Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition

The 8th edition of the popular Dynasty Warriors franchise by Tecmo Koei packaged with the first expansion: Xtreme Legends provides a satisfying hack 'n slash experience.

Dynasty Warriors is a third person free roaming fighting game that allows the player to assume the role of a character from the Three Kingdoms era of China and play through four different campaigns. The roster of characters to choose from is fairly staggering, over 70 in all, and there's enough weapon variety to satisfy even the most fanatical collector. Although this entry into the franchise doesn't break any molds, the game still satisfies the hack and slash itch and does offer some nice updates from the previous game.

Game Play

Dynasty warriors 8 has the player pit their character against waves of soldiers with a sprinkling of officers and stronger boss characters. Not to worry, the characters available to choose from each have a collection of powerful skills and the ability to take two different weapons into battle. Any character can take any weapon into battle, but each character has a specific weapon that they prefer, and equipping that weapon will give them an extra stylized attack as well as that character being more effective with it. There is incentive to switch weapons, as each weapon has either heaven, earth or man attribute which follows a rock-paper-scissors formula against certain enemies. Multiple game modes further expands replay value.

Presentation

Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends is a great looking game and you'll want to keep playing for the special effects that accompanies most of the attacks and special moves. Tweaked controls lets you create a Hollywood worthy flurry of attacks on your screen as combos lead into more combos and you cut through swaths of your enemies. Characters too, even though there are so many, each have distinct play styles and add to the presentation. Characters level up and get upgraded abilities in a low key RPG fashion. There isn't much detail in the customization, but unlocking different abilities means that picking five to take to battle with you will give you some control on how the character plays. The story is displayed through the same kinds of cut scenes that fans of the series are used to, with cheesy voice acting and an emphasis on action.

Pros

• Great looking game with fantastic visual effects
• Customization and options with character selection is truly staggering

Cons

• Heavy emphasis on hacking through waves of enemies, if that's not your thing, this isn't your game