A dramatic improvement over DW6
For the newcomers a quick recap of the game is that you play 1 of 4 factions in control on China during the turbulent 100 AD - 200 AD as covered in the novel, "Romance of Three Kingdoms".
If you played one DW game, you essentially played them all. The only difference are slight graphical upgrades and gameplay upgrades is what I would have said in my past reviews, but DW7 offers more than that!
I give no love to DW6 as the WORST DW GAME OF ALL TIME. Everything from that game reeked of mediocrity that I thought for sure there will never be a DW-type game released in US shores ever again.
DW7 DESTROYS DW6 in just about everything. For starters, the game now includeds a 4th side, Jin Dynasty... the eventual group that will unify all of China. Their story takes place after the Battle of Wuzhang Plains. Fans of past DW will know that map at the end-stage map for most games.
DW7 also boasts more characters than DW6 and a throwback to their old DW5 weapons. Those who played DW6 know that it was more of a 1-Button mash fest. DW7 reverts back to the Normal/Hard Attack combination.
Graphically, there is a better draw distance so you can see the enemies more, but at the same time DW7 re-used some maps from DW6.
Gameplay wise, KT has not broken away from old DW gameplays... you go from one area of the map to another, slay the CO and move on. Repetetive... yes, but the same can be said about a lot of games when you simplify it to its core.
Soundtrack wise, this is the BEST DW soundtrack to date, KT finally did something right and invested in some real good music to accompany the CG and in-game cut scenes. If you guys get the chance to acquire the CD, do it!
Now for my complaints:
1. Some characters share movesets from each other. I know that you can only swing a sword so many ways before you mimic another person, but nearly all sword users share the same movesets with minor tweaks to their EX special move.
2. Unable to choose which character to play during Story Mode. The one thing where I prefer DW6 and past DW games over DW7. Sure the Story Mode for each side is LONGER, but at the cost that you can't play the character you want.
3. Farming +ATK/DEF items is a lot harder now for some characters. Unless these characters come from the end stages of Story Mode, most characters will be played through Conquest Mode. The CO kill drops range from +1-2 ATK/DEF. Its going to take a A LOT of farming to achieve the 1000 cap for ATK/DEF. Also HIGHER difficulty will not yield better drops! If you want, go for Easy Mode to farm FASTER.
4. Unclear weapon ranking makes it confusing to tell if the latest weapon you get is really the best. If you go to Gallery and then Weapons you get a list of weapons; the top of the list is your base weapon while the bottom is the best... supposedly. Yet, glossing over the actual weapon list during gameplay, there are some weird discrepancies.
Overall, I love this game. Its so much more fun than DW6. And I hope that KT releases SW over to PS3/360 as well. If your a new gamer willing to try out a DW game, THIS is the game to try out! Old fans, will get this game regardless and if you do read this review and are on the sidelines, I'm telling you... prepare to be WOWED!