With the release of Dynasty Warriors 2, PS2 gamers were immersed in a world of full scale battles and actual action that strayed far enough away from the Kessen series long enough to show that Koei really knows how to create an action game. Dynasty Warriors 3 not only builds on that, but improves the game in so many different facets, that it is almost hard to believe that this game comes from a series that is known for a huge story line, historical references and overall strategy! Placing you in the middle of the more turbulent times of Ancient China, you take control of a warrior from a particular Kingdom and fight your way to glory and the restoration of peace and harmony through the lands. Through your battles, you’ll find deep, involving story lines, extensive battles, huge stages covering massive expanses of land and a wide variety of characters that all have their own style, both in appearance and in fighting. If you compile this in with a ton of secrets that you can unlock, several different modes that you can play and the addition of the two-player option {a long wanted and needed option} you have one hell of a game that you would never expect from the Three Kingdoms Saga!
The game play of Dynasty Warriors 3 is extremely expansive in terms of leveling up your character and getting through the different battles that you will have to face throughout the game. You start as a lowly warrior during the Yellow Turban conflict {like in DW2} and have to fight your way through hordes of enemies that charge at you from the start! The better you are at defending yourself and staying on the offensive, the better off your chances are of surviving the battles that you face. You start out with a pair of bodyguards that will watch your back through the battle, but they run off of your life bar, which means that you have to keep yourself at full health in order to keep them alive. In these huge battles, you can go right for the main boss of the stage, or you can go through and explore to find items and weapons that you can use for the upcoming battles! This is a change from DW2 in which you are no longer stuck to a single weapon, but can now find weapons and items that will boost your natural and gained attributes, turning you into the ultimate Dynasty bad ass.
The addition of the two-player mode allows you and a friend to work cooperatively through a split screen type of play in which you need to watch each other’s backs and keep each other alive! This adds plenty of challenge and difficulty to the game play in which if you or your partner dies, the game is over and you have to start over again. You’ll find that it is easier to attain the higher powered weapons through this mode, in which you or your friend can seek out the different areas of the map, while the other kills off whatever is ahead or behind you. Strategy is key in this title, in which you have to pick and choose your battles accordingly, and it is never a good idea to run ahead of the rest of the pack in fear of getting yourself iced by the first huge group of enemies that comes your way! Once you’ve completed the stage, depending on what character you pick, you’ll be treated to another piece of the story through cinematic and therefore, paths for each Kingdom is different. Secrets can be found by just playing through with different characters, so prepare for some extreme replay value.
The control of Dynasty Warriors 3 hasn’t changed much since the second in which you have a normal attack, a charged attack, jump, special attack and bow attack buttons in the same layout as they were in the second game. This will come, as a complete and total relief to those who have ventured through the Dynasty Warriors game 2 and beginners to the series who start here will be able to pick up the controls in a relatively easy fashion! Combinations are still key in which you have to perform different button combination presses in order to get your attack to come off as the most powerful and clearing attack for your character. In cases of where you are outnumbered fifty to one, it is a good idea to learn how to use these clearing attacks before you get your ass handed to you by an angry mob.
Visually, the game hasn’t changed much and in fact, the only noticeable differences that I can see is that the stages have all been redesigned for this title. While the basis of the game remains the same, you still have all of the visual flare and effects that you were hoping for in a sequel to an already bad ass game! Something that will come as a shock to most, other than the lush and beautiful cinematics that pop up in between the different battles and scenes, is that enemies will pop up out of nowhere when you’re surrounded. This is something that you may expect, but the problem here is that you could be taking on a sub boss and get going in a high hitting combination, only to have that person fade out and you end up missing the rest of the combination! I’m not sure which is worse, is pop up or the interruption in game play that most certainly occurs and can turn the tide of battle out of your favor into that of the enemy hands.
The audio in Dynasty Warriors 3 is something that hasn’t changed other than the overall score. You still have plenty of the same rock soundtrack that sounds more like it belongs in a side scrolling fighting game than it does here. That isn’t to say that the game doesn’t keep the pace of the battles or anything, because in all honesty it does, but there are points where you get a little unnerved by the constant guitar rifts that you encounter throughout! Sound effects in the game are well worth listening to, and really put the feel of a large-scale war in your ears. The down side to this is that the voice acting throughout the stages is about as good as the original Resident Evil, and you’ll find the grimace on your face to be more than your ears being aware of this. However, when you get past that, and the heavy guitar rifts in most spots, you’ll find that the audio here is first rate and worth keeping on!
Dynasty Warriors 3 is an amazing game that is almost perfect, but doesn’t hit the mark completely. Once you’ve played through with one character from each Kingdom, you’ll find that the game doesn’t take on any other sort of challenge but the secrets that you can unlock! With the various modes that you can play with both one and two players, PS2 owners should find their way to the store and this should find its way into the collection. Improvements abound, Dynasty Warriors 3 is a treat for any action gamer, and strategy gamers who love the Three Kingdoms Saga will find this to be a worth diversion from the turn based Kessen.
9/10
//KasketDarkfyre
