The original "Dynasty Warriors" was a good but lacking one-on-one fighter for the PS One. The sequel approaches itself from an entirely different perspective and takes the "Final Fight" genre to new heights, and a few new lows. It's a solid entry, especially considering some of the other games when this system launched.
Imagine Braveheart, if you will, and change the setting to China. Double the amount of men participating in of the bigger battle scenes, and then throw yourself in the middle of the melee and you pretty much have DW 2. With up to 30 characters on the screen at one time, the game is always pushing the PS2. While all the characters are detailed, the backgrounds take a hit. Also, if there are more than 30 characters in an area, walking will simply make more enemies appear out of thin air, which can cause some serious problems.
The game isn't all hacking and slashing as a little strategy is required. Deciding what group of foes to attack can mean either a victory of defeat. Once in the battle, it's all about taking out as many bodies as possible and moving on as quickly as you can. Your trusty bodyguards stay close and do a fair amount of damage.
With over 3,000 people on a single stage, the adrenaline rush of taking them all out is indescribable. With battles lasting as long as an hour however, things do get a bit repetitive. With a limited number of moves to pull off, you'll find the most basic of moves the most effective and repeating them over and over and over and over and over.....etc., gets a bit annoying. The length of the game is also suspect and a two-player mode would've been a Godsend. Ah well, there's always room for a 3, just ask Capcom.
Fans of action flicks or just brainless button mashing will be enthralled with Dynasty Warriors 2's incredible battles. The 1km wide battlefields are sparsely detailed, but when you're hacking and slashing your way through hundreds if not thousands of guys, do the backgrounds really matter? A definite rental, but a purchase should be well thought out.
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