Dynasty Warriors 7 - Playstation 3

I hesitated about getting this game, because it's new, and expensive, and I thought I play maybe just a bit too much of three kingdoms (DW5, DW6, Strikeforce in the DW series alone). However, the reviews are amazingly positive, so I bought it. And it is a great choice indeed. Before the review, I would like to say, I am actually not yet half way through Shu storyline alone, and of course haven't started conquest mode, so this review is somewhat limited for now. But here it is anyway.Graphics in this game is quite nice in my opinion. The intro is especially splendid, and cutscenes are so much fun to watch. Obviously, it's NOT God of War and quite far from that. But still, good enough for me. Of course, I haven't played that many PS3 games, so my words aren't worth much in that aspect. Also, I am having a lot of trouble tuning the contrast and colour on my TV just right for this game for some strange reason. The default all 50 setting gives a waaaayyyy too sharp contrast and way too saturated colours, so.In game motions are generally smooth and fluid, very comfortable. My PC version of DW6 lags quite a bit (and results in my frequent death, really) when there are too many enemies on screen (of course, it might be a PC version issue? But my laptop is I5 core and by no means too old school to play DW6). Haven't noticed any frame rate issue with DW7 though.Camera, as in all DW games (or, I would venture to say, as in most hack and slash games), is the one true headache in this game. Sometimes too quick a motion will result in really bizzare and "are you f***** kidding me" camera switches. But I did notice that it's actually a lot better than in DW6 and DW5. So there is improvement on that front certainly.Combat system is VERY fun and I really like it. I started out on DW6, and for the longest time I only like the combat system in DW6 and bemoaned the lack of infinitely strung combo in all other DW games. (Shows that I am really just a button smasher, yes I know). But the system in DW7 actually really made me like it. Jump attack and movement+attack are so much fun. And all those different combos you can pull! And the best part, learning those combos is uber easy. Even a casual gamer and your novice button smasher like me can pull off fun things. Also, every character has SUCH unqiue combos and attacks, which makes it even more fun. And all those creative musou attacks! So far my favourite has to be Pang Tong. That fire phoenix skateboard KILLS, literally and figuratively. (My only complaint yet: why is Guan Yu SOOO difficult to use and his attacks so boring, totally does not seem to register with his God of War status! Tears.)A little more on combat and weapon.I am beginning to think that the second weapon is the most fun piece of DW7. Definitely USE your second weapon; even if the character is as designed into his primary weapon as Zhuge Liang, the switch attacks can be very useful. For others, a high-level, three stars non-ex weapon can be even more useful than primary weapon in some situations. Jiang Wei with Guan Yu's pike is just splendid, and I use that heavy pike for smashing ballista and siege engines; it's that faster. And the switch attacks are highly interesting.Now the best part of this game---- no, I wont' say "story"; I will have to say: RHYTHM.I am a hardcore Three Kingdoms fan; read all existing primary histories of that period, and I know the stories like the back of my hand. I am actually slightly less familiar with the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, mostly because I really don't like the novel. (This is a complaint common to history buffs and fans of historical characters; that novel just doesn't do people justice, even thought it is very entertaining.) Of course if you are a Chinese it's kinda hard to NOT know stories of ROTK well; they are everywhere. So I didn't get the kick out of finally learning about and understanding the whole story from DW7. I was only surprised that it is actually THAT true to the novel.But the method of storytelling, the rhythm of that game REALLY knocked me off my feet. You are dropped right into the conflict, and it unfolds there, with only pauses for breath and nothing else. The seamless flow of animation to gaming is already discussed quite a bit, so I won't labor that point too much. But even load screen narrations flow wonderfully well in this game, and I am actually reluctant to skip them (haven't skipped one as of yet)!! (Even though, the translation can be strange. If I get one more line about Liu Bei's "purity"...) It almost feels like that you are living the story, going from one battlefield to the next, with no end in sight (even if you actually know where the end is). People come into your field of vision and exist, as they do in real life. Basically, you get thrown into the world, and it's hard to exist. There is, literally, no place to stop. A river of actions, drama, romance, and very exciting to ride through. A final goodie about the rhythm of this game: it's fast. Even for someone who knows all the twists and turns of the story, this game moves at a vigorous pace, and very exhilirating, so it should be even more so for those who don't know the story. I am playing Folklore at the same time, and my biggest complaint is how insanely slow the story moves.Finally, after all those good things, my major complaint: as usual, voice acting. I have NEVER figured out why the English version of DW can't use Japanese character names. (For example, Ryuubi Gentoku instead of Liu Bei Xuande, Sunsaku instead of Sun Ce.) Most Japanese names are a lot of a less mouthful to pronounce. But at least "Cow Cow" is gone, thank god. Nothing can beat the atrocity that is DW5's voice acting, but this is still bad, IMHO.In conclusion, I really liked this game, and consider it totally worth my money. I know this game is grilled for repetitively mindlessly killing thousands of men (without shedding blood), but I think that's actually not quite true. Because when you play a campaign, you are assigned different characters in different levels, it's actually not that repetitive; you get to see different characters and different moves. The conquest mode might get a bit repetitive for people who don't have that much interest in the source materials, I would hazard to guess.So, if you never played any DW game, I recommend this. It would be fun. If you played DW before and didn't think much of it, then probably not for you. If you are a DW veteran and hasn't gotten bored or hasn't figured the story, this is also for you, lol.

