Dynasty Warriors 7 - Wei To Go

Is my network back up yet? Yes the network intrusion is a very bad thing for Sony, heck, for everyone involved. But I just want my network back up. I was going to buy a game and I’ve been enjoying some online play with Red Dead Redemption. Sony promised it would be back up this week, so where is it?

But I’m still talking about Dynasty Warriors 7. It’s time to discuss the “bad guys” of the series, the kingdom of Wei. Wei is under the command of Cao Cao, the Hero of Chaos. Cao Cao’s conquest is described as bloody and violent. His ultimate goal though seems to be to unite the people and to teach them how to take care of their selves. It’s a good and worthy goal. It’s got that whole “If you give a man a fish he’ll ear for a day, but if you teach him to fish he’ll eat for a lifetime” mentality to it. I like that angle.

Wei’s story moves at a decent pace. Eventually Cao Cao suffers a major setback. He seems to lose all of his spirit. I can safely say I wasn’t interested that much. Probably because I had to keep playing as Xu Zhu and I hate that massive tub of lard. I wanted to play as Cao Ren, who I’ve always enjoyed as a character.

Xu Zhu I loathe with a passion. I’ve never like the character of the “simple fat guy who’s as strong as an ox, but has the heart of a child.” If Xu Zhu has the heart of a child then it’s because he ate it. The lame air-plowing scene with Dian Wei just made me hate the character more, especially since Dian Wei died the next mission. I actually like Dian Wei. I would say that every character in the game is superior to Xu Zhu. Unfortunately he played a major part in Wei so they can’t get rid of him, unlike poor Pang De who was only in one game.

I would say that Wei has the most colorful cast of characters in it. I’m not sure if this works in its favor but it does give it a more unique feeling. But this is also the reason Wei’s always been my least favorite of the kingdoms. I’m not sold on the eclectic mix.  Wei is also one big setup for the kingdom of Jin now, since Jin grows out of Wei.

Heck, the last group of missions that you play as Shu has you fighting Jin officers, even though you’re fighting against Wei. It’s just a sad state to see Wei in.

After Cao Cao dies Cao Pi takes over. I’ve always liked Cao Pi since his introduction in Dynasty Warriors 5, but he doesn’t do much in this game. This is another problem I have with the game.  But I’ll cover that next time when I talk about the kingdom of Jin.