Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

I gave this game a 4 simply because its fun. Is it a good game as a whole? not really. Let me explain.

If you enjoy a good hack and slash, this game will be fun for a while because it does offer lots of slashing and smashing as the series does. However that is about the extent of the good qualities.

The graphics are simply some of the worst to date for a 360 game. It could easily be a PS1 game for the graphic quality, and the sound track is also nothing to behold and finally the voice overs and cinematics are some of the worst I have seen in any game period.

The game content is fun but then you realize wait, its the same thing over and over. Each campaign is EXACTLY the same, the same people, the same country, the some provinces, the same tactics the same music the same outfits, the same options, NOTHING changes. Not only that but you don't even get to keep your upgrades from campaign to campaign.

As a whole its a rental at VERY best, but it won't take long until you are bored of the fairly easy, redundant campaign game, without even any eye candy, as a fan of the series, I am thoroughly disappointed.

I generally like to follow the rule of only playing 1 or 2 Dynasty Warriors games per console generation because they tend to get old after awhile. Fighting the same battles, the same enemies, and playing the same characters gets really old. The Empires versions of DW keep the game fresh for me. Yeah it's still the same old hack n' slash gameplay, but with the added strategy game that, while extremely simple, gives you a reason to play same old hack n' slash battles that you've been playing since Dynasty Warriors 2.

Basically you're fighting over control of China. You take territories, fight special historic battles(not historically accurate but they did take place), ally with other nations and all that stuff. It's pretty fun in my opinion. The last DW game I played was Dynasty Warriors 4 Empires on the PS2 back in 2004 or 2005. Koei did a good job updating the Empires gameplay. It isn't a revolution, but its an evolution.

While the empires mode has been updated I swear to god that the graphics have not. I can't tell if this is an xbox 360 game or a Ps2 game. I'm guessing this is because the game is a port from Ps2 to 360 and not made for the 360 from the ground up. There might be more characters on screen than normal, but I can't tell. Not that it matters since the AI SUCKS. I mean they REALLLLLLY SUCK. The non-general units are apparently just there to huddle around you in a circle for you to kill. A lot of the time they just stand there and don't attack until after you hit them, and even that doesn't happen sometimes...

If you're looking for a fun and simple hack n slash game with some simple strategy elements then this is for you. But I would not suggest buying it.