A vast land awaits us …

Let us take control of the central plains …

And so it begins.

The warriors move through the world, attacking the waves of enemies that roll toward them, metal weapons shining and thirsting for blood. Arrows occasionally fly through the air, taking their toll.

Omega Force and KOEI are releasing the latest RTS/RPG for the PlayStation 2 with Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires. This title continues the Dynasty Warriors 4 saga and will allow players to do a little micro-managing of resources but also require players to consider movement, defense and invasion tactics in a game that successfully combines a little of the role-playing values with real-time strategy.

If there is a failing of this game, it is one that is common to all the KOEI titles – the camera is fixed and while the world is wonderfully three-dimensional, you cannot rotate the camera to track enemy generals that you have knocked off the screen.

DW4: Empires features some new elements, which include new battlefield areas, more officer abilities, battlefield strongholds that influence troop morale and strength. The title also introduces new modes which are the empire and versus challenge.

For the uninitiated, DW4 can be either purely fictional or historically based. The game combines elements of the game of Risk with hack ‘n slash components. You pick a region, and then defend it or invade other nearby regions. All the while, the AI in the single-player setting is controlling other powers. The end game is to control the entire region.

Along the way, you can capture generals and technology. You can produce new weapons, apply some diplomacy or adopt policies that affect the economy or create temporary truces.

Everything you do will cost money, something you can earn in the game by conquering nearby areas. The game has several phases. You pick an area to invade or defend, pick your officers and equip and then fight. A mapboard shows enemy positions and movement, and allows you to pick your way through the terrain. If you are victorious, you can hire enemy generals and officers or dismiss them. You can also pick a strategy for the upcoming round by purchasing the plans of various officers. They may suggest leveling a character, or put a certain item into production, or even hiring a sorceress to accompany your troops. Every plan has a certain gold value attached and your choices are limited to the amount of gold in your coffers.

The game modes for DW4: Empires include Empire (choose a kingdom, strategy and try to conquer your enemies), Versus (a two-player mode on four challenge courses), Archives, and Edit. Edit mode allows you to create an avatar with six (three male and three female) pre-built characters to choose from.

Like all these titles, you run through a mapboard and attack a variety of enemies. The bosses tend to be mounted and you have to knock them off their mounts before truly engaging them. There are three main attack modes – normal, charge and musou. The latter is a powered-up attack; you power up by defeating enemies and then when you have enough musou, you can launch a devastating and graphically stunning attack to all nearby foes.

Weapons can be improved and officers can be upgraded as well.

Graphically this is a visual treat. Yes, many of the enemy units look alike. But the animation is superb and the environmental elements give the game a smooth and wonderful look. The game does have arcade-like power-ups you can find and acquire. But bear in mind that even as you are moving, so too is the rest of the scenario. You may be on a path toward the enemy stronghold only to have other enemy units, using a different route, capture your stronghold.

The game controls are easy to learn and players can hop into this title quickly. Succeeding may take some time.

While the title certainly has a lot of reflexive gameplay, this is a program that also require thought as well.

KOEI and Omega Force have this style of game down pat. There is not a lot of difference in the style between Dynasty Warriors 4 and Samurai Warriors, but the game still is entertaining and a grand mix between the arcade and RTS/RPG genres. Those looking for an evolving challenge and a game that dabbles lightly in the realm of resource managing would do well to check this title out.
 

Gameplay: 8

There are load times and the missions are timed, but even though you have 30 minutes to meet the winning conditions of battle, the AI seems smart enough to challenge and force players to work quickly and smartly.

Graphics: 8.2
There is a lot of similarity in the NPCs, but the effects are terrific and the animation is very good.

Sound: 8.5

The musical score is great, mixing rock with cultural flavor. The voice acting is not as strong, and the combat sounds are average, but this game is a nice treat for the ears.

Difficulty: Medium

The game has three difficulty settings, which will give players the opportunity to set their own challenge.

Concept: 7

This is very similar in style to other franchises in the KOEI stable. While there are some new features to the series some of the other elements will certainly need to be addressed for these games to continue to draw in players – things like a rotatable camera.

Multiplayer: 7.5

This is fun, but the versus mode is rather ordinary.

Overall: 8.2

KOEI and Omega Force owns this style of game. The sound track is good, the graphics are very nice and players can jump into the game and play without a lot of manual reading. There are some setbacks but they are relatively minor. While the whole line of games are similar, DW4: Empires offers challenge and entertainment.