Allow me to start off by saying that I have played just about every Dynasty Warriors title (with the exception of Dynasty Warriors 5) available and keeping that in mind, I always thought that the third installment put forth the best effort.More recently, Dynasty Warriors 6 was released for the next generation consoles, and while it was great to finally be able to play as our favorite warriors in HD, it just seemed to me that things were "lacking." Now Dynasty Warriors 7 is released in all its glory for the world to see, and I must say...I am very pleased with what this game has to offer.So with all of that in mind, let's narrow things down a bit shall we?The Good:-Graphics. This is definitely the most visually appealing entry in the Dynasty Warriors series of games (though should that really surprise anyone)? All of the costume designs and character models prove that some actual work and effort were put into this release, and this can only be a plus for any video game.-Online Multiplayer. I have yet to test this feature out and once I am able to play the game a little bit more, I will edit my review and "fill in the gap" on this portion. However online multiplayer hasn't been available in past titles, so obviously something is better than nothing, right? Again, even if it ends up being horrible, at least we can finally be able to button-mash online with friends. Oh, and according to the case, the game is headset compatible. Yet again, I will update this portion soon.-Story Mode. I'll be honest, at first, I hated the first few battles I tried out within the newly developed "Story Mode" because they were different and unlike any of the past titles. Yet as I kept on playing, I realized I enjoyed it better. While you are able to choose between various kingdoms (Wei, Wu, Shu, and Jin), you aren't able to choose a warrior to progress through the story. Instead, after you select your desired kingdom path, you're forcibly put into the shoes of an officer. Throughout various battles in the storyline, the character whom you play automatically changes (often after being introduced to/encountering new warriors that decide to join your kingdom). In addition to the actual gameplay of the Story Mode, the narrations before each battle are actually quite informative and in many cases (at least for me) you may feel like you're actually learning something. Imagine that?-Roster. I haven't even begun to unlock even 25% of the characters made available in this game, but one thing I know for sure, there is a vast quantity of them. Many of the old favorites and staples of the series (such as Lu Bu, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian) are all here, as well as many other characters (both old and new). Each character offers a different set of attacks and special moves that the player can learn and control, and if you're one of those players that likes to unlock and play as everyone, you will definitely find hours upon hours of fun and entertainment here.-3D. If you're into this sort of thing, and you have a 3D-ready television, then you are capable of playing this game in 3D. I actually didn't even know this would be a feature of the game until the moment I saw a notification on the case when the game arrived; it truly was an added bonus! Again, 3D isn't for everyone, but if it is your "cup of tea," then put on those glasses and step into the world of your favorite characters!The Bad:-Camera. Now I hope I don't get scolded for this one, but honestly, there are many times while I'm playing that the camera just doesn't seem to be showing me what I need to be seeing. In other words, many times, I'll just be swinging towards an enemy officer blindly, hoping that I'm actually hitting him because he is out of sight from the camera (in other words, he is on the other side of the camera if that makes sense). I don't know if this is just a small oversight that can be fixed through an update in the future or if they meant for this to happen, but I don't recall this being an issue in past games. It's not necessarily a big deal cause it doesn't really take away anything from the game, but just sometimes it looks stupid hitting something...yet seeing nothing.-Sound. Now don't get me wrong, the voice acting in this is the best in a Dynasty Warriors game to-date (at least in my opinion), and they really stepped up in that aspect of the series. The problem I have is with other sounds. In particular the galloping of a horse as you ride it. Unlike past Dynasty Warriors games, the galloping just sounds...artificial rather than natural (if that makes sense). I don't know what they did, but it just doesn't appeal to me as much as in past games...yet maybe I'm just being picky? There are other quirky sound moments, however they can easily be overlooked due to all the non-stop action that is taking place.There really isn't much wrong with this game (so far that I've discovered) that I can pick out. The developers really stepped up and did a remarkable job with this entry into the Dynasty Warriors series. Again, I'm going to edit my review somtime within the near future as I am able to play it a bit more, but thus far, here is my overall summary:Fun: 5/5Graphics: 5/5Sound: 3/5Controls: 4/5Replayability: 5/5Conclusion: At the very least, rent the game, try it out, and see if the new style appeals to you. Like I said, at first the story mode might take some getting use to, but aside from that, you will be in for a great gaming experience!:)