Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires

This is my first review, so be kind. Like everything I write, it's probably going to be very in-depth but woefully disorganized. If you're looking for a coherent review structure, look elsewhere.

Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires...where to begin. Since it's an Empires title that uses the recently-redesigned graphics and combat from DW6, I'll probably be referring a lot to DW5:Empires and DW6, to draw comparisons.

Let's start with 6. If you haven't played 6 yet and you play 6:Empires, you're in for a bit of a shock. Koei has, for the most part, been re-using character models and movesets through Dynasty Warriors 3, 4, 5 and Warriors Orochi 1 and 2. Dynasty Warriors 6 gave the series a long cried-for reboot which many fans felt wasn't done as well as it may have been. There were many, many cloned movesets, and some of the character makeovers were a bit much...Dong Zhuo now looks like an ogre, Zhang He looks like a pre-op transsexual, Guan Yu has 6" tall spiked hair,...

At the beginning of your quest for full-scale unification you will probably be initially pleased with Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires as you navigate the polished menus and begin to create your harem of unique characters. I know I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Edit Mode (previously known as Create A Warrior [CAW]) had been significantly fleshed out. Starting out with 20 hairstyles (per gender), 20 hair colors, body type, skin color, face options, and even a decent number of voices coupled with a pitch meter, not to mention promises of DLC; it's clear that KOEI really put some effort into it this time around. That, however, is where the effort stops.

Booting up Empire Mode you will be given the ability to play out five different scenarios, one of which (A Land in Chaos) randomizes the control of the land and the placement of officers within factions, which I personally favored the most. You then decide which character you wish to play as, and whether or not you...