Kessen 2

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Product Details

Customer Reviews

Horrible!

I bought this game hoping for something as good as Dynasty Warriors 3, but it was pitiful! Bad graphics, gameplay, and storyline along with a long tutorial makes this game good enough for burning material and thats about it. If you really want to try it, rent it first.

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Solid Game

I got Kessen 2 for christmas a long time ago, around when it came out. Since then it has kept me entertained. I dont play this game constantly, every once in a while I'll see it in my gaming library and decide to pick it up again. After you beat the game as Lui Bei, you can play through as Cao Cao and select the difficulty level for either campaign. This gives the game some replay value. Yet I don't feel that I need to think that much with this game. I just pick one of the battle plans, and follow it. And bassically units trimuph in battle because of the commander using a special ability that can cut a unit in half in 10 seconds. yet there is some thinking involved. Lately ive reliazed that Calvary advances faster than foot soliders, and that certain types of troops do better against certain other kinds of troops. So there is a little depth here but not much. But why three stars? Even though it has those features that i just listed, its still very simplistic. If they had made it a little more satergy based, i would have give it five stars, but its not. So if you want a game that will keep you entertained for a long time, check out Kessen 2. Excuse me, I have to go conquer China.

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Much jabbering, little action

I am most likely not alone when I say I bought this game because it was on sale for around ten dollars. Koei has had quite a bit of sucess with the ROTK based games, but they seem to have slipped a little with this one.
The graphics are good for the most part, but the animation is, at times, choppy and un-fluid. But I can live with that.
The dubbing...oh the horror... Couldn't the US editors have tried at least a LITTLE bit better to time it right? Bleh, this is the kind of thing that really annoys me. I don't expect perfection, but I did kinda hope for more than this...
And the so-called "strategy" element? Eep. You can move your troops and perform actions in many different ways, but the gameplay is simplistic. This is definitely not for hard-core strategy gamers. (Don't even get me started on the "unable to enter" areas...)
And the story, the main reason I even glanced at the game...well, let's say I don't trust the packaging anymore...the story is the same one: Guy is in love with Girl, Girl is kidnapped by Guy's rival, Guy fights huge-ass war to save Girl, and then we see it from the other side. At least seeing it from the other side wasn't an ANCIENT idea... And why do these characters insist on telling you every little thing that runs through their tiny heads?
I'll have to give this game an mediocre 3 out of 5... (too much X-Play...)

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A huge improvement over the first one

Out of all the games created by Koei, that I've played, this is my 2nd most favorite. Dynasty Warriors 3 will probably always be my number one favorite. Kessen 2 is a strategy game that focuses on the three kingdoms; Wu, Wei, and Shu. You command generals and troops to move on battlefields and attack other generals and troops. Everything on this game is an improvement over the first one, such as the music, graphics, and especially gameplay. Although you still watch more than play, you have more control over the generals. Instead of watching the battles and giving a few orders, you can control the horse you're riding on, and attack the troops with your weapon. Some other added features are being able to use magic, take down castle gates, battle on moving boats, and burn down food storage buildings. The map is also greatly improved. The only thing that is bad in this game is having to go through a tutorial on the first level. I would highly recomend the second game over the first one. Even if you've played the first one and hated it, you should give this one a try. I think the price dropped down to around $20 dollars, so you won't be out of $50 if you buy it and for some reason don't like it.

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An exciting game but....

I bought this game because it featured characters from the romance of the three kingdoms series. That, and the fact that it was cheap. I got it on sale because it was used. Sometimes when I buy used games I take a moment and wonder why the individual sold it. I may never know for certain why the previous owner sold it but I think it may have something to do with the characters. All the characters look kinda, I don't know, off. It was like the designers wanted the characters to stand out and they do but not in a good way. Zhang Liao is wearing antlers on his head for goodness sake! Zhou Yu looks like a character from a Mercedes Lackey novel. Why does Liu Bei not have a beard? Why is he clean shaven? Why does he keep whining about Diao Chan? Zhang Fei is a drunken bufoon. Also, the voice acting is pretty weird with some hilariously bad lip synching. Watch Zhao Yun in particular.
But enough about the characters. Let's move on to the gameplay. This game is somewhere between Dynasty tactics and Dynasty warriors. There is some action involved. You basically ride around on your horse, whacking people upside the head with your weapon and occasionally you use special attacks that wipe out a whole bunch of people at once. The strategy isn't very deep. You basically have to find the quickest way to get your army to the enemy's commander and defeat him. It's too bad that you can't decide who to attack and when, although you sometimes
are allowed to choose between targets. Probably the best thing about this game are the cinematics. It is fun to unlock the various movies and what not. But the biggest downer is that you can't play as Sun Quan. As one of the rulers of the three kingdoms you would have though they could find a place in the story for him but he only has a small role to play. Think of all the potential that was missed? There could have been a scenario involving Sun Quan having to get Zhou Yu to stop hanging out with Firesong so he could plan out a decent strategy and if you didn't understand that one then I envy you.

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