Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 Review

Another year, another Dynasty Warriors game. 2011 has already seen a Dynasty Warriors game released (Dynasty Warriors 7), but that simply isn’t enough it seems. Now we are being given one more game in this franchise only a mere 3 months after the last entry. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 follows in the footsteps of its preceding Gundam entry in 2008 with a few new tweaks added in to, hopefully, stop the feeling of deja vu from settling in early on.

Will these changes add some innovative elements to help raise the bar for the series? Are they enough to break up the monotonous gameplay that most Dynasty Warriors games suffer from as the franchise continues to grow rapidly? Let’s find out.

HOT

Cel-Shaded
The first noticeable departure from past Dynasty Warriors game is the cel-shaded art style. While this is nothing new that should be showered in praise and awards, it is still a welcome change in the visuals. The colors of the mobile suits were radiant and vibrant, especially your own. The brightly colored suit belonging to me was easy to keep track of amongst the ocean of enemy clones sporting slightly darker colors in contrast. This only aided my character in standing out. It was as if a burst of light had broken through the dark and dreary clouds surrounding it, except, in this scenario, the light was ruthlessly slaughtering every cloud in existence. Fans of Gundam or Dynasty Warriors in general should appreciate the new art direction as it does add some long overdue variety that this series needs (yes, even if its as small as altering the visual presentation).

One Man Army
In case you’ve never heard of Dynasty Warriors (impossible, I know), let me explain how this game works. You are a one many army. The game floods your screen with endless amounts of similar enemies as far as the eye can see. It is your job to eliminate everything in sight with extreme prejudice (extreme prejudice is optional, but highly recommended here). You take on literally thousands of enemies in any given level and annihilate their ranks swiftly as you make your way to the designated target on your map. Dynasty Warriors has always made players feel like one person (or robot in this case) can change the tide of war. You are sent on various missions (that are about as varied as the enemies) to destroy robo-enemy after robo-enemy until the game decides your mass murder has achieved the preset goal. New moves, such as the Chain Explosion and Partner Strike, are now available to help eliminate even more enemies in an even quicker manner. If you enjoy games where you alone take on suicidal odds and come out victorious, then look no further than this game (or any other Dynasty Warriors game).