there are action games, and then there’s Dynasty Warriors. The series has
been so popular that it made it all the way to #4 in a few short years. Not
one to make us wait for more of what we love, Koei went ahead and made another
Dynasty Warriors game. This time, however, it’s an upgrade disc, and a pretty
potent one at that.
Titled Dynasty Warriors 4:
Xtreme Legends, this disc includes a ton of bonus content and is compatible
with the regular Dynasty Warriors 4 game disc. In fact, saved data is
compatible between both games, adding new content to both of them.
Are you intrigued? If
you had fun playing through any of the previous games you are guaranteed to
have fun with this one.
In terms of innovation
not much has changed. Dynasty Warriors is still essentially a single-player
fighting game. (It has multiplayer modes as well, but those are secondary.)
Battlefields are wide-open spaces, some mountainous, some tree-covered, and
are always filled with several hundred enemies to kill. This is where the
previous games demonstrated PlayStation 2’s power. Now it seems like
yesterday’s news, but to this day I have not seen any other series cram so
many realistic characters onto one screen.
Combos are executed by
pressing one or two buttons in rapid succession. Musou Attacks add power to
your combo and can also add additional hits, but they can only be performed
when your Musou gauge is full. As you probably guessed, you charge the gauge
by defeating enemies or by holding the circle button. Doing it the latter way
leaves you open for attack and is usually not the best way to do it. Musou
gauge-filling items are much more effective and can be found inside barrels
and other perishable objects.
The basics may not have
changed much, but the controls do feel as though the developers gave them a
tune-up before the game was released. They’re a little more precise; it’s
easier to hop on a horse and go on a rampage than it was in the previous
titles (this excludes Dynasty Warriors 4, the game that Xtreme Legends is
based on). It’s also easier to get off the horse, and even easier to get
knocked off the horse by a received jump attack!
You want new modes? This
game’s got ’em. Xtreme Mode is for the strong-willed. The battles are
randomly generated and are built tough to last long. Points are nabbed along
the way; turn them in for items that’ll aid you in your quest.
Legend Mode. This is a
great mode, one that I would have never expected to be featured on an upgrade
disc. I could pass on the story, but the battles are great – in total there
are 42 stages to conquer.
Stages are spread among
the game’s characters. There are more than 10 characters, and each one has a
unique scenario within those 42 stages. Battles have slightly varying
objectives; you’ll usually have to kill the leading adversary, but you may
also have to protect your allies in times of need.
In Challenge Mode you can
use previously saved characters and weapons to score big and beat the record
clear time or number of hits. An all-new Arena course is available for
one-on-one duels. In addition there are the Endurance, Time Attack,
Demolition (break as many objects as you can within the time limit), and
Bridge Melee (try not to fall off while removing enemies from the bridge.
This one is also timed).
Now for the big question:
"I own Dynasty Warriors 4…should I buy Xtreme Legends?" That depends on how
much you love DW4. Xtreme Legends has five difficulty levels (including
beginner and expert difficulties) and is a bit harsher than the majority of
the games released these days. Hardcore gamers are up to the challenge and
casual players who love the series will not quit until they succeed. But if
you think the battles get repetitive after an hour of play, this upgrade is
not for you.
"I don’t own any Dynasty
Warriors games but have enjoyed playing them in the past. Should I buy DW4,
Xtreme Legends or both?" If you just want a ton of challenging battles at a
fair price, Xtreme Legends is your game. If you want a more involved
experience (and less of a challenge), DW4 is the game to get.
Gameplay: 7.9
Characters
galore, and game modes times more! Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends is a
great upgrade disc.
You
could say that it’s a bit of a button-masher, but I’ve never had this much fun
with a game of that kind. The two-button combos make it a bit easier to waste
enemies than if the game had used a deeper system, but that’s part of its
nature. Without a few easy aspects the difficult challenges would seem too
great.
The new
Legend Mode makes the disc worth purchasing, and the Xtreme and Challenge
modes are nice extras for anyone who wants to extend the Dynasty Warriors
experience.
Graphics: 8
In terms of
textures and lighting, Xtreme Legends won’t make any jaws drop. However, the
game still deserves credit for what it has done – cram more characters into
one battlefield than any other PS2 game. You won’t even find a superior title
on Xbox. Console power has little to do with. Game developers have had years
to top Koei and no one has. (Except, of course, for Koei themselves.)
Sound: 7
Cheesy
voice-acting, semi-decent music.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Want an extremely
challenging legend to play through? Xtreme Legends will kick you, knock you
down, and kick you some more. If you’re up to the challenge, get back up and
show ’em who the real master is!
Concept: 7.5
For an upgrade
disc, Xtreme Legends is great. It’s not the most original concept, but the
new content is superior to most console game upgrade discs.
Multiplayer: 7.5
The two-player
mode is a fun way to do battle with a friend.
Developers, if you’re
listening, I’d like to request some more strategic elements for the
multiplayer mode in Dynasty Warriors 5. Each player could have their own army
to control and guide to victory…or defeat.
Overall: 7.9
Xtreme Legends
retails for $10 less than the average sequel but includes more content.
Granted, if this isn’t your type of game, the price will have no bearing on
whether or not you want to own it. But if this is your kind of game, you
couldn’t find a better package. Dynasty Warriors 4 is old enough to be found
at $20-$30 used, so it is possible to get both DW4 and Xtreme Legends for
$50. That’s a great deal. These games have hours of gameplay in them.
They’re repetitive, but not in the way that makes me want to never play them
again. I know that a year from now I’ll go back and play this game, if only
for an hour or two. And that’s after finishing it, which takes quite a while
when you take into account the battle length and how many times I died. With
the exception of the Dynasty Warrior masters out there, death will not be
avoided by anyone. But that makes it more fun. There are a few slightly
similar games out there, but they’re all easy and have no replay value because
of it.
