Dynasty Warriors 7 Review for Xbox 360

System: Xbox 360, PS3
Dev: Omega Force
Pub: Tecmo Koei
Release: March 29, 2011
Players: 1-2
Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p

Of course, you have the option of turning up the difficulty, and the higher levels do require a lot more strategy. You'll find yourself exploring more aspects of the fighting system, including blocking and jumping. But this only stays interesting for so long—it's still the same thing, over and over—and it gets frustrating as soon as you start having trouble.

If you manage to fight your way through Story Mode, you might find some of the other options worthwhile. In Conquest Mode, you're allowed to pick any character (of which there are tons) and fight your way through China, altering the course of military history. Local and online co-op is available in this mode, and it works fine, though it doesn't improve the gameplay any. There's also an encyclopedia, which will prove addictive to fans of series lore.

Dynasty Warriors 7 Screenshot

The voice acting could be worse, but like the gameplay, it's repetitive: Before the end of the tutorial, you'll already be sick of hearing the same two-second lines over and over. For example, when you beat them, officers often say, "I shall return! Remember that! For yours is the first head I shall seek!" The music, meanwhile, is cheesy hard rock, and it only gets worse as it, too, repeats. Basically, outside of the cutscenes, listening to this game is like listening to a CD skip.

Visually, Dynasty Warriors 7 is a big improvement for the series, but it's hardly a leader in the video-game market as a whole. This is no Gears of War 2; the character models look slightly unnatural, the environments aren't as detailed as they could be, and some of the animations look off. Nonetheless, the cutscenes look good enough to tell the stories, and the in-game graphics work well enough to let you fight some bad guys, so the series hardcore won't be put off by the looks.

The movement controls feel a little bit loose without being imprecise, like those in a Grand Theft Auto game. The camera doesn't always stay strictly over your shoulder, as it does in, say, Resident Evil 4, but rather lets you turn around a bit without jerking around. You can adjust the camera by hand if you'd like, but sometimes it's frustrating when you can't see the enemy you're trying to hit. Still, once we got the rhythm of combat down, we didn't have a problem executing combos and special moves.

Longtime Dynasty Warriors fans don't need a review to tell them to buy this game. They're caught up in the story, some of them probably really love hacking and slashing, and, well, good for them. For the average gamer, however, this is a long, tedious, repetitive slog through hundreds of faceless enemies. Avoid it.

By Robert VerBruggen
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.3

Graphics
They're an improvement for the franchise, but not too impressive.

3.7

Control
The camera could be better, but otherwise they're fine.

2.2

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The voice clips and music are repetitive, and the dialogue is often cheesy.

2.8

Play Value
There's a ton of content, but it all feels the same to play.

2.8

Overall Rating - Average
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 - 1.9 = Avoid	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	3.5 - 3.9 = Good	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair	4.0 - 4.4 = Great	5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

Team up with a friend for more difficult battles with bigger spoils from victory.

Return to the Dynasty Warriors franchise, now in its tenth year, with an all-new tactical action game.

Seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes allow you to play within cinematic sequences.

Enthralling gameplay immerses you in every battle.

Choose from a variety of forces to control, including Wei, Wu, Shu, and Jin factions.