I’ve been covering a game known as Dynasty Warriors Multi Raid for the past few weeks, eager to see more about the latest PSP offering from Koei. At today’s Koei press conference, I got to see a lot more of what is now called Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce, and have some fresh info and hands-on experience.
What more is there to know outside of the fact that the characters can go all Super Saiyan? Quite a bit, actually, because this game did not turn out quite how I expected.
Read on for more …
The first thing to know about Strikeforce is that, for the first time in a long time, co-op is back where it belongs, with not just two-player, but four-player games available. In fact, Koei seems to have learned a lot from the success of Monster Hunter on the PSP, and has made four-player co-op the main selling point of this new handheld DW.
The game is aiming to be built around multiplayer, providing a deeper and more unique experience than previous Warriors games. The aim of the game is to accept quests and then assemble a “Strikeforce” to take out a variety of heavily armed strongholds. Players will need to use teamwork to survive, and can band together to lure enemies into traps, confuse them and perform co-ordinated attacks.
Not only is the structure shaken up, but the gameplay has been added to in many ways. As well as ground-based attacks, air combat is a big part of the fighting, which takes the Dragonball Z motif to even greater heights. Now players can use dash moves to glide on the ground and in the air, and use new aerial attacks on enemies. Each character gets a limited amount of time to fight in the air, and if done right, players can achieve some ridiculous heights.
The most publicized part of the game was the “Awakening” feature, which is the “Super Saiyan” power ups that were revealed when the game was first announced. The Awakening gauge has replaced the old Musou gauge, filling up when damage is taken and received. Once it is filled, the character can enter Awakening mode by holding triangle and circle, which changes their appearance, heightens their abilities and lets them fight in the air longer.
Customization is also a huge part of Strikeforce, as not only will you get a main weapon, but a sub-weapon as well, both of which can be altered by the use of “Sengyoko” items (working title.) One can even customize each individual warrior with “Mugen” items (working title) which will bestow extra abilities upon their chosen combatant, such as super jumps or teleportation powers.
Another key feature is the inclusion of full-scale boss battles, quite unlike the “slightly tougher general” enemies in previous games. We got to see a boss battle against Zhang Jiao, who could not only use Awakening, but was surrounded by allied sorcerers fought in his own arena with crushing apparatus and fireball throwers. We were also promised that some boss battles would include “mythical creatures” as well as regular enemy generals.
The final new feature will be DLC. Content can be downloaded to the PSP and then shared among friends. This will include new items, as well as new missions.
I will be providing a full hands-on account of this game very soon, so stay tuned for that. I will say, however, that this could be something of a radical departure from previous Warriors titles if Koei makes good on all its ambitions. It’s just a shame that it’s not a console release — this kind of thing could work great on Live and the PSN, but a multiplayer PSP title could only truly work in Japan.
