On the PSN store there are addons, if I remember correctly. I will edit this mini review as I play it more, so far the missions are fetching, assassinations and diversions that I have seen with some mean arse bosses, again I'm still new to Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce and never played on the PSP, but looking at it's reviews (around 80%+) and much better graphics, the full console version is much more in depth and of course much better looking. I enjoyed Dynasty Warriors 6 over Empires, and this one seems more like DW:6 in gameplay, but just better all around. Much more slick in every way. If you like the series, this game won't let you down. I almost want to say it's DW:6+, but it is much more that that with the much wanted/requested online co-op/multiplayer options. Ok back to my mission of explorational slaughterfest.
Dynasty Warriors
It is another installment for you Dynasty Warrior fans. I bought this for my son who has loved these games since they first started. He had a good time with it and it gave him many hours of enjoyment.
