About the Game:
Includes Dynasty Warriors 8 along with the Xtreme Legends expansion and some free DLC.

The DLC from the console version of the game has now been ported to on Steam. The total cost of the DLC is $190.80. I am not going to comment much about the DLC, as this is a review for the game, not the DLC. Yes, I think the price of the DLC is fairly high, but the DLC is optional and not needed to enjoy the game.

I still think the game itself is worth getting without purchasing the DLC.

How it Runs:
Game runs great on highest settings at 1920 x 1080 resolution, I get 60 FPS no problem.

Overall, I haven't had any issues with slowdown or framerate drops that I usually see on the console versions. The loading times are also pretty quick compared to the console versions as well without a solid state drive.

Game Settings:
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Texture Filter: High
Quality Settings: All High
Vsync: 1

Note: I had to set my resolution in the configuration instead of within the game.

(See specs at bottom of page)

Story:
The story is based off the Romance of the Three Kingdoms historical novel, but since it is a video game they have fantasy elements and change some things to make it more exciting.

The Story Mode has a bunch of cinematics before and after battles that help tell the story and they are alright for this type of game.

Graphics:
The graphics seem to be based on the PS3 version of the game, but they still look better than the PS3 version due to higher framerate, resolution, and I think they added a few things in the graphic options that make them look a bit better.

Overall the graphics are average for a console port of a game, but the gameplay is the best part of the Dynasty Warriors series.

Gameplay:
Those who know the Dynasty Warriors series will be familar with the hack and slash gameplay. You can control a hero from a roster of 82 characters, each with their own individual design.

The game is mostly about using weapon attack combos to defeat hundreds of enemies and other officers through battles in the game. There is a lot of flashy effects for the weapon attacks and special musou attacks which make the game more exciting.

You can obtain new weapons to equip your warriors with and each warrior can use two weapons and switch between them in battle. You also can level up each warrior to level 150.

There are story missions for the three major kingdoms (Wei, Wu, Shu), and the Jin and Lubu forces. As well as a Free Mode to replay story and other battles, a Challenge mode that has arcade type battles, and Ambition mode where you can upgrade a camp and conquer territories.

Conclusion:
I purchased the game because I am a fan of the Dynasty Warriors series and I don't own a PS3 or PS4, so I can't get Xtreme Legends unless I pay $50 for this on Steam or go out and buy a PS3 or PS4 and pay $60 for the PS4 version or $70+ for the PS3 bundle.

The graphics seem fine to me, they aren't amazing, but they aren't bad either. I played the Xbox 360 version of DW8 and they seem to be a bit better, but the graphics aren't as important as gameplay with the series.

Online multiplayer would've been a good bonus feature, but I don't think its a mandatory feature for the series. I have never played online in the past titles, I usually play solo or split screen. If you need to have online multiplayer then pick up the PS4 version instead.

The game has been running great and I haven't had any technical issues yet.

Only complaints:
- DLC is now avaiable, but the price is a bit high (though the DLC is optional and not needed to enjoy the game)
- Would be nice to see controller buttons instead of keyboard buttons when using a controller.
- Depending on controller may need to remap your controls.

Overall it is a good game if you are Dynasty Warriors fan or someone who likes hack and slash games. It is cheaper to buy the PC version (North America - USD) than the console version as well which is a plus. Should be glad they brought Dynasty Warriors 8 game to Steam!

Update 1: There seems to be some people having issues with the game crashing, freezing, not starting up, etc. I haven't encountered any of these issues yet, game has been running perfect on my machine. However, I would check out the forums for more information about known technical issues if you think you may have a problem.

Update 2: It seems many people are upset with the high DLC prices. These prices are very similar to the console versions, so its not just a PC thing. I do think the prices are too high, but the DLC is completely optional and not needed to enjoy the game. I would suggest waiting for a sale and only picking up some of the better DLCs (Weapon Packs / Stage Packs).

Note: I would recommend using a controller when playing this game.

