Dynasty Warriors 6 – PS2 – Review

Dynasty Warriors hasn’t been kind to PlayStation
2, and PlayStation 2 owners haven’t been kind back. Though the series has sold
well enough to put it in the 15+ million category (combined worldwide sales
across all platforms), it is no longer regarded as the premiere hack-n-slash
game – a title the first Dynasty Warriors held when it was released more than 10
years ago.

That hasn’t stopped KOEI and developer Omega
Force from trying to get it right, as they have done repeatedly with more than a
dozen Dynasty Warrior sequels, sub-games and spin-offs. For a while you couldn’t
go more than a season or two without seeing a new “Warriors” release. But with
the decline of PS2 development, KOEI has moved many of its games to new
consoles, including the PS3/Xbox 360-exclusive Dynasty Warriors: Gundam.

We aren’t likely to see Gundam (or its sequel)
land on PS2, but KOEI must have felt that one more Dynasty Warriors game was in
order. Rather than move ahead with DW7, the publisher decided to release Dynasty
Warriors 6 – which was brought to Xbox 360 and PS3 earlier this year – on PS2.

That New Game Smell

Since most DW fans have already taken the sixth
chapter for a spin, the PS2 version comes with a few adjustments. If you want to
play the numbers game, there are 41 playable characters (the same as the 360/PS3
version), 19 stages and 45 scenarios from the previous version, five bonus
stages and 10 bonus scenarios (exclusive to the PS2 version), and several
PS2-exclusive weapon changes.

Die-hard fans should instantly notice their
inclusion. Everyone else, however, may be left scratching their heads. None of
the “new” content jumped off the screen. I started the game as I always do,
chose a cool-looking character, watched the opening CG movie, and began hacking
away at the plethora of opponents. It was pure Dynasty Warriors action – the
same kind that was present in the original. After taking a break from the
series, the hack-n-slash insanity could be fun again. But there are several
technical issues that prevent it from bringing Dynasty Warriors back to glory.

Musou Mode

KOEI has promoted the contents of the Musou mode
as being something fresh and new to Dynasty Warriors 6. But after starting a
game and playing through a few levels, there didn’t seem to be anything new
about it. Peruse the manual and you’ll discover that the Musou mode allows you
to “adjust the settings of your officers and difficulty.” No other explanation
is given. In practice, players will see and play the same-old single-player
quest where brief story tidbits are interspersed between lengthy battles of
button-mash melees.

Unlike the
Xbox 360 version,
which runs in 720p, the PS2 version is stuck in the old-school, low-res, 4:3
aspect ratio. That would be fine if the camera system worked, but it hasn’t
changed in the past several iterations. The camera still looks weird with angles
that are cramped into a tighter viewing area than should be allowed for a game
with enemies spanning as far as the eye can see.

Disappointingly, that span isn’t massive as you’d
expect. It would be wrong to expect the game to run the same on PS2 as it does
on Xbox 360. But while the 360 version was littered with some fog and pop-up,
the PS2 version is jam-packed with these problems. Slowdown is a common
occurrence, taking the 30-frames-per-second gameplay down to what feels like
less than 15fps – a speed deemed too slow for gaming, even eight years ago when
PlayStation 2 was first released.

Slowdown occurs every time a large group of
characters (friend or foe) approaches the screen. Given that this is a Dynasty
Warriors game, you encounter large groups in almost every battle. At any time,
near any structure or outdoor environment, characters may appear or disappear.
Half the time you won’t even know they are there – or supposed to be there –
without staring at the mini-map. On the map, enemies are marked in red, allies
are marked in blue. Upon seeing these colors, you’ll wonder why the characters
aren’t physically visible in the game where they are marked on the map. Then,
all of a sudden, they pop onto the screen.

This combination of flawed technology (an
unstable frame rate mixed with disappearing enemies and the occasional character
that flickers like a loose light-bulb) makes it difficult to enjoy Dynasty
Warriors 6. But even if those issues were removed entirely, that wouldn’t stop
players from wondering why the series continues to recycle old levels, gameplay
mechanics, and a graphic engine that should have been buried a long time ago.
Die-hard fans – certainly not everyone – may notice that you can now climb
ladders, a feature that was mysteriously absent from the previous DW releases.
But is that really something to get excited about?

Gameplay: 4.5
More of the same without any gameplay or technological improvements whatsoever. The
result is a game that plays like it was designed 10 years ago for hardware far
weaker than PlayStation 2.

Graphics: 2.0
Fog, pop-up, slowdown, disappearing enemies – these are the graphical
errors of a PSone game. And yet the disc says PlayStation 2.

Sound: 2.0
The same-old Dynasty Warriors sounds.

Difficulty: Easy
These enemies haven’t evolved at all in the past several games.

Concept: 2.0
Almost the exact same game as every other DW title released (the Gundam
edition excluded), Dynasty Warriors 6 is a rehash that tries to re-create that
new game smell with minor adjustments. Just how minor are they? You’ll see a new
weapon or two, and some new scenarios that, thanks to poor level design, feel
the same as the rest.

Multiplayer: 4.0
Two-player co-op returns without any new content to speak of, but have
plenty of control, frame rate and graphical issues.

Overall: 4.5
If this series were to receive a significant upgrade – perhaps via the DW:
Gundam sequel – it could finally move beyond its troubled past. For now,
unfortunately, it is stuck in a dated, mechanically-challenged form that is all
but impossible to enjoy.