Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires

This product is also called Shin Sangoku Musou 3: Empires in Japan.

Background

Empires is a new expansion disc of Shin Sangoku Musou 3, which contains all new strategic elements. At the beginning you choose one of the warriors to be the lord, then you assign administrative tasks and political tactics to other warriors in your force, set the battle strategies, and send off warriors to the battlefield. The goal is to eliminate the other forces and unite the land of China.

Gameplay

The single-player mode in Empires can be played in two formats: historical mode or virtual mode. The game does not follow along a predetermined storyline, and it is up to the player to determine what order to challenge the lineup of 24 countries. Seizing a country or protecting a land from opposing groups is done through the 3D battle system, while picking a country to invade, checking the movement of forces, and engaging in domestic politics, are accomplished via a menu screen. A player can secure ownership of a new country by taking down the enemy's command base in the battlefield.

In addition to the single player mode, Empires also has a versus mode where the user can play against a human or computer opponent on a vertically separated screen. While the player and opponent can't directly fight each other, they can obstruct each others paths by sending warlords into the opponent's field, or by picking up items that can interfere with their gameplay. Other modes in Empires includes the character edit mode where the player can create a character to play or fight against in the game, and a visual database gallery where the 42 warriors in the game can be seen in greater detail.

Features

New elements:

• No bodyguards, bodyguards are replaced by alliance forces.
• Political influence - make a rival warrior betray his lord and join your force.
• Weapon creation system.
• Warrior growth system - level of warrior goes up when completing certain tasks.
• Troop entry points - you can take over enemy troop entry points by defeating the leader.
• New stages such as high terrain and sand hill.
• New warrior battle techniques.

Hardware Requirements

PlayStation BB Unit correspondence (only HDD)

International release dates:
Japan: Mar 18, 04

Official URL

Official Site