Dynasty Warriors 9 (PS4) PEGI 16+ Beat 'Em Up: Hack and Slash Quality guaranteed

Title: Dynasty Warriors 9 Format: PS4 / Blu-Ray No. of Players: 1 Publisher: Tecmo Koei UK Release Date: 13 Feb 2018 Camera: Third-person, over the shoulder Developer: Omega Force

While Dynasty Warriors certainly has its own cult following, for many western gamers its massive battles and unique style have felt like a curious sideshow to the mainstream world of gaming rather than the main event. With the ninth full entry to the series, however, a number of features aimed at making Dynasty Warriors more accessible. To be clear, you'll still follow the path of your character through the historical Three Kingdoms era of China, charting their development through endless options for customisation and tactical hack-'n'-slash battles against hundreds of enemies. This time out, however, you'll find an open world map to roam through and explore. Wandering off the beaten path opens up a whole realm outside the main storyline, with opponents and challenges that offer plenty of chances to gain loot and boost your character. With your new goodies you'll also be able to visit a teahouse or your own hideaway and cook up meals that will grant your character temporary boosts such as increased experience, strength, defence, speed and jump abilities. You'll also be able to take scrolls you've picked up to a blacksmith in order to craft new weapons to give you a different kind of an edge in a fight. Dynasty Warriors 9 takes the Warriors series' characteristic widescreen, over the top action and pushes a host of more contemporary features to the fore, creating a game that's both very much a continuation of the iconic series and an accessible game for newcomers.