Blackace said:
Just to the OP. I don't see how ths is a double standard at all. Every year sports change. We get new stars, new trends, new unis, and even new teams. While the 3 kingdoms story is still the same. While I agree sports does get a little more slack in that area from the media... these companies get noooo slack from the digital athlete.
Sports changes, people follow the changes therefore games are made to reflect those changes...
Ok, the story is the same, but the "fields/stadiums"(levels) are revamped/completely redone, there are new "players"(characters) added with new "uniforms"(models), and new combo / weapon systems in place and bodyguard systems.
you cant change the core of the game, otherwise they'd be playing football on ice skates in madden 08 "just to mix it up a little" (would be funny as a bonus mode)
DW will always be about the 3 kingdoms, always feature beatemup gameplay with thousands of troops, you cant really change that just like you cant change the rules of football. It wouldnt be DW otherwise.
Having played quite a bit of DW 4, i must say the leap in gameplay from 4-5 is phenomenal. It plays completely different, and strives to give each character their own levels and story. Levels repeat, but its not the same set of levels for every guy like 4. They are fairly similar between members of the same faction though. Everyone has their own voiced story segments, with variations on mission briefings depending on the character selected, and there are a ton of events to trigger in battle, some following the book, some doing the opposite.
I have not played empires, but i have played XL, and i will comment that its worth the extra money if you want to play the extra modes. It's got a completely different way to play the game, items are expendable etc, and it also has the create a character mode if you want to make a custom sub general. The extra levels featuring the main cast are just a bonus.
SW2 is just radically different from DW in play style, as the level up system works VERY differently, and there are no items. Skills are awesome, and a great way to make maxing out characters more interesting. Survival mode is great, although the environment for it is a bit bland, having different goals every floor, having items / xp gain transfer over to the main game makes it worthwhile for practice and training new guys, as well as maxing out characters if you are sick of free mode.
Waiting for DW5 empires to drop so i can check it out, if its cool i wont be able to wait for SW2 empires