Sangoku Battle: Dynasty Warriors

New playable characters takes the roster well over the 70 mark (and thus making it a bit confusing for the uninitiated), this time they all handle differently thanks to distinctive moves and special attacks. Take two of the nine newcomers, for example: the Wu kingdom’s suave Lu Su sweeps aside opponents with a rake, while Shu’s Guan Xing carries a pair of wingblades, gliding and swooping across the battlefield.

I also enjoyed Jin’s Jia Chong, albeit less for his combat style than his dark personality and devious machinations; he’s the kind of ally you can never fully trust. They’re brought to life with the usual hammy or overly mannered performances that have grown oddly endearing over the years, though it’s about time Omega Force did something about the battle cries of the defeated, which repeat ad nauseam.

Elsewhere the developer does its best to alleviate the inherent repetition of its simple combat systems, giving each character a preferred weapon that conveys an attack bonus and a unique EX attack triggered by a simple combo. The second weapon they carry into battle can be selected from a generous array of alternatives that only increases the longer you play and the more officers you beat.

Deliver repeated attacks to opposing officers holding a weaker weapon type and you can launch into an unstoppable flurry of blows that not only looks great, but rapidly drains your rival’s health bar – and usually takes out any nearby troops into the bargain. An exclamation mark alerts you to enemies with a stronger alignment, but even here you can turn things to your advantage: wait for them to launch a charge attack and a well-timed switch can lead to a powerful counter.

Finishing off an opponent like this is satisfying enough, but you’ll also benefit in other ways. Defeating officers with a full health bar or while they’re afflicted with a status effect, for example, upgrades a series of abilities, of which five can be equipped at any time. These offer passive buffs like increased fortitude against projectile attacks, or more frequent item drops. In fact, by the time I’d finished the second of the four campaigns - each of which lasts around five hours - every enemy with a title was coughing up weapons, meat buns, gold, and refills for my Musou gauge, enabling me to pull off those spectacular special attacks increasingly often.