Conditions for each battle vary from character to character, too, and this time you can actually choose from various combatants before you step onto the battlefield, as long as they share the same kingdom as your original choice, obviously. There were times in previous games when even the highest ranking officers of the challenge mode were the only true adversaries, but these days everything can bite your ankles, from the lowliest infantryman right up to opposing generals - and you can even challenge the latter to duels if certain conditions are met.Īdding to the variety and difficulty of combat is a mass of more varied terrain, with around twenty areas in total, multiple paths of approach demanding more tactical thought, and even randomly generated sections that can be used for ambushes. Those self same enemies that stood around like lemons waiting to be juiced last time now gang up, juggling you from time to time, blocking with greater frequency, and each battle is more difficult as a result. Yes, yes, the polished visuals still tussle with erratic framerates and questionable draw distances, enemies still stand around waiting to be struck from time to time, and the principle means of progression is still slaughtering everybody, making sure that your troops don't wimp out and leave you in the midst of swarming bloodlust, but beneath the surface lies a definite undercurrent of improvement. To fans of the series, Dynasty Warriors 4 is as much of an evolution as the latest iteration of something like Winning Eleven is to its many fans. On the surface of Dynasty Warriors 4, it's a game of spot the difference, and even after a few hours with Koei's latest Romance of the Three Kingdoms slash 'em up we were still glancing nervously at the press materials, wondering whether we'd missed something. We may like to think that it's just the likes of EA who pummel the shelves of retailers with seasonal sports franchise updates, whose subtle alterations generally necessitate much marketing ear-bendery and press release juggling to truly understand, but to say the Japanese games industry isn't guilty of that sort of thing is nonsense.ĭynasty Warriors is a perfect example.

Dynasty warrior 4