Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends – Review

After popping Dynasty Warriors 5 Xtreme Legends into my beloved PlayStation 2, I was greeted by the all-too familiar ‘Koei Presents’ logo and a fantastic rendered intro sequence; its brilliant up-tempo rock music kicking in and further tempting my thumb to strike the controller’s ‘Square’ button and get things started. You see, I’m a self-confessed Dynasty Warriors fan—but, that said, even I am a little weary of yet another series sequel.

After the always-outstanding introduction (which you can cleverly customize to display whatever characters you desire), you jump straight into playing the game. For gamers new to the Dynasty Warrior franchise, it is by far one of the easiest games to pick up and play; basically, all you’re required to do is hit the ‘Square’ button during in-game combat and, when your ‘Musou’ gauge (a kind of Limit Breaker) is full, you just hold the ‘Circle’ button to acquire your destructive charge. See, it really is that simple! However, it must be said that due to its simplicity you can often find yourself going a little crazy in gameplay terms and attacking any enemy you please rather than following objectives. Yet, mindless bloodletting aside, Xtreme Legends does involve a little more when it comes to integrated tactics.

Battles are markedly harder in this Dynasty Warriors iteration, and you really must listen and absorb any guiding comments and orders that your commanding officer(s) choose to make before embarking on the battlefield. All spoken in-game dialogue, orders, and advice also pop up on screen, which is handy if you’re too busy bashing the ‘Square’ button to react to the vocals, or if you are a hearing-impaired gamer. Oddly, if you don’t die in combat but your lead officer falls, then it’s still ‘Game Over’ and you’ll have to start the battle anew, which helps pull the central player closer to their troops rather than see them wondering off on a one-man destructive spree. Opposing enemies are harder to defeat than in previous releases and some degree of patience is required in order to gain a victory—meaning your ‘Square’ button-thumb will likely be ablaze before the battle is over.

Although the selection of specific warriors you choose from allegedly fought on the battlefields of ancient China, it is hard to separate fact from fiction in the Dynasty Warrior universe. As the sequels have been released they have all been marked with the progressive revealing of more playable characters—but not here—in Xtreme Legends you can pick from all of the game’s characters right from the beginning, which is great. Another fantastic feature to have been added this time around is Destiny Mode. Here you can create your very own Dynasty Warrior (male or female) and lead them through ranked promotions to eventual glory on an unfolding narrative battlefield. And, after completing a few tasks, such as killing a lot of very tough enemy officers, your created character then also becomes playable throughout the game’s other modes of play.

This title certainly does have a hint of RPG to it and this is evident in the new Xtreme Mode. Here you choose either one of the existing characters or a character that you have created and played through Destiny Mode with, and take them through non-stop battles until you die. You can choose the battles and get paid for completing them. The money you earn can then be used to buy health and other useful items. You can also purchase the help of other warriors. Whilst in battle you can ‘capture’ opposing warriors and they will then fight alongside you in your following battle.

Speaking of working together, the Cooperative Mode in Xtreme Legends is exactly the same as in the previous titles; however, the battles are a little different. The objectives revolve more around finding information or acquiring an item (a book for example), and are less about hacking-and-slashing your way through troops and officers—although that still plays a considerable part. I must admit that I prefer working cooperatively, and it does make completing battles a little easier and even more fun.

I think it’s only fair to mention the number of fairly awesome female characters that you can play as, which amount to 8 if you don’t include any custom characters! These blade-slashing ladies come with many different weapons, ranging from massive rattles and flutes, to elegant swords and deadly pikes. The in-game ladies are all speedy and tough, and are formidable alternatives to the stock-standard male contingent—indeed, gamers will never feel hindered by their gender selection. These chicks are strong and agile and kick masses of enemy butt; though, of course, that entirely depends on how good you are as a player (or how fast you can mash that ‘Square’ button—Ed).

Overall, there are not many notable changes in evidence since the last Dynasty Warriors title, but the lack of anything monumentally fresh isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the series similarity means Xtreme Legends is still great fun to play. However, the inclusion of Destiny Mode may not be quite enough to convince established fans to part with their hard-earned cash—especially if they already own a prior Dynasty Warriors title. Xtreme Legends is best suited to the hardcore series fans or those gamers who have little or no previous experience within the world of Dynasty Warriors. If the latter is the case, and you’re a gamer who likes strategy and RPG-based games, then what are you waiting for? Go get yourself some slash-happy Dynasty Warriors action.

Thumbs up: It’s another Dynasty Warriors title, only here all the playable characters are available from the off, just waiting to spring into action—no unlocking required. The new Xtreme Mode and Destiny Mode are certainly worth taking a look at.

Thumbs down: It’s another Dynasty Warriors title. Not much has changed and there are no new surprises. A fresh coat of paint cannot hide that little has been implemented to entice established fans or attract new ones.

Review by Amanda and Colin

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