If you ever enjoyed Dynasty Warriors or wanted to hack-n-slash your way through waves of Trojans and Greeks during the heat of the Trojan War, then Koei has a game for you. In order to appeal more to western gamers, Koei Canada has created Warriors: Legends of Troy, a game that plays very similarly to Dynasty Warriors but with a bloodier, more western-world atmosphere. The game was on display at E3 this year on the showroom floor and GamerNode was able to get some hands-on time with the title.
We played as Achilles in the available section of the demo, slaughtering through small hordes of Trojan enemies on his way to challenge Apollo at one of his temples. In other portions of Warriors: Legends of Troy, players will be able to take the roles of Odysseus, Hector, Paris, and more famous figures of Homer’s Iliad.
The game is pretty basic: you hack, you slash, you kill, and you repeat. If you weaken enemies enough or scare them with your bloodlust, you can perform some pretty interesting killing blows that add some extra blood and gore to the game. Players will also have a rage mode that will fill up as you slaughter foes, and it can be unleashed to cause even more devastation. The meter will eventually drain down to nothing, but will have no cool-down to begin recharging for another bloodthirsty onslaught.
In addition to this feature, players will have the ability to block and attack with their shield as well as take the weapons from dead enemies for variation and strategy. A good example is that picking up a spear will enable a player to break through the defenses of enemies with shields, making them vulnerable and easier to kill while keeping them at a distance.
After cutting through the game’s various enemies came what will be just one of its numerous boss fights: an animated statue of Apollo possessed by the Greek god himself. The battle was simple in that the statue would telegraph its attacks, prompting us to dodge out of the way and then hack away until its health was depleted.
Like many bosses in hack-n-slash games, just when you think the fight is over, the boss comes right back at you in a second form. This happened with Apollo’s statue, as the now-legless slab of stone returned for round two. This time around, the statue summoned soldiers to distract Achillies and performed some more dangerous attacks. The fight was more difficult in the boss’ second form, but with typical hack-n-slash dodging strategy was eventually defeated. After eliminating his health, he was finished-off via a God of War series of QTE button prompts.
Warriors: Legends of Troy is certainly a step up from Dynasty Warriors in terms of presentation. The story based upon The Iliad will cater better to western players, as will the plethora of blood that comes with the hacking and slashing. The inclusion of shields, a rage mode, and different weapon pickups from enemies allow for some fun strategy and variety. We’ll find out just how entertaining the game can be when it releases this November for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
