Fans of the Dynasty Warriors series will be happy to hear that the latest installment, Dynasty Warriors 7, has just been officially pegged with a March 22nd, 2011 release date for the Xbox 360 and PS3. While March 22 is the North American release date, European gamers will only have to wait until March 25th to get their hands on the game.
Other than the sure-to-be amazing gameplay, some innovative points regarding Dynasty Warriors 7 to make note of is the fact that it comes with support for PlayStation Move and 3D displays.
Sounds pretty good to me. Anyone looking to pick this game up next March?
While most series thrive on innovation and change, advancing storylines to greater degrees of complexity the Dynasty Warriors series strides the line between stagnation and enjoyable familiarity with great success. Though not as universally loved as some series it definitely has a huge cult following. The newest release for the series follows the formula they’ve established so far: a new Dynasty Warriors title is released with some alterations to gameplay, improved graphics and possibly some extra characters. Then they release the Empires update which is designed to provide a more strategic gameplay experience.
Here’s the basic rundown on the Dynasty Warriors series for anyone unfamiliar: you (and possibly a friend) play as warriors in feudal China and spend your time plowing through hordes of opponents on a variety of battlefields. Many characters have story modes which are held together by text explanations and cutscenes, though this is a fairly optional experience as the game is in no way detracted from by skipping them. The battles are rather epic as your characters are generally larger than life, featuring heavily stylized costumes and bearing powerful weapons allowing you to sweep aside entire groups of enemy soldiers in a single swing. As you progress through battles you improve your character, gain new and superior weapons and collect horses.
The Empires games play differently than the rest of the series. Gone are the cutscenes and detailed stories where you simply go from one battle to the next. The vast majority of the game is still centered around the epic conflicts, but you’re allowed to do things at your own pace. You begin a campaign by choosing your time period which only affects which factions will be the most prominent.
Ask someone what the Dynasty Warriors series is about and they’ll tell you it’s about richly stylized feudal Chinese warriors thrashing thousands of opponents over an endless series of battles. It’s one of those rare games where the things that some people love are the exact things that other people hate. If you’re like me and can’t get enough of bashing and slashing your way through hordes of enemies, you’ll soon be able to take that sort of fun on the road (or bus or train).
Koei has announced that they’re bringing a new version of the cult favorite to the PSP. It’s not the first title to be made portably in the series, but it’s certainly one of the most exciting since it’s being based off the PS2 version of Dynasty Warriors 6, the most recent title to be released. There’ll be twenty four battlefields and twenty-three generals with story modes to play through including Moukaku (Meng Huo to western gamers) who was included in the PS3 and Xbox 360-only Empires update. As with other PSP titles there’ll be wireless co-op play included so you can team up with a friend. It’s set for release in Japan on September 3rd, with no word yet of a release date elsewhere.
KOEI has recently announced the demo for Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce has hit the Playstation Network for all to download.
Will Curley, VP of Sales and Marketing for KOEI, was quoted to have said the following about the game:
“Being designed exclusively for the PSP has enabled the development team to focus on the strengths of this format and implement a multitude of new ideas and features that really make the most of this hardware. Combine this with the ability to develop your character in so many areas and then team up with your friends and
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce is already well equipped to capture the imagination of RPG fans and action gamers alike.”
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce is currently in development by Omega Force and will hit shelves for the PSP on April 28th.
Delays are inevitable in video game development. Many wail and gnash their teeth, others simply maintain a calm air and assert that more studio time means the game will be sharpened and polished before release. Koei just announced that Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2, the newest in the seemingly endless stream of Dynasty Warriors games is going to shipping to North America on April 21st.
The announcement has been picked up by many sites, but few of them are reporting that this is in fact a delay. The game was originally scheduled to ship on March 27th. With great reluctance I join my voice to the wailing of the teeth gnashers in this case. The official announcement gives no details regarding why the game is being delayed and the why is pretty puzzling as the game was released three months ago in Japan and the quality of translated dialog in Dynasty Warriors has never been Shakespearian in quality.
