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While the combat is basic and, for the most part, easy, the victory scenarios are (for me, at least) sometimes befuddling and maddening to figure out. There were plenty of occasions when I would have killed hundreds of foes and taken vast swaths of territory, only for an event on the other side of the grid to cause an instant "game over" message. There are few things more frustrating than spending 20 minutes (not to mention inducing arthritis in my wrists and fingers) clearing out hordes, only to have my effort go to waste because some enemy combatant defeated someone else over whom I have no control. Naturally, much of this has to do with my unfamiliarity of the game, but with no tutorial available and a lack of ability to command your associates, it becomes a real pain in the neck to figure out just what to do to move on to the next battle and ultimately win the day.
Visually, Vol. 2 is a combination of great and, well, not-so-great. Up close, the battles look terrific, with all the spins, stabs, flashes, and dashes captured beautifully. As your man jumps in the air, then scores big-time combo points by hacking a poor sap 6 times in a row, it's truly a sight to behold. There's also no noticeable chug even though dozens of enemies can appear onscreen at any given moment. On the other hand, foes and scenery pop in and out to a degree I've rarely experienced – sometimes, in fact, to the point that a group of opponents can appear seemingly out of nowhere, right on top of you. Naturally, this is a bit disconcerting. The blaring (and completely out-of-place) guitar-wailing music that accompanies the battle is and unwelcome intrusion and drones on over and over to become nothing other than an annoyance.
In addition to Musuo mode, there are also a handful of ad-hoc multiplayer games available if you've got some buddies around with their own copies of the UMD (sorry, no Game Sharing here). These are Battle Royal (knock your opponents off of a building), Bombs Away (blow up your enemies), Sudden Death (one-hit kills), and Time Attack (a race to a goal). Since these aren't playable over the internet, unfortunately I wasn't able to dive in. It's good to see that these modes exist, though, since they appear to be pretty different than the single-player mode.
Ultimately, Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2 is a competent brawler with an element of turn-based strategy and an absolute boatload of content. Between all of the clans and warriors, there are easily dozens of hours of gameplay at hand. The combat can become repetitive, and accomplishing the goals required to beat different scenarios is often frustrating and confusing. However, longtime vets of the series will likely have few (if any) of these issues, since their familiarity with the series and the characters will render that complaint moot. I'm glad I played it, and I'll keep at it even after the review, if for no other reason than I am stubborn as hell. I'm going to learn how to win these fights even if it kills me – or at least renders my hands unusable.
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