Give Koei credit for trying to reinvent the game, but it feels like DW took one step back.
Changes:
All characters and their weapons are all different with different weapons and the Renbu combat system. After playing the same system over and over again, it was a refresher to try something new out. However, I didn't think they'd totally get rid of the old system. It took some time to adjust to, but still fun nonetheless.
Issues:
One of the biggest gripes I have about the game is only 17 musou modes exist. I wanted to play campaigns like Xu Huang, Guan Ping, or Taishi Ci, but sadly they don't exist.
Another problem was the lack of stages. I was pretty excited to play Guan Yu's campaign for my favorite stage, Guan Yu's Escape, only to be disappointed that it wasn't there. After beating that, I decided to play Xiahou Dun. No rivalry existed between the two, and seeing that this game was next-gen, I was pretty disappointed.
Other little issues existed for me, such as no 4th weapons or items. With so little musou modes, no 4th weapons, or items it gave me little incentive to play the other characters.
Online play would have been nice, and Koei should have at least the idea to try to do it with maybe an online duel against other people. The magnitude of actual levels might have deterred it from doing that, but at least entertain the idea.
I'm sure the whole revamping the game had something to do with all of these issues. Adding more maps for more stages and musou modes probably would have set the release of this game another year. I'm sure all of these things will be in downloadable content, but I'm not looking forward to spend more money to get an adequate experience from the game.
All in all, DW is still DW, and destroying entire fleets of armies is still fun, but it certainly feels like it's lacking something. It just doesn't feel next-gen.