This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

When the PSP was first released, Dynasty Warriors was one of the launch titles. It was a decent game too, at least for DW fans that managed to pick up a PSP because it definitely wasn’t good enough to convert anyone. It was a stripped down version of the console games and didn’t take full advantage of the PSP – most notably having the map take up almost one-third of the screen. Vol. 2 has finally arrived and Koei seems to have learned their lesson. Problem is it’s still more of the same mindless button-mashing action that only fans of Dynasty Warriors can truly appreciate.

I’m going to start out very trivial – the entire screen shows the battlefield instead of being cluttered by a useless map. It may not sound like much, but it does make a pretty big difference. I’d rather have a full view of who I’m fighting over having a third of the screen wasting away.

Those who have only played the console versions may be wondering how DW made the transition to handhelds because the missions take place on huge sprawling maps that don’t cater well to playing in short bursts. Well, just like in the first PSP Dynasty Warriors, the maps are instead cut up into tiny little blocks that need to be taken over. Moving from one block to another eats up time. In addition, taking over certain blocks will give bonuses such as increased morale, additional time, or even resurrecting/calling back a defeated general. Splitting up the maps like so makes it perfect for on-the-go gaming because each square can easily be beaten in a 5-10 minute window of time and the game is pretty generous about letting you save after each. It also gives the game a new strategic spin on the standard formula. Of course, adding in the stuff from Empires would have helped a bunch too, but we can’t have everything.

While we don’t have that Empire stuff, Volume 2 features all of the modes that DW fans have come to know and love - musou mode, free mode, and some unfortunately lackluster multiplayer modes. Musou mode is what you would call the story mode. Here, you can take any of the available generals from each of the four factions – Wu, Shu, Wei, and other – and proceed to participated in battles from the history of Ancient China. Of course, as always, most of them are loosely based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. But, it’s not like fans have already gotten used to having characters fighting in a battle in which they were either not even born yet or dead.

Musou mode is also where you’ll unlock the rest of the large roster of generals. Sadly, the cutscenes and other fancy little extras that helped set up each scenario are gone, replaced by boring text explanations that sometimes feature the head shots of generals. Free mode allows you to take any officer into any scenario you’ve unlocked in musou mode.

Sadly, the good ends there. I mentioned the lackluster multiplayer modes earlier. It was a nice thought to include some sort of multiplayer option, but they aren’t much fun past their initial plays. Bombs away is a hot potato type game where one player is stuck with a bomb and the only way to rid themselves of it is to kill enemy officers; if it blows up while in possession, that player loses some of their K.O. count. Battle royal plays sort of like Smash Bros. where the objective is to knock your foes off the top of a building. The more damage you take, the more knockback, so while you can’t quite die, it’s smart to avoid damage so as not to be knocked off with a weak slash. Time-attack is a race against the clock where the quickest to a set K.O. count wins. And sudden death is highest K.O. count wins. As I said, it’s nice to have a good number of options; it’s just unfortunate that none of them are all that fun.

While there is more to see because they removed the map, Volume 2 isn’t much to look at. The characters are modeled and animated decently, but the environments look bland and boring. The draw-in distance is the worst I’ve seen in a DW game and that’s saying a lot since even the console versions struggle a bit with this. But, in Volume 2, it’s disheartening and downright frustrating to have a group of enemy soldiers pop up out of nowhere. Losing precious health because a couple of foot soldiers got in free shots because you couldn’t see them is really annoying on the harder difficulties

The most disappointing part is probably the most unsurprising part of Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2 – the gameplay is still as shallow as ever. It may feature some strategic elements, but there’s no way you can cover up the mindless button mashing and grunt killing. It gets old quick and nothing, not even the huge roster of characters and extra modes, can alleviate that.

There are some gamers out there who aren’t bothered by all the mindlessness and come to the DW franchise just to find a mindless brawler. But for those who prefer more bang for their buck, you can easily pass over Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2. It may offer more than the first one, which was a launch title, but it doesn’t offer that much more.

It’s a DW game. If you’re expecting anything else than a shallow button masher, look elsewhere.

Decent looking characters. Boring environments. Horrible draw distance.

Again, it’s Dynasty Warriors. Generic guitar rock or bust.

Offers lots of mode, caters to handheld gaming, but gets old quickly and nothing spices it up.

Lots of characters to play as. While they differ, still all the same in the bigger picture.