Strategy Mixed Button Mashing – Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires Review

<p class&equals;"p1">The <i>Dynasty Warriors <&sol;i>franchise has been around since 1997&period; Originally appearing as a traditional fighting game on the first Playstation&comma; it has evolved into a series that almost everyone moderately involved in games recognizes&period; When you mention Koei Tecmo’s flagship series in conversation &lpar;previously just Koei before their merger with Tecmo in 2009&rpar;&comma; you are likely to receive responses along the lines of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;mindless button mashing&period;” These points are fair to a certain extent&period; The main entries in modern <i>Dynasty Warriors <&sol;i>games feature large environments with endless onslaughts of enemies&period; This leads to some button mashing indeed&comma; but it’s ironic how these grievances are made towards the most popular subset of <i>Warriors <&sol;i>games&period; By and large&comma; each offering is similar to the last&comma; providing only minimal enhancements and gameplay variations&period; It’s easy to clump each numeric increase at the end of the title as &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;the same game with slightly better graphics&period;” There is little reason to purchase every addition since it is generally the same as the title that was released within the past year&period; And since Koei Tecmo is prolific with releasing games&comma; many of the latest end up getting a better addition in the not so distant future&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3"><span class&equals;"s1">Yet&comma; within the normal output&comma; there is a branch of the series that remains under the radar—likely because of the confusing titles&period; They are up to eight in sequential naming now&period; <i>Dynasty Warriors 8 <&sol;i>was followed by <i>Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Xtreme Legends <&sol;i>and finally&comma; <i>Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires<&sol;i>&period; They are marketed as expansions&comma; but really they are standalone titles—adding to the confusion of consumers&period; The really interesting thing is that the <i>Empires <&sol;i>variety of <i>DW <&sol;i>games go against the grain of button mashing&period; Released earlier this year for Playstation 3&comma; Playstation 4 and Xbox One&comma; <i>Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires <&sol;i>is now available for digital download on Playstation Vita&period; You know&comma; Sony’s impressively powerful handheld that sees only a handful of physical releases per year &lpar;only a slight exaggeration&rpar;&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;96159" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-96159" style&equals;"width&colon; 750px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;12&sol;04103055&sol;DW8-Ruler&period;jpg"><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-96159" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;12&sol;04103055&sol;DW8-Ruler&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Be Your Own Leader &lpar;Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires&comma; Koei Tecmo&rpar;" width&equals;"750" height&equals;"422" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-96159" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Be Your Own Leader &lpar;Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires&comma; Koei Tecmo&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3"><span class&equals;"s1">For those unfamiliar with the concept of <i>Empires<&sol;i>&comma; conventional gameplay from the series is present but it’s layered in strategy&period; Before combat&comma; players are tasked to pick troops&comma; weapons and items&comma; and also a battle strategy&period; The combat itself is still hack and slash&comma; but with the preemptive menus before taking on foes&comma; <i>Dynasty Warriors <&sol;i>becomes a unique hybrid of action and strategy&period; Unfortunately&comma; like the previous <i>Empires <&sol;i>entry&comma; little has been added here&period; The main addition is the added element of marriage and children which feels like a nod to <i>Fire Emblem<&sol;i>&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3"><span class&equals;"s1">You have two choices&period; Either you are a steadfast supporter of the highest ranking generals—a mere servant&comma; or you can play rogue&period; Choosing to be a servant allows the possibility of stabbing them in the back&comma; but playing as a freelance mercenary is ultimately more rewarding&period; You set up your own camp and recruit your own followers&period; Instead of being one of the underlings&comma; you are the boss&comma; the one who receives bows instead of getting on your hands and knees&period; The overarching story is unifying China&period; You can do this by picking battles wisely&comma; form allies and make enemies while maintaining a high moral compass&comma; or you can go the route that seems more apt for a rogue-like character&colon; go full on dictator and take everything by force&period; If you choose the route of setting up your own shop&comma; I for one feel as if you will inevitably desire control given your out of the gate choice&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;96160" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-96160" style&equals;"width&colon; 750px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;12&sol;04103044&sol;DW-8-Council&period;jpg"><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-96160" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;12&sol;04103044&sol;DW-8-Council&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Hold Council and Prepare for Battle &lpar;Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires&comma; Koei Tecmo&rpar;" width&equals;"750" height&equals;"422" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-96160" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Hold Council and Prepare for Battle &lpar;Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires&comma; Koei Tecmo&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3"><span class&equals;"s1">The writing is serviceable and the dialogue fits well with the atmosphere and climate&comma; but like all of these games&comma; the story isn’t what brings gamers in&period; A franchise that releases what seems like biannual entries isn’t too concerned about a well thought out and deep story arc&period; Either way&comma; the concept is enough to interest players at the get-go&period; However&comma; what keeps them coming back for more is satisfying gameplay&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3"><span class&equals;"s1"><i>Empires <&sol;i>mixes strategy and action in good proportions&period; Occasionally&comma; the pre-battle menus seem to drag but the refreshing break of combat that soon follows helps ease these complaints&comma; especially since you see how your decisions effect the outcome of battle&period; It’s not mindless strategy&period; If you don’t pay attention to where you position troops or the gear you bring with you to the battlefield&comma; you aren’t likely to have a lot of success&comma; even if you are the best button masher in the world&period; At times&comma; it has a <i>Civilization <&sol;i>feel&period; Not only are you preparing for battle but you are building an <i>Empire<&sol;i>&period; Politics and interpersonal relationships are key&period; The element of marriage and children makes these relationships far more important and intriguing&period; This little feature has the ability to attach players to characters on a deeper level—a sort of shortcut to player emotion in a game with a mediocre story&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;96162" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-96162" style&equals;"width&colon; 750px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;12&sol;04103033&sol;Dynasty-Warriors-8-Banner&period;jpg"><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-96162" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;12&sol;04103033&sol;Dynasty-Warriors-8-Banner&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Eviscerate Enemies &lpar;Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires&comma; Koei Tecmo&rpar;" width&equals;"750" height&equals;"422" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-96162" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Eviscerate Enemies &lpar;Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires&comma; Koei Tecmo&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3"><span class&equals;"s1">On Vita&comma; character models are smooth and environments are only slightly below that of the Playstation 3&period; The handheld keeps the frame-rate steady&comma; only dipping when surrounded by swarms of enemies&period; All in all&comma; the Vita version holds up well&period; Obviously it isn’t as pretty as the Playstation 4 or Xbox One iterations&comma; but the quality hasn’t been significantly hampered with the handheld port&period; It proves to be another notch in the Vita’s belt for its ability to provide full console experiences on the go&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3"><span class&equals;"s1"><i>Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires <&sol;i>is further evidence that the hack and slash series has a little more depth than most people think&period; It’s the best subset of <i>DW <&sol;i>games with the most variety and replay value&period; That being said&comma; the blend of strategy and action will only appeal to certain groups of gamers&period; As a strategy title it is extremely in depth&comma; but when the battles actually start&comma; it reverts to the same button mashing that has defined the series’ public perception&period; Strategy enthusiasts will likely enjoy the rich detail and customizations&comma; but when it comes to combat&comma; those decisions may feel underwhelming&period; Fans who enjoy button mashers and the traditional entries to the series will be turned off by the gaps in action to hold council over your troops&period; It’s certainly a niche title&period; There isn’t much out there like it given its hybrid approach and presentation&period; Despite its limited audience&comma; for those who embrace it&comma; <i>Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires <&sol;i>is a solid and rewarding experience&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"p3" style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><em><strong>A PSVita Copy of Dynasty Warriors 8&colon; Empires was provided by Koei Tecmo for the purpose of this review<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;