Dynasty Warriors

The game is well put together, with a nice fast paced combat system that keeps you on your toes. The only thing that looks like it could have used more work is the camera.

It might not stack up to the hugely epic Dynasty Warriors games on the consoles, but the PSP version of the game is a tight little package, despite the annoyance of slowdown occasionally hampering huge battles.

As always, it's a fairly simple affair but fun and addictive all the same to tear through scores and scores of enemies using basic combos. [Apr 2005, p.70]

It's a no-brainer for Koei to bring its cash cow franchise Dynasty Warriors to PSP--what is surprising, however, is the handheld version's flawed controls and fractured gameplay that makes it a harder-than-usual sell for longtime Lu Bu aficionados.

Also a little disappointing is the permanent map display that takes up the right-hand third of the screen and can't be switched off. Some sort of heads-up display or radar option would have been nice, so you could roar into battle using all of the PSP's widescreen real estate.

Enemy AI seems patchy, multiplayer is absent and there is no 16:9 widescreen option; it's 4:3 with the map and info windows filling out the space. [May 2005, p.84]

Fair enough, the action is thick and fast, but it's a bit of a button masher, gets repetitive quickly and doesn't have much aural or visual polish to keep you otherwise interested.

Diehard fans of the series will probably be pleased simply because they can take Dynasty Warriors with them everywhere, though if you haven't been impressed by the series lately, this simplified handheld installment won't do anything to reel you in.

The retail price of the game is enough to dissuade you from purchasing it, without even considering its mediocrity.

Offers a friendly mixture of hands-on fighting and strategy. Certainly the game's portable nature and multiple story paths ensure ample bang for your buck. The game's graphical problems are bad enough, however, that you really ought to rent before you buy.

Unfortunately, a fatal flaw creeps up as the battles grow larger: unbearable slow down. It gums up the works when too many soldiers surround you, and makes the game almost unplayable.

The PSP Dynasty Warriors has its moments, but every one of those has been experienced dozens of times on PS2, and since this PSP game has trouble with the graphics and the stage design, there's not a lot worth rushing back into.

The control is somewhat unwieldy, the camera is clunky, and there's not a whole lot of skill required. It gets old rather fast.

The bite-sized pace of the shrunken battlefields’ brawls robs DW’s gameplay of the urgency and hardcore struggle that characterized its console predecessors.

The action is solid, and fans of the series will definitely get a kick out of it. [May 2005, p.115]

When a game is unpredictably rendered unplayable, spending even one minute with it is one minute too long. [May 2005, p.132]

Though certainly not perfect, especially given the rather extreme slowdown and bland landscapes, this is a deep action game with plenty to grab you.

Dynasty Warriors on the PSP is quite a good conversion of the home console versions. Because of the technical limitations big battlefields have been split into separate small sections. This makes the PSP version lose the free roaming battlefields though, so all that there is to do is slash at hordes of enemies. [Sept 2005, p.67]

A bit of disappointment for Dynasty Warriors fans and newcomers alike. A great deal of potential has been wasted.

This game is either unoptimized or taxing the PSP to the limit, because there's plenty of awful slowdownt to boot. [May 2005, p.96]

With the performance hit, lack of customizable heroes, poorly executed strategy map and inept AI I cannot in good conscience recommend this game.

For the promising set-up, it collapses in the heat of battle. Nearly a full third of the PSP’s screen is filled by a clumsy status display, clipping the peripheral vision that would have been so useful in the chaos of a Dynasty scrum. [Feb 2005, p.79]

The widescreen beauty of the PSP is entirely compromised by the fact that the action takes place in a TV shaped box to the left, while maps and stats fill all that lovely extra space. It's nice to be able to see where you're going, sure, and we appreciate not having the action cluttered by displays and icons, but it kind of takes a way the whole point of having a screen the size of Kansas, doesn't it? [PSW]

There's very little satisfaction taken from pounding on some stupid NPCs for thirty seconds, and unless you're intent on unlocking all of the officers you'll probably tire of this game quickly.