Computer Specs:
GPU: Geforce GTX 760
CPU: Intel i5-3570K 3.40GHZ
Memory: 8.00 GB RAM
Resolution: 1920 x 1080, 60Hz
OS: Windows 7
PSU: Corsair 750W

Buy this, not Dynasty Warriors 9

So, after the disappointment DW9 was to me and all the bad things I mentioned in my review towards it I thought I should give my props to this game. I played every DW game from 2 to 9 including the Xtreme Legends and Empires variants. I also played this game on PS3 before getting it again on the pc. Which should give me about 350 hours combined playtime.

Technical:

Performance:
This game runs with 60fps and a stable framerate on my pc and for all the people in my friend list. I know some people say it doesn´t work for them but I played this game on a laptop with integrated graphics card and it still works. I can´t confirm any issues from my side. Also, the graphics are a lot better than the PS3 version.

Controls:
I played this game with an Xbox 360 controller and a non-brand controller. Both worked fine. Although I had to configure the non-brand controller myself inside the game. You can also play this game with your keyboard but it´s circumstantial. I highly recommend a controller for this game.

Game:

Story:
You play the story of the three kingdoms. Based on the book Romance of the three kingdoms. You can choose between Wei, Wu, Shu and Jin for the main story and some story arcs for special characters like Lu Bu and Yuan Shao. There are also alternative routes for every storyline. So, there is some replay value.

Gameplay:

Level progression:
Once you select a storyline you want to play; the game will give you a fixed character roaster to choose from. You select the hero of your choice for each level and go into battle. Before the battle starts you can equip weapons and chat with people inside the war camp. Sometimes you will get little Easter eggs out of these conversations. Some stages will offer you to meet special requirements, if you do maybe you will unlock the alternative story route.

Battlefield:
So, what is this game about. You have to fight your way through the stage. There is no open world here, but the stages are big, and you can play them the way you like. For faster traveling the game also gives you a horse. Basically, the stages work like the following. Your army will be deployed in front of the enemy’s army. Then the troops engage into fighting and the battle begins. You take part in this by fighting enemy officers and troops. While there are thousands of soldiers there are like 10 to 30 enemy officers on the stages. These guys are a lot tougher then the troops and some of them are playable officers. Means they are the real threat. You have to beat them and throughout the battle the game will occasionally assign missions to you. Like stop this officer or defend this base. Also, the characters in the battle will talk with each other and give you hints and tips to solve the battle the best possible way. Or they just run around and talk how strong they are, and no one can beat them.

Fighting system:
Like all the DW games before this game has the same fighting system. You have 6 basic attacks which can be combined with heavy attacks to perform mighty combos. Every officer has it´s unique weapon and unique combos and playstyle. In addition, depending on if you use the characters favorite weapon, you will be able to perform special EX-attacks. For more hack and slash the game gives you three different types of musou attacks. These are special attacks which do a lot of damage and have a wide range of effect. And if that’s not enough you can unleash a special rage attack which basically annihilates all enemies who are dumb enough to get in your way. Despite a pretty limited roaster of attacks you can choose from somehow the fighting never gets boring. The attacks look good and it´s fun to spam them.

Weapons:
As mentioned before every character has its own unique weapon. There are up to 6 different weapons for each character. While you can drop weapons up to tier 4 by just playing the game. For weapons of tier 5 and 6 you need to do secret missions. I collected many of them and despite being a lot better than the lower tier weapons they also look damn epic. In addition to the weapon variety there is also an element system. Every weapon has a special element that determines whether you have an advantage against an enemy officer or if he may give you a hard time. There are three elements, heaven, earth and human. You can carry two weapons and switch between them. Every character can use every weapon while some are more suited to your officer than others.

Officers:
The game features 83 officers. Everyone with a different playstyle. So, no matter how picky you are there will definitely be a character suited for you in the game.

Difficulty:
The game offers you up to 5 difficulties. While you will just one hit everyone on easy and become the god you always wanted to be the last difficulty, ultimate, makes the enemies mob the floor with you if don´t know what you are doing. I finished all stories on ultimate and I can tell you it gives you the challenge you are seeking for. So, no matter if you are someone who likes challenges in your game or just wants to play a nice satisfying round of DW this game has your back.

