Annihilating whole hordes of soldiers only to get to their leader and similarly beat them to a pulp makes for an enjoyable sense of being horribly overpowered, but the lack of challenge diminishes the epic concept behind these gloriously huge battles. One problem that the series has always faced is that duels with characters of historical importance have never quite held the gravity that they should.

While it's still possible to mow down the opposition with ease on the lower tier difficulty settings, playing on normal or higher requires a bit more thought as you keep an eye on your foe's movements and react accordingly. With Complete Edition, one final ingredient is added to the formula as enemy officers are also able to make use of weapon switching, which in turn makes for some increasingly intense encounters. Dynasty Warriors 8 went deeper still by implementing rock-paper-scissors like elementals which meant that you could devastate opponents who were unlucky enough to be holding an implement that sported a weakness to your own. Not only did this allow for some previously unheard of player customisation as you decided which weapons worked best together, but it also bolstered combat with some much needed depth. Fighting mechanics were overhauled and a weapon-based moveset system that focused on switching between two equipped armaments in order to keep combos going was introduced. The seventh and eighth instalments proved to be a real return to form for the franchise after the disappointing initial PS3 title that was Dynasty Warriors 6.

Despite what some say, though, Dynasty Warriors does try to improve upon the tried and tested formula with every entry, and Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition on the PlayStation 4 does its best to bring the genocidal madness to the next generation with a bang. Mainly boiling down to the argument that the series' gameplay – which sees you hacking and slashing your way through thousands of enemies on ancient Chinese battlefields – is incredibly repetitive, it's clear that your enjoyment will be limited by how much fun you can derive from the relatively simple combat. To say that it's a divisive property is an understatement – this is a franchise that's in possession of a rabidly loyal core fanbase, while each new instalment receives wildly varying review scores that range from the awful to the brilliant. 'What's the deal with Dynasty Warriors?' is a question that's echoed every now and then across the gaming sphere.

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