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Don't get me wrong, inexperienced players can easily understand the stories contained in this game, but its the wealth of detail that pulls in us old-timers. Besides the great in-game cutscenes, the countless enemies in each battle, and the ludicrous amount of discoverable items and generals, there is also the wealth of history.

The 3 Kingdoms story revolves around one of the pivitol times in Chinese history. The Han dynasty was in collapse, and numerous warlords were attempting to carve themselves an empire. Among the many, there were 3 whose skills at diplomacy, combat, and treachery allowed them to stand above the rest. Dynasty Warriors 4 places you as a general in one of these empires. Will you help your sworn leader conquer, or will you let his enemies succeed.

Choose from approximately 9 starting generals, and with each successive victory gain new choices. Unlike past games, you are free to change your chosen combatant between each battle. Unlocking items, generals, and new stances and weapons for a general you created. That's right old-timers, Dynasty Warriors 4 allows you to create your own general, just like the old Romance of the 3 Kingdoms games. The only unfortunate part is the small numbers of choices for weapons and outfits. Given the large array of uniforms and designs, I only wish they had given these parts to build with.

All in all, Dynasty Warriors 4 is more of the same, but with more options, more generals, more battles, and lots more fun.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Non-stop actions, too addictive.Jun 09, 2003
By NDMac
I haven't had so much fun playing video games for a long time. Although there isn't too much difference between DW4 and DW3, it's still worth a buy. DW4's graphic has improved compared to DW3. Enemies AI has also improved, they now like to backstab you. Duel system is also fun, allowing you to fight one-on-one with an officer. Officers costumes are nicer than before, and many of their moves are slightly improved too. The most important thing is the way you level up your weapon is so much better than before. You now earn better weapon by earning experience points during gameplay like RPG style instead of picking up weapons with random features in the stage. the 10th (max) level weapon is now easier to obtain than DW3. There are also 3 new characters and their moves are unique. Voice acting has improved, but still not good enough, they need to correct their pronounciation of the officers' names - like Cao Cao should pronounce Zhao Zhao, NOT Cow Cow!!! The cut scenes and the movies are also well done. Also, you will need to fight with strategy, mashing buttons will not help much, which makes the game so fun to play. The stages are much more fun than before. Also, now you can get on any horse regardless of your rank. Edit mode allows you to create and customize officers and bodyguards, but the customization is too plain, not much you can do. The new features like siege ramps and catapults and stuff are just eye candies...you don't get to see them too often, and you cannot command them, they will just tell you to protect them from being destroyed by enemies, pretty disappointing. enemies still become invisible sometimes. game is in slow motion when the screen has too many actions, i guess the processor can't pick up the busy actions fast enough. anyway, even with these minor flaws, the game is still very fun. If you've been a fan of DW series, you should give this a try. If you've never played it before and you like this type of game, you should try this out too.

14 of 17 found the following review helpful:

Fun game!... but...Jun 04, 2003
By Zack
DW4 is a great game. I would recommend it especially if you haven't played the previous titles.

Pros (compared to dw3 and dw3xl)
1. Better graphics... more details and colors...
2. Music is more fitting to the story line... (I favored some sort of asian music to go along with the Chinese storyline)...
3. Some of the worst characters in the 3rd game (Zhuge Liang for instance) have been improved... though some have been toned down... (like Cao Cao)
4. Enemy AI is more interactive... sometimes too much... will almost always try to knock you off a horse when you try to get onto it...
5. Many more levels...
6. Enemy archers are less annoying.. even on the harder boards...

Cons:
1. too bad you can't control where the other officers should mobilize/advance/attack/defend, etc... so the game is still a lot of beat em ups... and watching your own officers die on harder levels...
2. there should be more clues in the game on how to acquire special items and level 10 weapons... instead of having to look them up on the net
3. gameplay is still the same basically as the other games...
4. many more levels.. but many of them are basically the same levels with different sections cut off... for instance if you play a level located in one scenario/province... it is basically laid out the same way as another level in the same scenario/province... but maybe with some parts cut off the map...
5. just 3 new characters... and only one of them is actually good (Zhou Tai)...
6. should be more time to duel... should be a full minute... why 40 seconds???
7. can't do multi-juggle combos... computer will always recover when launched into the air...
8. some pretty useless orb attachments... like blast and poison... and death has been toned down a lot so it doesn't always work... just a percentage of the time...
9. overall ... the game is very easy for someone who can and know how to take advantage all the features...

