It’s been a long
time since I played a Dynasty Warriors game.  I thought the game offered a fun
and thrilling hack-n-slash experience but I didn’t blink an eye when sequel
after sequel was released.  I was just surprised that Koei had developed a game
that was so popular since I was used to playing the hardcore Koei strategy games
that only a small minority admitted to playing.  But in case you didn’t know it
whenever a game becomes successful one of two things happens: either the creator
will milk the franchise until it dries up or other companies will release games
closely resembling the original hit.

 

In the case of
Dynasty Warriors both scenarios have come true.  Check out your local game
store and count how many versions of Dynasty Warriors have been released.  
Then check out how many copycat games have been released that are similar to
Dynasty Warriors.  With Devil Kings for PS2 we’re treated to another game
that follows the same formula perfected in Dynasty Warriors.  Ancient
battles set in the orient, gigantic conflicts with hundreds of enemies and
powerful leaders that become a one man (or lady) army.  I will mention at
this point in the review that if you’ve bought every version of Dynasty Warriors
and still can’t get enough then stop reading the review and go buy the game. 
Come back later and discuss the game in our message boards.  For the rest
of you still with me then let’s move on.

 

 

 

The game starts
off with six Generals that you can select from to control during the battles. 
All of the generals have their own weapons and an elemental attribute that they
can use during combat.  The controls are the same for each general with each
character having two standard attacks (a normal attack and special attack) and a
Fury attack.  During the battles you are king since you can eliminate hundreds
to thousands of enemies by yourself without any assistance.  You have to build
up your fury meter before you can execute a fury attack but I was able to hold
off on using the fury attack until I got in a tight situation.

 

Generals have
their own individual weapons and attacks, which does create some replay value if
you’re dying to find out how each character performs.  Each general also has his
or her own statistics such as experience points that you increase after each
battle.  The more enemies you destroy and treasure you discover the more
experience points you can earn to increase the stats of your general.  All of
your weapons and armor can be upgraded with items you’ve acquired during
combat.  If you possess an item that is at a higher level than your current
weapon or armor then you can select the item to use.  Any lower level items you
collect during combat are discarded once you exit out of the item selection
screen. 

 

 

The combat
selection screen does offer a small glimmer of strategy since you can choose
which area/general to attack.  The selection screen shows all of the lands you
occupy and the lands occupied by the other generals.  The ultimate goal is to
control all of the lands on the selection screen.  By defeating the boss that
controls a particular area you will usually gain control over his land.  But if
a general has conquered several areas already then it could take a few
encounters with that general before you win all of his or her land.  Other
special encounters will pop up from time to time depending on certain events in
the game. 

 

Besides a few
snippets of strategy the rest of the game is just a straight action game.  Your
general is one bad son of a gun that can cut down almost an entire army.  The
game offers a few choices to you such as which path to take during combat. 
Depending on the path you take could determine the type of treasures you
discover and the number of enemies you will encounter.   But the game doesn’t
fault you for which path you select since you can plow through almost every
enemy in the game without a second thought.  Some of the boss battles can be a
little challenging since you’re fighting a general at the same time you’re
fighting his minions.  The generals will perform special attacks that you will
need to pay close attention to since it’s easy to get distracted by his or her
attacking soldiers. 

 

 

 

The battles in the
game are the biggest draw and a huge weakness of the game.  Pulling off a three
hundred hit combo attack is awesome the first few times but after a few battles
the action gets repetitive.  This isn’t to imply that Devil Kings isn’t a fun
game because it does offer a fun and thrilling experience.  Becoming a one-man
army capable of taking out an army composed of  thousands of soldiers does
kick booty.  Its just a little bit of variety would have gone a long way to keep
the action from becoming repetitive.  If you’re use to this type of action
because you’re a Dynasty Warrior fanatic then Devil King will offer another 10
to 20 hours of gameplay and you won’t think twice about it. 

