When developers make a sequel to a game several times, and it sells well, they know that they have a great franchise. There has been but a few games that have had accomplished this feat: Final Fantasy, Mario, Sonic, and Resident Evil, to name but a few. It is now Koei’s turn to make it into this prestigious “hall of fame,” with the release of Dynasty Warriors 4. This game not only improves the game from all of its sequels, but it even manages to add new things, to keep the formula fresh and new. This is a game not to be missed!

The story is as follows: There has been an ancient grudge, which has brought along a mutiny to end the four hundred year reign of the Han dynasty. With this war, China has been split up into three different states. The Wei Kingdom includes the Central Plains and Northern China, with its capital at Xu Chang. Their goal is to unite all of China and rule it all. Shu Kingdom is in western China, and its capital is at Cheng Du. They are the survivors of the Han Dynasty, and their goal is to restore the old dynasty back in all of its former glory. The Wu king is the last of the three, and it is in Southeastern China, and its capital is located at Jian Ye. The theme of this game is honor and loyalty to one another in the face of all your enemies. Will players be able to handle the pressure and remain true to one another?

There are a few games options and game modes in Dynasty Warriors 4: Musou Mode, Free Mode, Verse Mode, Edit Mode, Encyclopedia, and Challenge Mode. The Encyclopedia is very interesting as it gives a complete list of the characters, weapons, and items that players will come across in the game. This helps players come to grasp that this game is taken from things that really happened in ancient Chinese folklore. Edit Mode will let players have the ability to create their own character or bodyguard in the game to their own tastes. This opens up a whole new avenue of the game, and gives players a whole new level of customization.

Musou Mode is the real meat of this game, as it is the story mode. It will ask players which nation they wish to fight with, and take them on a few stages and different characters to use as they progress through the game. Players will have their endurance and wits tested as they see if they can be victorious for their warring fraction. Free Mode is where players can play any one stage to play. The more levels that are beaten in Musou mode, the more levels players can fight on in this mode. What I really liked about these two modes is that a friend can join you in your quest to defeat the enemy, in other words, a game that actually uses cooperative play. This is a rare thing to see in games these days, and it is always a pleasure to see it used.

Verses mode is when two human players fight off again one another to see who is the best fighter in the world. There are four different types of games to play in this mode: Showdown, Encounter, Influence, and Escort. Showdown is basically a one-on-one match to see who is the best. Encounter is when players will search and destroy the enemies in a darkened room. Influence is a really interesting mode, players will have to use a gain allies to defeat the opposing player. In Escort, players must attack and destroy the enemy carriage, while protecting your own.

Challenge Mode is when players have to clear any of the four challenges and try to set a new record, there are four different types of challenges: Endurance, Time Attack, Bridge Melee, and Demolition. The object in endurance is to see how many enemies you can defeat before you are killed. In time attack, players will see how fast they can defeat one hundred people. Bridge Melee is like a literal king of the hill type mode; players will try to knock as many people off the bridge before they get knocked off. Demolition Mode is for people who are out for destruction, the object is to destroy as many things as possible, before you die.

One of the most interesting things that is included in this game is the Internet rankings. After players complete a level they are given a password to enter into the ranking site. This will prove who is the best player in the world, and give someone true bragging rights on how good they are.

Dynasty Warriors 4 is rated T for Teen for mild language and violence. It will take up 150kb on your memory card.

Graphics: 8.9
There are so many things going on during one game it is amazing. There are literally hundreds of allies and enemies on the screen doing battle at once, with no slowdown. All of the characters have a decent polygonal count, and the entire game has great textures. The character animations are really fluid and never seem choppy.

Sound: 8.0
The music fits this game pretty well. The bad thing in this category is that the voices are horrific. The voices that some of the characters have in this game do not fit the time period at all! This game should have remained in Japanese, so players would have been drawn into the realism of this game much more. The sound effects used are pretty decent, from the explosions to the sword clashing, all standard stuff.

Concept: 8.0
This game type is not unique in any way, it has been around for a long time. What Koei does is add some new elements to make the game more strategic and provide a better replay value. The additions of siege engines makes this game more authentic and helps draw the players more into this time era.

Multiplayer: 9.1
Nothing is more exciting than being able to play with a friend to beat a common enemy. This is one of the best features of Dynasty Warriors 4. The AI in this game is really good, but it is nothing in comparison to what another human can do. The verses mode also offers a lot of things for two people to do. It is a great addition to the game!

Overall: 9.0
If you are into game that are based on ancient history, hack and slash games, or games that are fun; than check out Dynasty Warriors 4. Koei has made numerous additions and upgrades that make this the best in the series yet! This is a game not to be missed!