Showing posts with label Dynasty Warriors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dynasty Warriors. Show all posts

Sunday, May 26, 2013

TOP Track #6 - "The Last Battle"





There's one thing that Deez and I agreed on early in this project, the Dynasty Warriors series has some incredible music. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely familiar with all the music across all the games, so I popped up a playlist on YouTube one afternoon and just listened to song after song from all the Dynasty Warriors games as well as all the other spin-off series (Samurai, Gundam, etc). A few were so amazing they made it on to our list of songs to be judged, even though we'd never played some of the games - though when you've played one Dynasty Warriors game, realistically speaking you've played them all. Though they have updates and changes, they all fundamentally play similarly. Button mash your way through thousands upon thousands of peons and officers to claim complete and total victory for your army - though your troops may as well have slept in that morning, because you're a one-man killing god of war. 

"The Last Battle" swiftly moved up the ranks of our tournaments. Although there are many great tracks in the Dynasty Warriors series, I think this one in particular exemplifies everything you'd ever need to know. The music often tries to blend traditional (in this case Chinese) music with contemporary music (in most cases, rock or metal) and the results are fantastic. This song in particular is an invigorating finale. There is an underlying marching beat to get your heart pumping for battle, an overlay of rock power ballad to make everything you do feel larger than life, and mixed in is the theme of Dynasty Warriors 7 to remind you of what your fight has been for all along the way. It's a fantastic song and I'm proud that to have a great piece of Dynasty Warriors music make it this far up our list of TOP Tracks.

- TOP
@TOPGamingBlog



This song just gets me going! It rocks, plain and simple. I'm a user of Last.fm, a service that "scrobbles" all the music you listen to and compiles it into neat data. Data doesn't lie. I have been obsessed with this song the past couple months, so much that I'm afraid I'm going to over-listen and get sick of it. If electric guitars existed in the 5th century BCE, I believe this would have played during the Battle of Thermopylae. I wish they had used this track for Conquest Mode's "Battle for Supremacy," wherein you go up against 30 generals in a ruthless onslaught. Despite our high-leveled characters, TOP and I faced double trouble in that level and "The Last Battle" would have no doubt invigorated us beyond any doubt of victory.

Dynasty Warriors 7 was my first introduction to the series, and the music did not disappoint me. I strongly believe that Uematsu Nobuo and Mitsuda Yasunori were composing themes in the NES/SNES days with some 80's metal in mind. Yamada Haruki's "The Last Battle" is a perfect action track that builds anticipation and serves up exciting, climactic guitar riffs. Perhaps no other word is as overused as this on the internet, but I have no choice but to use it in this instance: epic. That's the only word to describe this song. When the intensity ramps up again at the 2:11 mark, I feel like I'm about to go Super Saiyan.

- Deez
@Deezer509




Derivative Tracks

None found. None necessary. 

Friday, February 22, 2013

Week in Review - 2/22/2013


PC

Dragons make the best photo ops.
I spent almost an entire day last weekend playing Skyrim in order to queue up the Tumblr for the week. As I predicted, I didn't have much time to play during the week. Toki has fought his 3rd dragon! He's joined up with the Stormcloaks and is working to unify the province under the banner of High King Ulfric. I'm about to hand over the Jagged Crown to Ulfric the next time I log into the game. 


Pyro Oliver seen on the far right!
The desire to play The Sims 3 is almost always some app running in the background of my brain. Everytime I have a free moment during which I may squeeze out a drop of game time, The Sims 3 is always the game that pops up but gets shut down for other games. It's such a great go-to time sink, too. So much to do and always new ways of doing it. I did load it up this week, though. I spent a night with my Death-by-Fire Ghost of myself Pyro Oliver and turned him into a heroic Firefighter. Once he reached the top of his career, I got bored and shut it down. I have to think of new ways to challenge myself. 


