Warriors: Legends of Troy Review

Many of the traditional Warriors gameplay elements have been ported over to Warriors: Legends of Troy. You have the ability to perform a quick attack, focus attack, a stun attack and then there's also Fury Mode (Musuo Mode). Combinations between the different types are possible, although they need to be initiated by quick attacks. It works in a similar way to previous Dynasty Warriors titles, whereby depending on how many quick attacks you've performed, it will do a different focus attack.

There's nothing new about this though, what's new is the implementation of all these mechanics - they actually promote timing, strategy and skill. It's one of the biggest complaints of the Warriors games in general, that they were just about random button mashing. But even with the basic quick attacks, its evident that the gameplay is a lot deeper than previous titles. If you time your button presses quickly, you will perform consecutive strikes which deal more damage, and have a much larger arc for their damage.

This is can be applied to focus attack combinations, but combining quick attacks and focus attacks using this precision will grant the greatest rewards. It considerably increases the damage and range of the focus attack at the end of the combo, allowing you to cut through hordes of enemies. There are also combinations between stun attacks and focus attacks, which are nothing short of "finishers". Your character will brutally slay a single soldier and, depending on the move, temporarily stunning other soldiers around - allowing for finisher combos. It's rather gratifying to do such a thing, but the game gives many opportunities for cruel and gratuitous violence. For example, you can pick-up enemy weapons and throw them into the backs of those who're running away. Harsh, but fair.

There's a purpose to all of this though, it's not just done for the sadists amongst us. Performing more brutal kills offers more Kleos - the currency in the game. It's not just that though, it's also tied to your in-game health. Whenever you're in a fight, the Kleos you earn will be added on to your health meter at the end of the conflict - no more running around searching for health pick-ups.

Something else that's quite neat, is how the game deals with encounters between different "powerful" characters. These might be mini boss-fights, or something which is integral to the story - such as a showdown between Menelaus and Paris. When this happens, the soldiers all gather around in a circle and you square off, man-to-man. The game has a full counter system, which works pretty well, but it's here that it's showcased best. You can focus a lot more, and even perform counters to counters. It makes the targeting system a bit less redundant too, as when using it against multiple opponents, it becomes frustrating - it rarely ever locks on to who you want.