A short look at Dynasty Warriors 7

So, we bought Dynasty Warriors 7 a couple of days after release after seeing a friend’s (this friend) copy. We bought it from Amazon for about 35 pounds, instead of the ridiculous 45 pound price in Game.

So how is it?

The core game is pretty much the same, and that’s great if you like the style of game – I do so that’s fine! Dynasty Warriors 6 simpler button mashing system has been scraped for a slightly more complicated but not really system. You use combos, but you can still button mash anyway – you just won’t be as effective.

Another big change is the extra work put into the characters and story. It’s really bizarre hearing all the new pronunciations for names but you get used to it. The story has changed a lot from the previous game, the developers have really tried to make it a much more coherent story, being a lot clearer on when things happen or when a lot of people die – which is pretty cool.

The story mode itself may possibly be disappointing – it seemed a little short. You play the story one time through with the game giving you a different character in each level (usually the most plot important character at that time) as opposed to playing every character all the way through the story multiple times. This structure does make a lot more sense given the emphasis on a more correct time line – some characters die much earlier than others. Another shame is that the main story is strictly single player.

The other main aspect of the game, conquest mode – is where all the longevity is. You’re given a large map to play on, with levels that you unlock. You can unlock characters by completing certain ‘Legendary Battles’, usually ones you remember from the main game. You unlock cities to buy weapons, extra mounts and animals, as well as taking part in the Scholar mini game, answering a long series of questions about the plot to win money, and occasionally a character from the game will be in a town and you can talk to them. There are also levels that are purely for unlocking special weapons, and some just for levelling up your character.

So, the conquest mode is two player offline mode – something that’s really fun to have when you live with another gamer. It’s also very long – the map itself is large – but the levels are replay-able, enabling you to collect all those left over characters, weapons and unlock in game extra’s like wallpapers and voice galleries by unlocking all a characters skills.

So, all in all – while the main story mode was finished pretty quickly, it was great to see the work put into making a better told story, and conquest mode lets you play a lot with a friend and have fun.