Game File
Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2
Game File
Publisher: Koei
North America Release: October 24, 2006
Number of Players: 1 - 4
Wi-Fi Mode: Ad- Hoc
When I heard about Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2, I was thinking about getting it or not. I didn't know what was in the game in terms of new characters or improvements. I didn't expect any new storylines since it's based on ancient Chinese history unless Koei made up some fictional stories. In the end, I ended up getting it a day after the release date when I first saw it on the shelf. It was mindless purchase even though I knew there are some new characters in the game.
About the game
Dynasty Warriors is loosely based on the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" novel that takes place in ancient China. Although the story is pretty much fiction, the events & some of the characters are real. Three kingdoms battling against each other in order to gain supreme control over China. I don't know much about this historical event, so I'll just stop here.
The game is the same as past Dynasty Warriors games as this is a port of Dynasty Warriors 5 with some features missing & added for portability play. Instead of just hacking & slashing, the game has some strategy elements to it. So you won't be running around the fields mindlessly killing people most of the time. The firmware required is 2.71, which is included with the game.
Like every Dynasty Warriors game, you play as one of the characters from either the Shu, Wei, or Wu campaign trying to gain control of China. When you unlock some features, you will be able to play more campaign scenarios.
Graphics
The still portraits of the characters in the character selection screen are more detailed than the first game. Some look very good & don't have that last minute job appearance on them. Also, the old characters got new appearances & costumes. There is an option to change the model when you unlock the number of experience points required. However, they are just alternative colours.
For the gameplay part, the background scenery looks good from a distance. The close up appearance looks better now as you don't see "blocks". The movements are smooth as they run down the field & swing their weapons. The game has improved over the first one.
Music & Sounds
Nice, crisp, & clean. Although the sound effects weren't great in my opinion. The hitting & cutting didn't sound too real, but it was fair. In fact, it's pretty much the same sounds from the first game. However, it sounds more monaural now.
The music does have an Asian feel to it. More so than the first game to me. But it sounded kind of weird to hear it in a rock style. In terms of getting into the mood, it wasn't too good in my opinion. It was pretty weak.
As for voices, it was surprisingly quiet here. Even at the default game setting & earphones on, the music overpowered the voices. I could barely make out what my characters are saying. All the voices are now different for some reason. It's more harsh & somewhat fake.
Gameplay
If you have played a Dynasty Warriors game before, you pretty much know how it is. Running around hacking & slashing people. If this is your first Dynasty Warrior, don't worry as the game is fairly easy to pick up. If you have played the first game, there are quite a few changes here.
There are 2 playing modes for one player: Musou Mode & Free Mode. Musou Mode is basically story mode. Free Mode is where you can revisit stages you have been. Whatever stats & officers you gain from completing the stage gets carried over, provided that you save the game.
Like the previous game, you go up to level 10 & get reset when you go to the next stage. However, you get to obtain new weapons & actually keep them. Only up to eight though, which isn't too bad. Plus, the weapons have some elements on them & limit the number of attacks you can do. Elephants & horses can be obtained as well & each of them have their own stats. Also, they can be levelled up to rank 10. Officers can also level up to rank 10 as well. Every time they level up, their stats improve & unlock some new skills that will aid you in battle. Some of the battle skills need to be unlocked first, making the game a bit more challenging than before with the lack of items to pick up from the battlefields. Plus, the number of command points actually increases. Now it can be possible to have a couple of high ranked level 20 officers to join up in battle with some weak ones on the side.
Like the previous game, the stage is broken down into small areas. The game is designed like this to allow easy access in saving your progress. Also, it will require some thinking as well. Compared to the first game, this one is harder. Movement will affect your supplies even though you don't go into battle. The condition & length of the path will affect the amount of supplies used. Therefore, you need to plan more carefully. Plus, leaders can leave their main camp & head for your camp to kill your general. These sort of things happen when you trigger some areas you land on & time passed.
Another thing is how musou mode's story is branched off. Depending on what conditions you meet in the stage, you can branch off into one of two possible paths. Because of the enemy movements being more aggressive than the first game, it's quite a challenge. Plus, you will need to complete the stage in its entire by taking over all the areas to unlock playable characters & officers. Luckily, the game remembers what areas you took over the last time you played in that stage. However, it's quite hard to go to places that you never took over with time being the biggest challenge. Plus, the moral system is still here. Also, you can find some hidden areas containing treasure & unlockable officers. Plus, some stages have mini-missions where you save the villagers in a village.
The officer system has improved here. Aside from leveling them up, you don't need to worry about losing them when they die like in the first game. However, you can get some backups of up to nine as doubles. These backups are basically to allow you to trade them with your friends. Also, there are more officers here than the first game.
As for the controls, it feels stiff. I had a bit of a tough time controlling the characters in terms of hitting the enemies the way I want to. Also, the controls are different a bit as the arrow feature is replaced with Musou Rage; a berserk-like mode when you don't get knocked back from enemy attacks. The lag problem from the first game is now gone. Mainly because the background isn't as detailed as before & you don't see the enemy from a far distance. It's kind of hard when you want to chase an enemy down or a powerful enemy comes up closer than expected. Plus, they seem to disappear & reappear from your field of vision even though they only run away from you about five steps away.
Dynasty warriors Vol. 2 now comes with multiplayer games. They are quite simple in terms of the rules as I never tried them. All of them are time limited.
Extras, Bonuses, & Secrets
As you play the game, you will unlock more characters & have a chance to play different campaign scenarios to enhance the game's replay value. They are 48 playable characters. On the officer side, there are 300 officers available. Of those 300 officers, some of them are characters from Samurai Warriors & Suikoden. The characters from Samurai Warriors will have their own sprites from what looks like Samurai Warriors 2 & attack patterns, while the Suikeden ones uses the default general sprites & mimic other characters attack patterns. The officer biography is quite a nice feature if you are interested in their history even though it is brief.
The trading of officers now requires two PSP systems. So, you can't use the swapping from Memory Stick to PC trick to obtain more officers.
Replay Value
With 48 playable characters, each having their own attack styles, this game can keep you busy for awhile. However, the story is based on the character's campaign so you won't get a story of the individual character. Even with the branched paths, you may get bored over time by playing different characters in the same campaign. If you plan to unlock everything in the game, you probably paid your money's worth. The game is cheaper than the first game & has many improvements. At most, I think the game will last you 6 months. If you play it like crazy, you'll probably finish it in 3 or 4 months or less.
Overall Conclusion
Since this is a hack & slash type of game, it can get boring pretty quick. Because of the improvements, I would give this game a 8/10. You get new weapons, better levelling stats, & new characters. Plus, the branching story paths is a welcome attention to keep the game fresh longer. However, the controls feels a bit stiff as it was hard to connect the hits. Plus, the field of vision is now limited due to the lag problem being fixed.
Last updated on August 1, 2007
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