The latest game in the Tecmo Koei’s beat ’em up series Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Warriors 8 was playable at PAX Australia ahead of its Australian release. Dynasty Warriors 8 adds nine new characters and a multitude of weapons to the already large list. The game features a new mode called ‘Ambition Mode’ which players are an ambitious young officer trying to impress the Emperor. This mode will feature over 700 allies and upgrading and customizing your camp.
I was fortunate to play a level of Dynasty Warrior 8 – Escape from Luoyang using Li Dian, one of the new characters introduced in Dynasty Warrior 8. The gameplay, like previous Dynasty Warrior games, a classic beat ’em up with a hundreds of enemies swarm and surround you while you eliminate targets and completing objectives.
As the level title suggested, Escape from Luoyang had me escaping from Luoyang, the capital of China during the Han Dynasty, within a time limit. The level began and waves of enemies arriving, slowing my escape. This is was the perfect opportunity to try my character’s Musou – a unique attack that would interrupt other attacks. Li Dian’s Musuo was him launching two spinning discs in an arc shape from his halberd.
Racing against a clock with thousands of enemies between the start and end made the level difficult. It was impressive how many enemies could be present on one screen without having any loading issues.
The game will be release in Australia on July 25 for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360; while already available in Japan, United States, and Europe.
