Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 196 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 139 out of 196
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 196
  3. Negative: 23 out of 196
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  1. Lion7
    May 7, 2015
    8
    I've been playing Dynasty Warriors since the beginning. It's the same formula; if you didn't like the game in past iterations, you won't now. However, if you liked the Musou genre and enjoy ancient Chinese history, this is one of the best games of the series and my favorite installment to date.

    STORY: Gone are the days were you could play as characters for decades after their death.    I've been playing Dynasty Warriors since the beginning. It's the same formula; if you didn't like the game in past iterations, you won't now. However, if you liked the Musou genre and enjoy ancient Chinese history, this is one of the best games of the series and my favorite installment to date.

    STORY: Gone are the days were you could play as characters for decades after their death. Stories follow the empire you're playing as, and give you a selection of a few characters for each map. Cutscenes continue to improve (You won't "Feel the power of my magic!" anymore) but can be a bit cheesy.

    The best inclusion, I have to say, is Alternate History/Hypothetical Routes. Throughout the game, you can change history by saving certain generals and preventing devastating events, to unlock a "Best Case Scenario" for your empire. Wei decimating Shu/Wu at the Battle of Chi Bi? Guan Yu winning and surviving the Battle of Fan Castle? It's there, and leads to a relatively plausible and happy ending for your favorite empire.

    You get your typical Shu, Wu, and Wei stories, in addition to the more recent (and historically accurate) Jin story. New to this edition of the game is the ability to play as Lu Bu's empire. While his story ends as sad and pathetic as it did historically, the new addition of Hypothetical Routes allows you to correct his bull-headedness, and let's just say the Hypothetical ending was very satisfying for being complete fiction.

    VOICES: I have to point this out, because it was a peeve of mine in past games. Koei finally has their English VAs pronouncing things more correctly than ever before. "Tsao Tsao" instead of "Cow Cow" (Cao Cao), "Liew" instead of "Lou" (Liu), "Soon" instead of "Sun" (Sun)

    GAMEPLAY: It's Musou. There is this mechanic of Rock-Paper-Scissors with elements on weapons when facing officers, as well as allowing characters to use any weapon they acquire with varying proficiencies. It helps to break up the monotony of murdering mindless masses. As far as the weapons go, the "loot" system is alright, occasionally awarding you with a unique version of a basic weapon, but once you unlock your Ultimate Weapon (and with XLCE, your Ultimate Ultimate Weapon) you'll never go back to them again. Finally, there are a few weapons with completely broken movesets; I found myself able to breeze through tough difficulties by making use of them. Don't do that if you want the game to have some challenge.    … Expand
  2. SidTheSloth322
    May 28, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Firstly, I'd like to begin by saying that I am a huge fan of this game series and so this may be a little too kind on the game but for me it thoroughly deserves a 10.

    For me one of the most gripping things about the game is the characters. Each character has a completely different persona and despite there being 82 characters now, there is still a stage which involves every character to allow their personality come through.

    I have played all of the main Dynasty Warriors games but this was my first extreme legends game and I have to say, I certainly won't be my last. It's just Fantastic! I believe that there are 40 new stages plus a complete story mode for Lu Bu with both a historical and hypothetical ending. I won't give much away based on the story but it's basically amazing! Throughout Lu Bu's story, you can play as 5 characters; Lu Bu, Diao Chan, Zhang Liao, his strategist and new character Chen Gong and his daughter who is also a new character Lu Lingqi. The story is a great way of getting a better understanding of Lu Bu and why he is so dangerous and it also allows you to get to know the new characters.

    For me Chen Gong is now my favourite character! (But I still love Jia Chong)!

    The other three characters are good as well. For Shu, Fa Zheng is now a playable character. He describes himself as a deviant trickster and he isn't afraid of putting Liu Bei in harms way to succeed with his strategies. His weapon is a flying carpet so just think of Aladin. Wu now has Zhu Ran as a playable character. He is a young general who is driven by the idea of being able to set a fire. His weapon is a bow and it is quite hard to control at first but when you get the hang of it, it becomes quite effective. Wei now has Yu Jin as a playable character. He is a hardcore warrior who punishes all who disobey the law. His weapon is similar to the javelin but it has a three element rule which allows you to increase the power of his weapon.

    It offers an extended ambition mode that I haven't started yet and Challenge Mode in addition to the story mode and free mode. The challenge mode has 5 challenges, from arena duels to staying on high platforms. All of which are enjoyable and if you top the pre-set chart for each challenge you get a trophy per challenge.

