Warriors: Legends of Troy, whose generic title is one that you have likely already forgotten, is basically Dynasty Warriors: Greeks vs. Trojans edition. You take on the role of well known Greek, Trojan, and even Amazonian warriors as they duke it out for the fate of the lovely Helen. It’s a story we all know fairly well, and it’s an entertaining one.
The most recent adaptation of the epic story (other than this game) was the film Troy, starring Brad Pitt and a bunch of other attractive people. Warriors takes a lot of cues from that film; probably too many. Everything from the character designs to some of the combat and cutscenes seem to be borrowed liberally from the film. The movie 300 even gets a couple of references here and there. Both this game and the film Troy are an adaptation of a well known story, so of course there will be many similarities — there should be, frankly. To blatantly rip off scenes from the film, though, feels more like lazy cutscene direction, as opposed to an homage to a reasonably well regarded film.
We know the story, and the reason it has survived as long as it has is because it is a good one, so it almost goes without saying that the core plot is enjoyable. Most of the game is told in cutscenes, but there are narrated sequences that play between levels with slightly animated drawings that resemble the art of the time period. The narration and the voice acting in general are weak, but passable. The narration wavers back and forth between casual conversational retelling of the epic struggle, and grandiose arm-flailing recountings. You can really tell when the narrator was having an off day, and the same goes for all of the other voice actors.
The actual game amounts to playing as a hero who is followed around by an army of disposable soldiers, as they make their way from point A to B. Level design exists, but is never anything more than a straightforward path, with a plethora of weak combatants littered about to get in your way. There are combos to learn, which are useful against the stronger enemies and boss battles, but for the most part you will just be jamming away on the quick attack button until it’s time to move forward to the next batch of enemies.
Every now and then you will be met by a hero who wants to take you on, and your soldiers will suddenly become invincible and form an impenetrable barrier around you and your immediate foe. Occurring even more infrequently are battles against the Gods themselves. These battles really want to remind you of God of War, and honestly… they do a little bit. These tend to be the most interesting of the game and require lots of quick-time button tapping.
The game gets dull very quickly, as it is incredibly repetitive. Making my way to the end became a real chore after about the first 20 minutes. When I finally did get to the end boss, I almost quit in frustration. The final confrontation is not only incredibly unfair, but it is also not representative of the battles leading up to it. It also lacks any real weight, as the battle that takes place immediately preceding it feels like the true ending. The whole experience was just an incredibly repetitive hack-and-slash, culminating in a final boss that only made me angry.
All that being said though, I can understand why gamers appreciative of the genre would enjoy this. It’s you versus hundreds, and it can be rewarding to take out a huge swath of enemies and throw weapons at those scampering off in fear. The leveling system is also pretty interesting, using a series of expandable grids. It’s reminiscent of the inventory system from Resident Evil 4. The game also looks pretty good at times; the frame rate is fairly consistent despite the many onscreen enemies, and the animation looks good.
It cannot, however, escape its main problem: dependence on doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. That repetition is the core of the Warriors: Legends of Troy experience, and by the end, it all feels ultimately pointless. UPC: 040198002066
