Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Dynasty Warriors 6 is the continuation of the popular Dynasty Warriors series. You pick an ancient feudal Chinese general and fight out hyperbolized and stylized battles of real historical wars. The gameplay is reminiscent of old-school beat-'em-up games where you are a killing machine versus hundreds (in DW6's case, thousands) of enemies to win back control of something lost to you. With 15 million copies of a Dynasty Warriors games sold, many already know about what to expect here.

What's Hot
If you want pure, unadulterated, constant, mindless, relentless action, DW6 is a great place to start. The amount of enemies that's thrown at you is ridiculous. It is your job to thin the enemy heard by mashing buttons – a lot of buttons. You can easily take down around a thousand enemies (including other generals) in a level. You feel like a legendary warrior because the wake of destruction you leave.

There is an almost an absurd amount of generals you can pick to conquer ancient China with. The diverse selection of generals provides unique fighting styles. The animations are top-notch and smooth (providing the framerate doesn't dip), you look like a total badass fighting the opposing armies in China.

In reality, there is no finer beat-'em-up game on the market. DW6 allows some flexibility and customization to keep you interested, playing the same levels a few times over. That quality makes the experience go down smoothly rather than drag on. This time around, there are minor tweaks and adjustments that refine game and address some problems that were left unaddressed in earlier versions of the franchise, like changes to controlling warhorses and the weapon and item customization. Most importantly, combat has seen some welcome changes.

The enemy AI seems to have gotten a slight boost and there are more enemies on screen than you can imagine. That translates into a gaming world that is full of people and places that will get your attention, more so than past titles. You'll get plenty of mileage out of the title playing with a friend coordinating battle plans.



What's Not
You either love or hate DW6. There isn't room for middle ground. DW6 is a lot like the other games in the series without much deviation. Many of the same battles are rehashed in a newer, prettier wrapper that you have played multiple times over already.

The graphics look pretty when you see the screenshots, there is no question. Problems arise when all those characters on-screen start to move. You are then watching DW6: The Slide Show as the framerate drops to unacceptable levels. Single-player fares much better than playing Co-Op.

The only incentive to play through the game multiple times is to unlock other characters. With the character you unlock, you play most of the same levels you have already played. So while you might get more content, you might never use it because the repetition sets in.

Final Word
DW6 is about as deep as a puddle but that doesn't stop it from being a great guilty pleasure. If you play with a friend in co-op modes, you'll have exponentially more fun. The sixth installment must be a charm because many problems fans had with past titles have been looked at to varying degrees. Still, with all the changes, they still feel minor in the grand scheme of things.