Presentation:

Cutscenes:
While progressing through the storylines of the three kingdoms you will see many cutscenes giving you an idea of what the characters are up to, what they are like, what their personality is like and how they will change this land. These cutscenes often include fighting and epic anime speeches if you know what I mean. The game doesn´t take itself too serious and that’s the right way. Epic entrances like Lu Bu at Hu Lao Gate or Cao Cao explaining his vision for the land are only the peak of the iceberg of entertainment this game awaits you with.

Localization:
If you like you can play this game in Japanese but it´s also available with English sound. I played it with English sound, the speakers aren´t outstandingly good but they have fun living out their roles and giving every officer their own touch and soul. You really get attached to these guys. Especially in cases of Zhang He or Zhang Jiao they are hilarious.

Visual effects and ambient:
The attacks look nice and many of the musou attacks are epic waves of energy channeled with your weapon into a huge blast of destruction. They look strong and devastating but at the same time they don´t look completely overdone. It´s just right on point and fits the rest of the game. Many maps contain castles and big walls you have to fight your way through. These castles look just as the rest of the game huge and overwhelming but at the same time again it fits the overall atmosphere. A 10-meter-thick wall is just right to stop the epic warriors of this game. And when in doubt Sima Yi or Zhuge Liang the genius strategy boys will come up with something to overcome the obstacle.

Negative things and conclusion:

Negative:
Despite being the best DW game on pc at the moment I still have some bad things to list here. The game has no Xbox-Controller prompts. Only button prompts for the actions you want to perform. So, if the game wants you to perform an action you have to know which button carries out the right action on your controller.
The maximum game resolution only goes up to 1080p which is a little bit annoying if you have a 2K monitor like me or even 4K. There is also no borderless window mode available.
For some reason they changed the normal troops since DW6. In the past normal soldiers could do 4 attacks and combined combos. Now they only have one hit and a charge attack. The troops in DW2 to DW5 were a lot more dangerous.

Conclusion:
This game is a lot of fun. It took me about 50 hours to finish all storylines with alternative lines for the first time. Farming weapons and leveling officers took the rest of my time. If you search for a good DW game on pc go for this one. And for god’s sake don´t buy DW9 or if you do buy this one as well.

If you have any more questions or opinion on this game fell free to leave a comment.

*Warning* You can not play this game with a mouse/keyboard.

if you played dynasty warriors when you were a younger fellow on ps2, and not since, this will take you allll the way back (with some added gimmicks, of course)

the intro alone made me hyped to battle and get over-the-top with my action and thats just what happened. 1 day of owning the game, 15 hours of player later I finally went to sleep only to fight Lu Bu in my dreams again.

I got this game on a whim because I once played this series like... a decade ago. DW3/4 to be specific. And even though I know full well that this sort of game is basically meant for consoles, I managed to play it just fine once I adjusted the key bindings to stuff that worked well for me. Anyway... game.

If, like me, you have played these games before, you pretty much know what you are in for. If you have never played any of these games, I'm not quite sure what else is quite like it. Basically it's a fighting game, except it is on large battlefield maps where you murder thousands of random and a handful of named NPC's while following objectives in order to complete each level. If that sounds repetitive... well it can certainly be that. It's the ultimate hack and slash-fest game, and if you get bored with murdering insane numbers of enemies, then chances are this game is not for you.

