Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is the first Empires spin-off game to make it West on the Vita, and it's actually a bit of a revelation. The Empires formula fits so well on Sony's handheld that we'd go as far as to recommend this version over its home console counterpart – even if the graphics have been toned down considerably in order to get it to run on the portable device. But before we get into that, we should mention that if you're looking for an in-depth review of Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires, we'd recommend giving our PlayStation 4 review a read, as it's essentially the same game.
With that out of the way, let's get back to talking about the title's visuals. Simply put, this is one heck of an ugly Vita release at times, with very low resolution textures and jaggy character models popping up on a constant basis. This is perhaps no surprise seeing as the PS4 edition isn't exactly a looker to begin with, but we'd go as far as to say that the Vita incarnation resembles a PlayStation 2 Warriors game when it's at its worst.
Of course, all of this is necessary so that the action can stay fluid. As always, Empires likes nothing more than to fill your entire screen with both enemy and allied soldiers, and for the most part, it manages to maintain a solid framerate, even when you're hacking through dozens of foes at lighting speed. Things do slow down when you unleash powerful musou attacks, however, which is disappointing, even if it's not enough to negatively impact gameplay.
Fortunately, the draw distance and pop-in isn't too bad. In the past, severe pop-in has often soured portable Warriors experiences since the titles rely on packing their battlefields with as much chaos as possible, and seeing your opponents snap into existence just feet away from your fighter doesn't really lend itself to such a vision. Again, this thankfully isn't the case here, as the release tends to load everything in at a very respectful distance.
Even with its limited graphical capabilities, it's still safe to say that Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is an otherwise fantastic fit on Vita. Everything that you do in your campaign to conquer China, whether it's invading an enemy, building a facility, or recruiting new allies, takes up one month of the in-game calendar – and it's this structure that lends itself so well to portable play. You can jump into the fray for just a few minutes or spend long sessions developing your kingdom – it really is a match made in heaven.
Empires' devilishly addictive mix of role-playing game elements, resource management, kingdom building, and hack and slash gameplay is amplified on Sony's diminutive device. Because the title's made up of so many different parts, each component remains surprisingly fresh when you're playing in short bursts, and this is obviously something that occurs more naturally when it comes to portable gaming. What's more, if you happen to own both versions of the release, you can make use of cross-save functionality, allowing you to take your legacy with you on the go.
The Vita version also uses the touchscreen to good effect, giving you the option of activating stratagems with just a few taps. On PS4, the controls are a little cumbersome, requiring you to use a combination of the directional pad and R2, which is sometimes a tall order during heated combat. Here, you simply tap your stratagem cards, and they'll unfurl across the screen. Then, it's as easy as double tapping whichever card you want to use. It's just a small touch, but an appreciated one all the same.
Conclusion
Aside from its necessary graphical shortcomings, Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is a sublime fit on the Vita. Its methodical structure is a perfect match for portable play, allowing you to jump in and make some progress no matter how much time you decide to dedicate to the cause. Conquering China piece by piece has never been quite so addictive.
Comments 6
Oh my... Big kudos to the reviewer to review this particular game as it is - a vita game. It was so tiresome in the past to read a review about a game that was also available on more powerful home consoles where most of the review was babbling about how the home console version is this and that.
Finally a review that reviews the game as it is intended for given platform.
For me PS Vita is the preferred gaming platform (I own a ps3 and a powerful pc) so when I want to play a game specifically on Vita I want to know how this or that game plays on Vita and not on any other platform.
This review made me actually quiet interested in DW8 Empires now. I was on the lookout for a warriors game on vita. So...
Thank you for this review.
May give it a second chance on vita, thought my brief encounter with it on PS4 was okay, would probably enjoy it on vita more.
I played the PS3 version and I gotta say I liked 7 Empires a lot more.
They really messed up the 2 player in this one, player 2 is stuck with the default stratagems that come with the any given character which most likely are pretty mediocre.
Also even though I liked that you aren't forced to do every single defensive mission now since the game just let's you fortify your defenses or whatever in the menu, but I feel there should be a much larger penalty if you decide to do it that way, it takes a neglible amount of recources and takes away all the tension you had when you we're being invaded from every side that was present in 7 empires.
Also I don't now if this was a problem with the other versions also, but on the PS3 version there was quite often a problem that the game didn't load enemy mooks fast enough which made overtaking bases take far longer than it should since you didn't have enough enemies to defeat.
8 Empires just was a big cesspool of problems, and seriously do hope they improve on that. And for petes sake please remember that your games have 2 player modes, don't make the 2nd player gimped from the get go.
Read the review but having some questions first how is the storyline? Is it the same as previous Xtreme Legends? Or same story as all of old ones? Could you create your own character and play the story? Could you change the storyline with your created character and finish as you like?
Tnx guys
@italodance
It's more of a create your own story sort of deal. Basically you pick any given character and you're always tasked in unificating China whether it's as a Lord's underling or a Lord yourself (you can pick at the beginning and if you want there are options to betray your lord etc.), you're doing some not-very deep recource management and at any given time you can invade one of your neighbours or they made invade you at which point the game changes to the classic Warriors style gameplay, the difficulty of the battle depends on how well you and your opponent are doing in the recource side of things.
Every now and then when there is a major event (Like you're promoted to a higher rank or you marry someone), the game may treat you to a cutscene, they're ingame graphic cutscenes in which any given character in partake in, they've given all the characters exclusive lines in the cutscenes, but not matter the actors they will always play out the same.
Purchased and so mad, game is online only and more strategy and nothing else, how can I get refund?
Could it be offline?
Edit: Ok solved first the manual sucks even touchscreen function for calling the horse was wrong on it, the menu is shit and hard for using first, anyway got it the right way.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...