Dynasty Warriors 2 Review

For PlayStation 2

By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne

Rating: Average
   Dynasty Warriors 2 represents all that is wrong with video games today, 
and all that was wrong with video games years ago.  It suffers from the 
graphics-over-gameplay approach that plagues many of today's games, while 
also featuring the repetitive action that has been around for years.
   To its credit, this game does a decent job of showing off some of the 
power that the PlayStation 2 has to offer.  The graphics are smooth and the 
animations are fun to watch (at least initially), but even the graphics 
leave a lot to be desired.  The level of fog in the distance will make you
think you're playing an N64 game as enemies pop up from out of nowhere and 
occasionally disappear just as quickly.
   When you first start playing Dynasty Warriors 2, you will probably be 
amazed at how many enemy characters are displayed on the screen at once, and
you'll be even more delighted at the fact that your objective is to kill all
of them.  This sounds like great fun, and for about 30 minutes, it is.  Then
the repetition factor kicks in as you eventually realize that you've been 
doing the same damn thing for 30 minutes.  Choosing a different character 
only delays the inevitable boredom that is sure to ensue because each 
character only has a few unique moves.
   It would be hard to enjoy gameplay this repetitive under any 
circumstances, but the embarrassingly bad Artificial Intelligence only makes
matters worse.  You're able to effortlessly kill hundreds of enemy soldiers 
because the vast majority of them simply run up to you, freeze in place, and
essentially wait to be killed.
   All you have to do is stop and look around in the heat of a battle and 
you'll see countless enemy soldiers standing motionless, waiting to be 
killed.  Of course, they don't stand there forever.  They do fight back if 
you remain motionless for about five seconds, but even then it only takes 
one or two blows to wipe them out.
   The boss battles are just as poorly-designed due to the fact that the 
bosses are usually surrounded by 20 or more soldiers.  Going straight for 
the boss leaves you wide-open to attacks from the drones, but attacking the 
drones is a futile task because they quickly regenerate.  The only real 
strategy involved is, "Do I keep attacking this boss or run away to go on a 
wild goose chase for a health power-up that looks like an onion?"
   A two-player co-op mode would have made this game a lot more bearable, 
but this feature is strangely missing.  Dynasty Warriors 2 isn't a 
completely worthless experience because it is pretty fun for about 30 
minutes.  Unfortunately, after you get over the novelty factor of fighting 
it out in a huge war, you'll find that there isn't much of a game 
underneath.

Send your thoughts on this review to jimmy@mastergamer.com

     
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