    The graphics are good on the characters and the things in the centre of the screen however long distance sight can appear blurry. That is my only criticism of the game though.    … Expand
  3. FizCap
    Apr 4, 2015
    10
    Amazing game, I'm surprised the ratings aren't higher. Awesome story mode, free mode and ambition mode. Lots of unique characters to pick from, amazing!
  4. onenaghi
    Mar 7, 2015
    9
    The DW8:XLCE is the definitive Dynasty Warriors experience. It takes the strengths from previous Dynasty Warriors games and improves upon them. But, yes, it's still a Dynasty Warriors game. So be prepared for officers repeating the same lines and the incredibly cheesy cutscenes. But if you can get beyond that, there is plenty of fun to be had in this addictive hack-and-slash.

    The    The DW8:XLCE is the definitive Dynasty Warriors experience. It takes the strengths from previous Dynasty Warriors games and improves upon them. But, yes, it's still a Dynasty Warriors game. So be prepared for officers repeating the same lines and the incredibly cheesy cutscenes. But if you can get beyond that, there is plenty of fun to be had in this addictive hack-and-slash.

    The shear amount of content in this game makes it an excellent value. Unlike some previous entries in the series, none of the 82 playable officers are clones of each other. They all have their own unique fighting styles, strengths, and weaknesses. And even though any officer can equip any weapon, the 2 EX combos gives the players enough incentive to use their own weapons and switch between 2 or more combos through the gameplay instead of spamming the same one over and over.

    The graphics in Dynasty Warriors has never been anything to write home about, but the PS4 version does offer better textures, dynamic lighting, and depth of field. While I didn’t like the depth of field very much, the game gives you the option to soften the effect or disable it altogether.

    But fans of the series will know that one of the most important topics in DW is the performance of the game. Does it slow down when there are many enemies on screen? What is the distance from which you can see enemy officers? Dynasty Warriors does fairly well on performance. There is absolutely no slowdown from amount of enemies and you can see them at a great distance away. However, I did notice the framerate drop some when caught in a fire attack. But thankfully, the game performs well and does not take away anything from the experience.

    The amount of content in the game is absolutely astounding. Not only are there 82 unique characters, there are hundreds of different weapons, including 5-star and 6-star weapons which each have special requirements to acquire. Besides that regular story mode stages, there is also a hypothetical route and bonus stages to be unlocked. Ambition mode is also great way to play the game in a different way and allows players to unlock features such as weapon tampering. All in all, you will not run out of things to do.    … Expand
  5. Associated
    Mar 25, 2014
    10
    It's Dynasty Warriors. I love the series, but if you hate the dynasty warriors formula, you will not like this game. It really is just as simple as that.
  6. masterjohnson1
    Apr 7, 2014
    10
    This is another DW game and what else can be said you like it or hate it and I happen to love the series and will do for as long as I can see it is a great time filler for waiting for anouther game you are looking forward to as well
  7. baxterdaking
    Aug 1, 2014
    10
    Fantastic game. The graphics are immense for a Dynasty Warriors game. Gameplay is surprisingly refreshing and fun to play at all times. Great entry in the series that shows just how good Dynasty Warriors games are.
  8. Steyraus
    Aug 23, 2020
    10
    The precursor to many of the amazing Musou games we would get next generation (Baring is sequel, ironicly) DW8 is the culmination of all the games that came before it and is a blast. Still the same formula people either learn and love, or cant figure out and decide they hate the game with a vengeance. Interesting game that actually very basic but still to different for many westernThe precursor to many of the amazing Musou games we would get next generation (Baring is sequel, ironicly) DW8 is the culmination of all the games that came before it and is a blast. Still the same formula people either learn and love, or cant figure out and decide they hate the game with a vengeance. Interesting game that actually very basic but still to different for many western customer that they just,, dont,, get ,,it.… Expand
  9. WuLuBu
    Aug 6, 2020
    10
    It's more Dynasty Warriors. That's about all that can be said. A power trip taking place in ancient China during the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Fight through literal thousands of faceless mooks are you charge your way to the enemy commander and beat the snot out of them as well. I'm generalizing, but you get my gist. If you tried out any of the other Musou games and didn't like them,It's more Dynasty Warriors. That's about all that can be said. A power trip taking place in ancient China during the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Fight through literal thousands of faceless mooks are you charge your way to the enemy commander and beat the snot out of them as well. I'm generalizing, but you get my gist. If you tried out any of the other Musou games and didn't like them, unless you tried out 9 first, then you probably won't like this. If you did enjoy any of the previous games, then this will probably be a blast with the same gameplay loop you're used too.

    Personally, it's a 10 from me, but I'm also biased in favor of the series. If you have been wanting to try out the series, I'd recommend this one.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Best PS4 Game of 2014
87
#87 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014
49
#49 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. games(TM)
    Jun 3, 2014
    70
    The jump to a new console hasn't done all that much for visuals in general, but the game is undoubtedly neater and smoother than it once was. [Issue#148, p.115]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    May 23, 2014
    70
    If you're new to Warriors, this is the place to start. [June 2014, p.92]
  3. Games Master UK
    May 4, 2014
    59
    Repetition is the order of the day. [June 2014, p.79]
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