The new chapter of the long series of Dynasty Warriors brings the saga to the glory of the past, without forgetting the good additions of DW7. The return of personal movesets for each warrior (for a total of 77 characters) means 77 different fighting styles to choose, gives great freedom to the player and a lot of charisma to each warrior. The gameplay has not changed, but this time takes advantage of the "weapon elements" system that gives a touch of strategy in the battles against commanders: the trio of elements earth-heaven-man gives an advantage or a disadvantage depending on the weapon equipped. The highly appreciated dual weapon system is still there, together with 3 different musou moves for each character, and directly from DW5 returns the rage mode, an overpower move for critical moments. The battlegrounds are the best in the musou genre, both graphically and structurally: the aesthetic is excellent, very full of details and credible (no more "squared rooms"), and the paths much branched. See the burning ships in the Battle of Chibi is a feast for eyes like never before. The story mode (divided by the four factions, plus "other") is structured in a much clearer (narratively is less depth than DW7 but is much more effective), with the ability to unlock extra missions fulfilling special conditions, like the hypothetical route, a series of "what if" missions, and the possibility to play any map with the other faction (in the lovely free mode). The ambition mode is a welcome addition, a kind of managerial and endless (if you wish) survival, in which you have to build and strengthen their village collecting materials and allies in small-scale battles: this addition maximizes the longevity, the possibilities of play are manifold. Graphically it is a marked improvement over its predecessors, clean, rich of elements, with the utmost care for shadows, even in terms of aesthetics and level/character design is very convincing; the number of enemies on screen is more than tripled, at the cost of a not really stable framerate . The music is fantastic as always, and in general the sound aspect is unassailable (good voices, excellent rock musics). There are usual lacks of the musou genre, as an AI far from brilliant, a basic structure (animations, physic) anchored to the old generation and a technical aspect certainly not at the level of Uncharted or Crysis, however it is a clear step forward in this saga, a decisive step to overcome hatred of the press that has always underestimated the saga. DW8 is definitely the most beautiful Dynasty Warriors ever (but not the best at all, Samurai Warriors 2 is still the best musou), rich, fun and highly replayable, a must buy for fans of the musou genre and in general for those seeking an exaggerated action. And then, you can learn something about the Romance of the Three Kingdom having a lot of fun. --- Plus, with ZAVVI, there are some outfit from the original Dynasty Warriors (the beat’em up for psx), a really fun and nostalgic addition.

This time the Dynasty Warriors franchise has fixed and improved a lot of issues from its predecessors. Dynasty Warriors 8 is highly recommended for fans of the series.

Dynasty Warriors 8 has lots of things to do to keep you occupied, and overall it's a lot of fun.

Dynasty Warriors 8 is without a doubt the pinnacle of DW hack and slash gameplay as of yet. The game offers a truck-load of unique characters, all with their own play styles, personalities, and super moves, without cutting any corners this time. The system of DW7 has been further polished with this entry. If you're returning, it hosts a whole slew of new features to help enhance your crowd-clearing pleasures, a hoard of new characters to enhance the game's plot, and a tonne of new weapons that you can mix and match to create your ideal warrior to take to the battlefield. The story combines history with fantasy to give a comprehensive view into the three kingdoms era, whilst not being a 'dull textbook approach' to the scenario. You will grow to love the characters as they are portrayed in game. Finally, something that has been missing from Koei games for the past couple of years. The English dub cast has returned and is better than ever.

If you like the Dynasty Warriors franchise, you'll love this. If you've disliked others in the series then you'll probably like this. It's a vast improvement on the more recent entries in the series with brand new mechanics and modes which add depth and replay value. You can tell that thought has gone into this game, rather than rehashing the old game with a couple of new characters. There are new battles, extending the history covered and a greater focus on some of the characters, breathing a bit of life into them. Of course, all your button mashing and hammy voice acting is still there but that's just part of the series by now. However, it's much more refined this time around. I'm enjoying it immensely, the new characters are great. Plus there are no weapon clones now. So you get to rediscover some old characters as well. Can't recommend this enough.

I love the series. Cant wait to play it. A must buy indeed

Dynasty Warriors 8 is amazing, the different modes are extremely fun to play. There are many surprises to this game which make it a lot better then the others so far, but this is all I am saying if you want to know more you have to buy the game.