Review #260: Dynasty Warriors 8

 Do not pursue Lu Bu!

 Dynasty Warriors is back and it's better than ever! By now, everyone should be familiar with the 'Warriors' franchise by now, they are what I like to consider the evolution of the 'Beat'em up' genre. Some love it, some hate it, but in the end it doesn't matter, as the games won't stop coming any time soon!

 Y'know, I could basically copy paste my description from DW 7 or 6's story and it would still hold water, since each game in the franchise is basically a retelling of the same story(Or stories if you wanna be technical about it). DW8 follows the steps of 7, being a somewhat faithful adaptation of the novel, while taking some elements from real history, which inspired said novel. Basically, the four kingdom, Shu, Wei, Wu and Jin get their own story modes, but this time around, there's optional objectives to complete, which will allow you to take an alternate route near the end and get a 'happy' ending. What's more, this time around you get to pick from about 3 generals before each chapter, so you are no longer confined to playing as a designated character on each chapter. As for the execution of the story, in some ways it's better than DW 7, but falls short in others. The game has almost 80 characters now, which means that not every character gets the same time in the limelight. Take Zhang Liao for example, his portrayal in DW 7 was excellent, but in DW8 he doesn't get many scenes. Basically, your mileage may vary depending on which characters you like. Once you are done with the rather lengthy Story Mode, there's Free Mode, in which you can take any general to any battle from the Story Mode, and Ambition Mode, in which you go through different skirmishes to gain fame, gain allies and build a giant Pagoda.

 The game plays like any other entry in the franchise, but it has a few added features and gimmicks. Now, each weapon has a different affinity(Earth, Heaven, People), which works in a rock-paper-scissors way, fight a general using a weapon weak to theirs and you won't be able to stagger them with your attacks, use a weapon strong to theirs and you'll deal extra damage, as well as gaining access to a flurry of slashes that cover a wide area if you pummel them for a while. There's a new Rage Gauge, that once filled can be used to execute a Rage Musou, it combines the devastating crowd-clearing properties of a musou attack, while keeping you on the move. It's amazing. Now there's a different weapon for each general, for a total of over 70 different movesets, and each general has a EX weapon with which he can use a unique attack exclusive to him. Oh, and holding the button that calls your mount now makes it so that your character automatically gets on it when it gets close to you.

 It's hard for me to put my finger on it, but while I found Dynasty Warriors 7 rather lacking, I found this game to be amazing. If you liked Dynasty Warriors, you just can't skip 8, if you want to get into the series, this is the game to get. It will fail to turn nay-sayers, but this is the finest Dynasty Warriors yet.
9.0 out of 10