Android
I don't usually mention the silly little programs I download and amuse myself with while waiting for classes to start, or appointments to begin. I play them so infrequently and they are more like "mindlessly tap your finger" than any real semblance of a true game. This one isn't too much different, but it endears itself to me with little Final Fantasy characters, summons, and themes. I've turned it on twice, and decided it's cute. I won't uninstall it just yet. It's simple, mindless and features Cloud as a summon. That's all a mobile game needs, I guess. 



-TOP
@TOPGamingBlog





Deez finally got settled in his new place with a better internet connection! We had our first real jam session in quite some time and it was a blast. Here are some thoughts on our adventures in the Three Kingdoms!




My Harp was feared in all of China.
We push forward on our journey to unify China in Conquest Mode. I wasn't sure how our maps differed due to some loss of save data on my end earlier last year, so I let Deez forge his path to a new Curved Sword for Zhou Tai and I hung on for the ride. After the weapon was acquired, we did Battle for Supremacy as our finale for the first time. It was ridiculous, fun and ridiculously fun. Two brothers against four entire Chinese armies? That's what Bunker Hill Bros are all about.

-TOP
@TOPGamingBlog


These peons are being a bit dramatic.
We finally took up arms in Conquest Mode again. After unlocking what I thought to be the ultimate Curved Sword, we joined the Battle for Supremacy and made short work of the Three Kingdoms. It was an epic battle to be sure, but our characters are strong enough that we should probably bump up the difficulty level. Watch yourself, China!

-Deez
@Deezer509

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Week in Review - 2/16/2013


PC

Dragons make the best pictures.
The saga of Toki continues for another week. Check out all the great pictures I've been taking in the picture blog at Toki the Dragonborn! Toki's fought a second dragon, cleared Shroud Hearth Barrows and is currently in Windhelm seeking to join the Stormcloaks in their rebellion. He has a good heart and is constantly delayed by people in need, but he has no sympathy for Imperials or their supporters. He slays them on sight if he isn't vastly outnumbered.


Playstation 3
For the Kingdom of Shu!
Last week in Bunker Hill Bros. I talked about our long nights tearing through the battlefields of China. It really got me pumped up to play a "Warriors" game, so I fired up DW7 for some solo action. I looked through my trophies to see what I could work on and realize I never beat the game with my favorite faction: Shu. So I took my fight to the Story Mode and spent an evening clearing it. DW7 really has a great Story Mode, even though it is lacking in several other modes.



My name is Splash
I have metal joints.
Defeat my fish friends
Earn Laser Trident points!
I've been avoiding this game because I got stuck (again) on Splash Woman's stage. After not being able to beat Jewel Man's stage for several years, it was discouraging to get stuck so soon on a different Robot Master's level setup. There is a part of her level just before you get to the boss room that's literally moving platforms over walls and floors of spikes. Timing is everything and no matter what I tried it was not happening. Then one night I only had 30 minutes to play a game so I opted to try one quick time and finally made it through to the end. Concrete Man is all that stands between me and Dr. Wily. 





Bad kitty!
I really hit a roadblock in this game. I believe I'm very, very close to the end, but I'm stuck in a tough boss fight with very limited consumables. If I had enough coffee to fuel Oliver's magical attacks through these two fights it wouldn't be a problem, but I only have one or two. There's no way to leave and resupply (that I know of) so I either have to tough it out somehow or start over near the beginning. I'd rather win than admit defeat.


- TOP 
@TOPGamingBlog





Visit the Bunker Hill Bros on Tumblr:  bunkerhillbros.tumblr.com



My Mighty Egyptian Empire!
Due to insufferable internet connection problems, Deez and I have never successfully completed a Civilization V match, but we certainly enjoy throwing ourselves at it. I really enjoy the early parts of the game, so it isn't too troublesome to always focus on ancient units.

