The "Dynasty Warriors" series is perhaps unique in continuing to release new games while getting, if anything, worse with each sequel. The series was never especially brilliant, simply a satisfying beat-em-up with an interesting and expansive storyline plucked from Chinese literature. Yet as time has gone on, the series has not added really anything into the mix, and even the graphics haven't noticeably improved to the level you'd expect. But does "Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires" buck that trend?
"Dynasty Warriors" is based off of the famous (in China, anyway) historical novel, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," set in second and third century China, as the Han Dynasty collapses. Three kingdoms, Wu, Wei, and Shu, eventually came to split the land, in a rather long stalemate. The novel, 2000 pages long in its unabridged English form, eventually ends as China is unified again under a new dynasty, which unfortunately is well after the video games stop taking any interest in the outcome. Players control their character, using swordplay and quasi-magical powers to wipe out enemy armies, taking individual bases until eventually defeating the enemy commander. The basic gameplay is extremely repetitive, and yet oddly compelling, at its best.
The "Empires" series of "Dynasty Warriors" games are spinoffs that add in a thin layer of grand strategy on top of the beat-em-up gameplay. Rather than playing through the familiar storylines, you can pick a ruler or officer and choose which territories to attack, with the eventual goal being to unite China under one banner. Special cards tied to either a random draw or the officers a ruler controls give you some vaguely interesting choices, attempting to maximize the number of troops you can bring into your next battle.
The major problem with this formula is the excessively static difficulty level. You start off every campaign you attempt with a tough battle or two while you start to level up your character, and after you've won those, unifying the entirety of China quickly becomes tedious. Once your character has been leveled up to a reasonable degree, every battle becomes a simple charge through a couple of bases and the main camp. Enemy kingdoms slowly gain more officers and troops, but not nearly at the rate the player does, and the player's character becomes nearly invincible after some development.
Trying out all the different characters is somewhat interesting, but the amount of tedium it takes to conquer China discourages this. You spend so long finishing one game, that trying out different rulers really isn't worth it. There's not much flavor to the different officers, either, you really just do the same thing over and over.
The "Dynasty Warriors" series has only gotten worse over the years, and yet people continue to play it. The character design is significantly lamer, the voice actors are pathetic, and the list of playable characters has actually contracted! Fans of Da Qiao, Zhu Rong, Zuo Ci, Xing Cai, Pang De, and Jiang Wei will all find that "Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires" has taken out their characters! Given that for a long time, this was the only way each game was clearly better than the last, it's a confusing move to make.
So, what keeps people coming back? The story behind it all is so beloved by those who are fans of the series, that some of them will keep coming back for the same punishingly tedious gameplay. "Empires" doesn't change that. If you don't love the story by now, you probably won't find the game enjoyable. There aren't many interesting choices to make, and you'll find yourself repeating the exact same motions again and again. But Three Kingdoms fans, myself included, are forced to keep hoping, playing each game in turn thinking this one will finally turn the series around. "Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires" is not that game.
Nathaniel Edwards is a writer who specializes in covering controversial video games, the subject of his blog at http://www.legalarcade.com. He serves as gaming writer for http://www.kidzworld.com and contributes articles and reviews for BlogCritics Magazine.
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