Dynasty Tactics 2 Preview

Developer	KOEI
Publisher	KOEI
Genre	Strategy
Release Date	9/24/03

“The Empire, long divided, must unite: long united, must divide.”

KOEI once again brings us a history lesson on one of the greatest stories ever told. Based on the ever-popular Romance of the Three Kingdom novels, Dynasty Tactics 2 is ready to supply gamers with a unique take on tactical combat, while supplying us with a wonderful story of China's rich historic background.

The novel itself covers more than three hundred years of Chinese history. The story to this epic takes place right after the fall of the Hang Dynasty under Emperor Ling's reign caused by the Yellow Scarves rebellion and covers the Division of the empire (obviously into three), and finally, the reunification of China by the Jin Dynasty. KOEI bring this entire story to you, in a game fit for all historic buffs and strategy gamers alike.

If you managed to pick up the first installment of Dynasty Tactics, you know what is to be expected from its sequel. The game will allow you to take the role of a general and conquest China. As expected, Cao Cao, Sun Ce and Liu Bei make their return, with the addition of Lu Bu, a new general thrown into the mix. This gives you a total of four different campaigns you will be able to play through.

Unlike the Romance Of The Three Kingdom line of games which feel like a complete historical simulation, Dynasty Tactics leans more towards a combat simulation which will allow you to create all types of tactics involving different types of units in order to gain victories against other foes in your attempt to reunite china under one flag, or better said, your own dynasty.

At first glance the gameplay may resemble something out of Ogre Battle/Final Fantasy Tactics/Vandal Hearts, but look a little deeper and you'll see this game offers a deeper involvement in how you use your turns in battle. Just like in the games used to compare it to, players control units, moving them a certain amount of spaces throughout the grid/field. Different terrain will also determine how many spaces you will be moving as well, for example, a flat field will give one of your units much more mobility than lets say, attempting to move over a mountain. The order of the movement is also determined by the morale of the units (highest morale goes first).

The morale can be raised or heightened depending on any factors, from the strategies picked, to the opposing team's use of spies to penetrate your army and take it apart from within. The real treat behind the Dynasty Tactics franchise, which makes this different from the other tactical games is the ability to use your units in a good unique chain system that will determine exactly how much damage one will deploy against the opposing side. Like what you hear so far? Good, because The latest offering will be supporting all of these features from the original Dynasty Tactics, as well as 200 battle events, over 80 stage and over 90 diverse strategies to add to the wild mix of different tactics you can use against your opponents.

Putting these strategies together accordingly will lead to harmonized attacks, leading you to your victories. It may sound complicated, but the game will supply you with tutorials, so you won't feel like you’re going into this without a clue. You will also be able to participate in a Tactics Training Camp that will allow you to learn new techniques, as well as building relationships with commanders.

Another cool new feature is the new point evaluation system. What it does for the player is collect data based on stats such as ingenuity, leadership, defeats, and so on, and uses this data to match the player with a compatible commander. This will allow you to earn some items and necessities you will need throughout the game. Finally, the last addition worthy of mention is the ability to travel and explore their villages, training schools, and the likes without any prohibitions. This exploration part, if done correctly, sounds like it will complement the game very well.

KOEI is making graphics take the backseat on this title just as before, but it doesn't mean the game is horror to look at. In fact, the graphical presentation should execute the job just fine, supplying us with the visual chess-like pieces we need to visualize our movements. Besides the cut scenes, don't expect this game to blow you away with stunning graphics, because deep down, this is a thinking man's game. Expect the musical score to be similar to the first one; traditional orchestrated music, tuned to balance out the game and add oddly, add more excitement to your tactical decisions.

KOEI probably has one of the very few licenses on hand that can be exploited over and over, and each time be something worth noting for gamers looking for a story that will deeply pull you in, make you think, and reward you with an excellent package. Strategy fans should not think twice before considering adding this title to their collection come September, and all of you curious about the title should give it a whirl, the story alone is worth it.

Preview by Ricardo Carzado