-TOP
@TOPGamingBlog


Civilization was one of the earliest computer games I was ever exposed to. I watched enviously as my father and brother conquered the world. My first introduction to the series was Civilization II, which remains my favorite computer game of all time. Fifteen years after its launch, I was making friends in college with other Civ II players. It was a no-brainer that TOP and I would get into Civ V in order to play over the internet. It's also a no-brainer that my brother always kicks my ass even to this day.

-Deez
@Deezer509


Friday, February 8, 2013

Week in Review - 2/8/2013


PC

Yes, my sails are pink.
Deal with it.
Paradox Interactive (Crusader Kings II) was having a sale to celebrate their new online store so I poked around and find something new and affordable. This game reminds me vaguely of Sid Meier's Pirates! which is an outstanding game. I only spent a single night with Black Cove so far because my time is much more limited, but I had a good time. I think ultimately Pirates! is a lot better balanced, because getting around in Black Cove feels a bit tedious. Exploring and battles on the open sea are key to any good pirate game, but in this game it feels unnecessarily slow. 


This dragon is about to eat steel.
Toki is off to a slow start. He has conquered Bleak Falls Barrow and the first scripted dragon in the game. He's currently off on a pilgrimage to High Hrothgar to speak with the Greybeards who have summoned him. He really wants to fight in the Civil War for the Stormcloaks, but he can't ignore something as sacred as a summoning to High Hrothgar. Before I started Toki, I spent two hours adding graphical and gameplay improvements (mods) to the game. I'm now featuring the screen shots on a Tumblr account that I will link below. 

Playstation 3
Well met, Dark Djinn!
Until yesterday I didn't have the time to play Ni no Kuni, but with an upset stomach I spent most of my time on the couch. I had a really restful day as I gathered up the stones for Mornstar and am now face to face with the Dark Djinn, Shadar. I didn't have the courage (or the fortitude) to face him in battle. I want to steel my team against the coming fight. The last few boss battles have kept me on my toes and I haven't stopped to resupply my consumables or buy any new armor or weapons in a long, long time.

- TOP
@TOPGamingBlog


Related Links
Toki the Dragonborn - http://nordtoki.tumblr.com/




Deez has been in the process of moving. I've started school. We were both too busy this week to squeeze in a couple hours of gaming, but we're both very hopeful for next week. Again, I'm going to pick a game we recently played on one of our game nights. We actually hope to get back into Dynasty Warriors 7 again in the near future if time and internet allows for it.




Zhao Yun is my go to character.
He mixes the right amounts of girly-looking
pretty boy with goddamn badass.
The "Dynasty Warriors" series seems to get a lot of negative feedback from western reviews, but like I said about the "Pokémon" series, sometimes a lack of innovation can be a good thing. Some "Dynasty Warrior" titles are better than others, but one thing is always guaranteed. I will have fun. For some reason, I do not get bored of this hack and slash, historical fiction. I can always be sure that picking a legendary character of the Three Kingdoms era of China and tearing through hundreds upon hundreds of peon warriors will always entertain me - especially along-side my brother! I don't care what other people say, I still believe in you, "Dynasty Warriors" series.

-TOP
@TOPGamingBlog



Don't bring a spear to a fire fight.
Playing Dynasty Warriors 7 online was one of the best online experiences I've had on a console. I've played several "Call of Duty" titles with my old college friends, but I'm not a big fan of the FPS genre. Dynasty Warriors gave me the same amount of camaraderie, but while hacking and slashing my way through the Three Kingdoms. Although some of the online mechanics were odd, like disappearing bosses and quirky maps, playing Conquest mode with my brother still stands out. If it weren't for my shoddy internet connection (hopefully fixed soon) I'm confident we'd still be playing this game, or another in this series.

-Deez
@Deezer509


Announcement!
The Bunker Hill Bros. have started a Tumblr as well where we share random thoughts and pictures we enjoy around the internet! We don't quite have a direction for it just yet, but check it out and keep looking for updates.

http://bunkerhillbros.tumblr.com/