 

The graphics in
the game we’re well done but with a few minor hiccups.  The game was able to
present what appeared to be hundreds of enemy soldiers on the screen at one
time.  I never noticed any slow down while playing the game even with the screen
loaded with characters.  The detail of the buildings and landscape were a little
barren since most of the graphics focused on the characters in the game.  Most
of the character models would repeat themselves just with some different colors
during certain stages.  The different locations throughout the game would have
their own unique look to them.  For example one stage had you playing through
what appeared to be a desert town while another area was on a snowy
mountaintop.  The one big hiccup with the graphics was the draw-in factor. 
During certain sections of a level the next set of soldiers and buildings would
just pop up out of nowhere. 

 

 

 

The graphics for
the cutscenes were very impressive with some of the best CG (computer generated)
work I’ve seen on the PS2.  The game even offers some of the cutscenes in the
Japanese animation style.  This was an excellent surprise since it offers a
different atmosphere to the game when compared to the CG work.  Each character
has their own unique story and the story is told via the CG or anime cutscenes. 
If you want to watch every cutscene in the game you will need to play through
the game with each general.  You will unlock additional generals as you complete
the game with the other generals.

 

If you’ve made it
this far in the review then I have to take a guess as to why.  My first guess
would be that you’ve never played a Dynasty Warrior game and wanted more
information on Devil Kings.  Another guess would be that you think with the
title Devil Kings that Capcom has released a new chapter in the Devil May Cry
series.  That is definitely not the case with Devil Kings, even though it does
mention Devil May Cry on the back of the box (it says From the creators of
Resident Evil and Devil May Cry).  Or maybe you’ve played all of the Dynasty
Warrior games and wanted as much information as possible on what Devil Kings has
to offer.  Well just remember imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but
sometimes flattery doesn’t get you anywhere. 
 

 

Gameplay 7.1 

If you’re looking
for a game to let out some aggression by plowing through an army of soldiers
with just one person then look no farther than Devil Kings.  You are a one man
wrecking crew that can’t be stopped……well close enough anyway.  The ability
to learn new attacks and increase the level of your general helps in trying to
alleviate the repetitiveness of the action in the game.  But in the end Devil
Kings is still just a glorified hack-n-slash game.

 

Graphics 7.5 

The graphics of
generals were well done with each general having their own unique look and
animations during combat.  The graphics in the CG cutscenes were top notch and
the anime cutscenes were a nice change of pace from the usual.  The buildings
were usually void of detail with most of the buildings looking similar to each
other.  The different stages did have their own individual look to them but were
still lacking tons of detail.  Most of the graphics were focused on displaying a
large amount of enemy soldiers on the screen at one time.  This would work
during most of the game but there was an occasional problem with draw-in.  The
characters and locations would just pop up out of nowhere. 

 

Sound 6.0 

The sound effects
of the weapons slashing through the enemy and some of the background music
helped in setting the atmosphere of the game.  But I should mention that some of
the voice acting in the game was horrible.  One of the female generals in the
game sounded similar to Dolly Parton (the country singer).  The other outspoken
generals in the game would spew out some of the most ridiculous lines I’ve heard
in a game in a while.  Be prepared to cringe at most of the voice acting in the
game.

 

Difficulty
Easy/Medium 

The game offers
three difficulty settings: easy, medium and hard.  No one should have any big
problems making it through the game on the easy or medium settings. 

 

Multiplayer N/A 

This is a single
player game.  An online option would have been a nice addition or even a two
player split screen mode but maybe for Devil Kings 2.

 

Concept 6.0 

We’ve seen this
type of game before and I’ve mentioned this already.  One of my favorite singers
was asked one time about lifting ideas from other songs.  He replied that it’s
better to try and steal a diamond than a rock.  I’m not sure how much of the
sparkle was left on the diamond that was Dynasty Warrior.

 

Overall 6.7 

As I’ve mentioned
earlier Devil Kings isn’t a bad game it’s just a game that doesn’t offer
anything new and exciting that we have played before in another game.  If you
absolutely love this type of game then Devil Kings will please but not impress. 
If you’ve never played this type of game before then by all means give Devil
Kings a chance.  Just take it in moderation since the game does get repetitive.

 

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