To begin with. All I really want is a DW2 remake with new maps and additional playable characters. Please!
That said, this is my favourite of the franchise since DW2. Having only played DW2, DW3, DW4, DW5, DW6 and this one (DW8). I will probably end up playing DW7 at some point as well...
Pros:
- Loads of content, I'm over 70 hours in and no where near complete.
- Musou mode follows actual 'romance of the three kingdoms' story.
- Nice character design
- Some good voice acting
- Objectives are fun and influence the battle in a big way. There are many ways to play the same battles.
- Ambition mode - interesting new mode allowing you to play more with your favourite character / faction. It can get a bit monotonous though.
- Nice level design - Not just open plan maps with some forts scattered around.
- Good graphics and cinematics
- It's Dynasty Warriors
Cons (IMO)
- Endless enemies - killing normal troops in this game has become all but pointless. Unfortunately as is the case with most games after DW2 the game is focused solely on killing enemy officers. This game is more about running through countless enemies than cutting them down. Even if you spend the time to kill some they just spawn around you depending on what battle events have been completed / officers slain.
- Character Musou - As much as I like following the actual romance of the three kingdoms I also really enjoy playing an individual characters story within that overarching story. They have also removed all the fun of unlocking new characters after each completion.
- Way too many weapons 1 - you pick up a weapon from every enemy officer you defeat. There is a cap on the total number of weapons you can own, which seems to be randomly generated. So to 'unlock' all the weapons in the game you have to periodically spend about 40 mins selling all the chaff weapons you dont need or want.
- Way too many weapons 2 - I have no idea what the recent obsession is for finding a new type of weapon for every new officer they introduce. Fighting styles, okay, but 3 different types of Fan? Lu Su literally has a rake!? The weapons for some characters are just getting ridiculous. Please take me back to DW2 when there were just various types of realistically sized spears and swords (with the odd strategist and his fan :P )
- Way too many weapons 3 - each officer now has 2 weapons. You can pick any weapon. But picking anything other than the officers main weapon is worse than picking their main. Which makes this option pointless.
- Weapon fight mechanics - because you can pick 2 weapons to encourage you to use both of them you now have advantage or disadvantage depending on the element associated with your or your enemies weapon. This means rather than using skill or timing to win a fight you just swap weapon until you have advantage and end up getting an auto multi-slash attack that can't be blocked. Alternatively just keep swapping weapons to constantly knock down your opponent and deal damage at the same time.
- It is EASY to kill Lu Bu - You know a Dynasty Warriors game is way to easy when you can kill Lu Bu on your first encounter with an un-leveled character. Just avoid his musou and you'll get him. The game ignores if you beat him at hulao gate as well. Literally no reward, which I guess makes sense as it is no real achievement...
I realise my cons are much larger than my pros but it is only because this game could be so great if it wasn't for some moronic decisions. However, it is a fun game with loads of content.
