Koei for PS2

Battlefield Action

1-2 Players

Control a Chinese warrior on the battlefield against hundreds of enemy soldiers.

Apparently Koei is trying very hard to lose the image of a developer of intensely realistic turn-based war games. Years ago, Koei made a name for themselves by bringing incredibly detailed games like Nobunaga’s Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms to consoles like the NES. They sort of branched out of the genre with the cult favorite Aerobiz and it’s hard to find "sequel," Aerobiz Supersonic on the 16-bit platforms. Aerobiz is a turn-based simulation of the airline industry, and it’s also a fun game. Recently, however, Koei has undergone some changes in the types of games they’re putting out. Gitaroo Man, Yanya Callabista and the Dynasty Warriors series each explore shockingly different genres, and they’re all good. Dynasty Warriors, which is a 3D fighting game for the Psone, kicked off this series. Dynasty Warriors 3 is set in China’s epic Three Kingdoms era, so maybe it’s not that far a stretch from Koei’s roots, but the gameplay certainly is. Instead of micro-managing your Kingdom, taking part in trade routes and hiring of armies, in DW3 you play as anyone of dozens of legendary warriors, taking to the battleground and waging war against literally hundreds of enemies.

At its core, Dynasty Warriors 3 is a beat-em-up, plain and simple. Your chosen warrior can perform a number of insanely devastating combo attacks as well as a Musou attack, which is your standard super move, destroying anything in its path. If not for its engaging environments, this game could get old very quickly. However, the stages are full of things to find and battles to fight, and strategy plays a large part in surviving to the end. As the war rages around you, you’ll have to choose where to go and which battles to fight, and which to ignore. Protecting your leader is essential, since if he gets taken out the battle is lost. A handy map shows you how the battle is going, with your forces marked in blue and the enemy’s in red.

You move around the map, picking your battles to balance the flow of the war as best possible. Certain areas, called gates, provide a steady stream of enemy soldiers onto the battlefield. In order to stop the infinite reinforcements, you’ll have to seek out and defeat the Gate Captain, a slightly tougher than normal enemy soldier. Accomplishing this will secure the gate he was in charge of for your side, and stop more enemies from passing through. Enemy Generals are another story. In every battle there are Generals, like your own character, on both sides. Some of them are relatively easy to beat, while others will overpower you almost instantly and can replenish their health if you let them get away from the battle for a moment. Defeating Generals helps you power up your character, and they leave behind items that can permanently increase your attack and defense rating. Also, at the end of each battle, your health and other attributes increase based on your performance, and a good number of defeated enemy Generals is the best way to achieve a great ranking.

Incredible detail on the main characters - nice graphics throughout, fogging is abundant but understandable when there are dozens of characters onscreen at any given time. Two player co-op and versus modes. Nice variety of level goals and environments. Dozens of characters to play, including around thirty of them you unlock as you pay the story mode.

It’s repetitive, as any beat-em-up will eventually get. However, the compelling areas and battles will keep this game going much longer than your average mindless fighting game.

Lu Bu.

Graphics – 9 (animation and details of clothing and weaponry is top notch. Even the standard enemies look good)

Sound – 9 (rock guitar takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s good, and the sounds of battle are very good)

Replay – 8 (loads of things to unlock)

Overall: 9