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Great GameApr 13, 2003

DW4 puts you in the shoes of a general during the three kingdoms era in ancient china. You basically just run around huge battlefields and hack away at advancing columns of enemy troops. Those who have played previous installments will notice a lot of new imorovements but nothing too innovative. the souped up charge attacks, and increased number of combos are cool,but the best improvement is the weapon experience system is probably the best feature. no longer will you have to run around chasing supply captains trying to get certain weapons. So to sum it up

-pros
1.weapon experience system
2.better charge attacks and combos
3.improved maps
4.more detailed storyline into the three kingdoms era
5.more scenarios w/ different armies including lu bu
-cons
1.weak voice acting
2.seige engine isn't that great

10 of 12 found the following review helpful:

An improvement, but not an InnovationApr 27, 2003
By Craig D. Reddell "prehistoric_predator"
Let me start by saying I totally love this game. Everything about it sucks you in, and keeps you hacking away. However, while a great deal of problems were fixed from it's predcessors, it plays as almost the exact same game, just buggier. My tohughts are Koei rushed to develop this one, and thus left a lot of things unfinished.

Story/Characters: This is kind of a split for me. While they managed to give us greater background to the story it was done so in a text basis. Most of the previous cut-scenes that added flavor to DW3 (Guan Yu maiming Yan Liang and Wen Chou, or the Triangle Duel against Lu Bu) have been replaced by a simple phrase, "Lord Yan Liang, I have come for your head". Also, those familiar with the Romance Novels will find Koei takes a great deal of liberties(Guan Yu fighting at Yi Ling... it was his death that triggered Yi Ling). But this really shouldn't deviate too much from the gameplay esspcially if you are new, so in that respect I give it a 4-.

Graphics: Firstly, the resolution was reduced, so everything runs smoother, a nice touch. Second, the levels are incredibly re-vamped. My biggest problem with the old games was the large flat areas of nothing, but most of those hvae vanished from this game. The characters are better defined, and Ma Chao has a face! However, DW3 had pretty much pushed the PS2 to its limits, and unfortunatley these great graphics have drawbacks, mainly in the 2 player mode. The biggest problem is if you and your buddy get to close and theres a mob of 15+ guys, you lose your interface screen, and thus have no idea what your health is. Dual Musou and True Musou's are pathetic, and the drawing distance is still pretty bad. Again, somewhat minor, but things that really could have been fixed had they spent an extra 6 months, so again a 4.

Gameplay: They added some nice touches. The AI has made a big step, learning how to block(maybe a little too much) and hit you back. Leaders will make a break for it if their moral is shattered, and can ocme abck in a Gaiden Stage. The first and third Charge moves have been altered, altohugh I was dissapointed half the characters have the same first one. These are nice, but when you come down to it, the basic objective will always be "Kill the Enemy Commander". Siege Engines are practically non-existant(except for the damn Juggernaughts, which are totally unbalnced by having lighting speed, and massive damage). There was 1 new item added(none of the items form XL are in it), and your final weapon is pitful(no stat bonuses, all it does is allow you to use your orb when your musou isnt full). O yes, the orbs, well Ice and Posion are pretty much ineffective(excpet for a few characters), and you'll find that your best bet is Lightning and Fire for damage. All this was meant to balance the game better, but many hcarcters end up falling short(Pang Tong w/o his Tornado Staff from DW3 can't do his Super Musou Charge, Lu Xun is quite slower, and lackes his excellent Death Attack which made him an equal for the Likes of Guan Yu). Not to mention we only got 3 new Characters, and a ... Create a Warrior. While the same concept enthralls me, it just dosent deliever what it's predcessors had.

Audio: Wow, the sound is definetly better. Crisp with wooshes, block breaking, crunching action. The music once again goes into the "Love it or Hate it Category". Some tracks like Yi Ling and Chang Ban have excellent adreniline pumping, yet mood set music. But then we have Yellow Turban Rebellion(whoever composed this needs to be shot, esspcially since every character plays the freakin level!), Nanman, and this one song that sound like a Reject 80's band. And finally the dubbing... I'm used to watching Anime, so I know good dubs and totally awful dubs. Thank heaven this isn't an awful one. For one, the lip synching is done rather well, and we don't have people stretching or trying to speed up there voices. Second, most of the voices fit, Dian Wei, Guan Yu, Sun Jian are really good. Some like Zhao Yun, Sima Yi, and Zhang He could use work, but aren't anything as bad as DW3..."You Flaming IDIOTS!". I big improvement, so this earns a 5.

Replay: With 50 levels as opposed to like 18 you'd think "Wow I'll never get tired of this!" unfortunatley, everyone has the same Musou Mode(One for Shu, Wu, Wei...) Ending( 1 basic Cinema for all Kingdoms, then 4 Indivdual ones for Each Kingdom) and, some levels are re-used(Yellow Turban Fortress and Guan Du). Without Weapons to collect, or a plethora of new characters to try out, there just doesn't seem to be as much to do as there was in 3. Lu Bu is a pushover (aside from dueling, which is rigged anyways due to the enemeis unlimeted msuou, life recharging, and the bug that turns off your items during the duel, but forgets to reactivate them afterwards!). With less events, and smaller maps its some what of a let down, getting a 3.

Is Dynasty Warriors 4 a good game. Yes, infact it's worth the 50 dollars. Is it for everyone? Probably not. Is it a major Improvement? Not really. If you enjoyed the past games, pick it up, and you'll probably still have a blast. If your new, try renting it first, you may become bored within 2 days.

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