The game is based upon the Three Kingdoms era of Ancient China (184-280, roughly), and, despite the absurd outfits and personalities of many of the characters in the game, it is actually fairly consistent with what is known about the period. Or rather, it is consistent with the famous novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' by Luo Guanzhong, which is basically a work of historical fiction that takes real events and bends them a bit according to the whims and views of the author. Which, of course, means that certain characters (particularly Shu-Han characters like Xuande/Liu Bei) are depicted as noble honorable sorts fighting for justice while others (like Mengde/Cao Cao) are depicted as villanous and driven by ambition. I don't want to dig too deep into this because there most likely are entire books written about how Luo Guanzhong messed around with the characters, but the depictions he made are pretty much what are found in this and all previous DW games. The nice thing though is that if you read between the lines (or maybe it's just because I am very familiar with the source material this game is based off of), you can see the flaws in the author's bias in the game as well. Namely that Liu Bei was a massive hypocrite every bit as ambitious as his rivals, and that Cao Cao, while not exactly the nicest guy around, wasn't the hellspawn other characters (like Liu Bei) called him.

Anyway, the game follows the story decently well, though some creative license and trimming down obviously has happened. I still liked how the game depicted things most of the time. Perhaps my favorite was Lu Bu's campaign which, while maintaining the massive "OMG ITS LU BU" hype that all DW games have had, reveals exactly why the real Lu Bu got himself executed in chapter 19 of a 120 chapter book: that he was dumb as a brick, betrayed people constantly, and never listened to anyone's advice. While the old DW games I played did have storylines for him, they didn't take the historical route that this game's (default) story path takes. The same goes for the numerous character deaths shown, though many of these are made more dramatic than they actually were.

Also, while the playable character cast has increased to the point of total insanity (including some that may not have even existed or actually fought on battlefields), I did like that, in the time between DW4 and this, they added a number of characters that rounded out the cast further by including some of the other lesser-known strategists (Chen Gong, Lu Su) and characters who rose to prominence in the later parts of the story (Deng Ai, the sons of Guan Yu/Zhang Fei, as well as the entire Jin faction who were the ultimate winners of this whole mess). I thought that was a nice treat since these sorts had been badly neglected in past games, where everything seemed to stop at the year 234 (when Kongming/Zhuge Liang died), which was roughly the chronological halfway point of the entire story.

Ok, I better stop and just finish this up.

In short, It's a DW game. That means that on the one hand, the combat gets repetitive, many of the characters are very hard to take seriously, and many of the story events are overdramatized to the point of being kind of ridiculous. On the other hand, there is a MASSIVE amount of content (and all those DLC's for this "Complete Edition" are purely cosmetic), big battles are kind of fun, and one can even argue that the storyline's inherent cheesiness may actually be more a positive than a negative.

If you have never played one of these games before, this is the one i'd look at because (to my knowledge) it's the newest one and has an insane amount of content even compared to its predecessors. If you have played these and liked them before... why not? If you didn't like these games however, then most likely this will do nothing to change your opinion.

For all it's goofiness and repetition, DW is still entertaining enough for me to waste sizeable amounts of time with it. Hooray and stuff.

Where do I begin? I played some Dynasty Warriors game as a child on my playstation that I have pretty much no recollection of other then being confused. I see all the hype about hyrule warriors and get an itch, I see this game on steam and it has pretty good reviews, so I buy it, then suddenly almost 100 hours later into the game and I'm not done with it, what the heck it's fantastic. It's pure and simple dynasty warriors with an outrageous amount of content. If you have no love at all for the series or this type of game you won't have much fun, but for anyone looking and unsure of curious I implore you to get this game you will not be disapointed by the amount of content at the very least.

majority of the negative reviews are from people who dont have controller and are to lazy to remap the controls
it takes 5 minutes to remap and theres one too many buttons for the mouse
overal gameplay 10/10 reminds me of when i was 7 playing dynasty warriors 4, i havent experienced any bugs unlike one piece, also you get to set the characters weapons to whatever you want thats awesome
PORT WARRIORS OROCHI 2 AND 3

Please TecmoKoei, remaster Dynasty Warriors 5, add Xtreme Legends and Empires to the package, and release it on PC with controller support/compatibility, DW5 is one of the most beloved in the whole frachise, you don't need to remake it, just add high resolution textures, some shadows, ambient oclusion and global ilumination and port it to PC, and keep the split-screen local multiplayer too!

I like how this is the "complete" edition, with $200 of dlc