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Not a bad simulation game from Koei
At first, it is difficult to get past the rhetorical battle scenes, but the story line is somewhat interesting. Powering up is a must in the beginning as the battle scenes get more difficult in the long run. Not quite as fun as Romance of The Kingdom series but purely strategy based game.

Solid, but repetitive
Like the various iterations of the Dynasty Warriors and Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, this game is based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story. Game mechanics-wise, however, this title bears little similarity to those other games. I can't think of a game that's remotely like this one. Ostensibly a tactical game (like Final Fantasy Tactics), your main goal in each battle is to position your troops in such a fashion as to unleash a successive number of special moves (tactics) on one or more opposing units.

The game requires a certain degree of patience to play effectively, and is probably not for more action-oriented gamers. For those who aren't bored by this type of game, there's a fair amount of replay potential thanks to the scenario system (somewhat similar to Onimusha 2). Each kingdom (Wu, Shu, and Wei) has 4 different scenario endings, which can vary greatly in terms of how much of China you end up with. However, battles can be repetitive, as they only really differ by terrain and the generals involved. Also, although not strictly necessary, trying to recruit as many generals as possible through the use of diplomats also tends to really slow down the game.

Overall, KOEI has developed a solid and relatively unique game which can use a little more variety during battles, and a little less trying to send diplomats all over China to recruit new generals. Hopefully some of these annoyances will be addressed in Dynasty Tactics 2.

Dynasty Tactics
Best game I've ever played. I love this game it makes you feel like all of China depends on you. I enjoy the strategy and the several different endings. Once you figure out the combo's it's just a matter of time before you occupy all of China.
I can't waite for #2 to come out and start all over again.
If you are going to buy any game I would buy Tactics 1&2.
It's way better than Romance of the three Kingdoms 7&8.

BUY THIS GAME.

An excellent strategy game
This is a great strategy game. Of course I've always liked strategy games so my opinion may be somewhat suspect. My favorite strategy games are the Romance of the three kingdoms series. This game is more like that than Dynaty warriors although it is exceedingly less detailed. You might think of Dynasty tactics as Romance of the three kingdoms lite. The emphasis is on combat as opposed to the other games which considered things like politics and civil affairs(though to be honest the whole reason I played those games was for the combat anyway) Combat is simple to learn, thanks to the tutorial but hard to master. It took me at least three times through the game before I felt I had learned all the nuances. For example, the ability to send spies onto thefield of battle to assist your army was a recent discovery. Granted, I could have learned that from reading the instruction manual but I don't read instruction manuals. That's just the way I am.
Probably my favorite part of the game is the multiple storylines. It gives you a reason to go back and play the game over again to see how many different endings you can unlock. The RPG elements of the game aren't as developed as the romance series obviously. There are only three stats. Strength, leadership and intelligence. Your characters attributes increase depending on what unit they are commanding. Brigadiers increase strength, Builders increase intelligence, etc. etc.
The graphics are good but are oviously not as good as some games. The on field characters could look better. Instead of seeing your characters the guys on the battlefield are a bunch of generic looking soldiers. True, they probably couldn't animate every individual officer but they could have at least done the main players right. (Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun ce) but that's a minor gripe.
I haven't described much of the actual gameplay but needless to say their is a lot of intricate detail into pulling off the best tactics. You can read some of the other reviews and you'll figure it out.
Another thing, this game is long, especially if you plan on playing as Cao Cao. It took me thirty some hours to beat it one time. Liu Bei and Sun Quan don't take quite as long but are harder to play since they don't have quite as many armies. Liu Bei in particular has some hard levels. That's another thing. This game is difficult. But rewarding. At any rate, if you like strategy games like me then you might like this game. Just don't expect it to be anything like Dynasty warriors. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go delver a much needed beat down to Sun Ce. That punk. I hate him so much.

Only people who use their heads need apply!
Enjoy Chess? You might like this game.
Enjoy planning and deciding on strategy? You might like this game.
Only want mindless slaughter that requires little to no thought? STAY - AWAY - FROM - THIS - GAME. This game is NOT Dynasty Warriors 3 or 4. This game is all about the tactics. Hence the name: Dynasty TACTICS.

You are a warlord in ancient China. You want to conquer China. Enemy warlords stand in your way. What do you do? CRUSH THEM UNDERFOOT LIKE THE DOGS THEY ARE, of course.

You organize armies made up of various generals who command troops. Each general's troops are like their hitpoints: once the troops are all gone, the general is defeated and limps off home, to organize more troops (recover HP) so that you can send them off to battle again.

You then send your armies made up of generals and their troops to various parts of China in order to complete objectives (that the game sets for you, unfortunately). When your armies meet enemy armies, BAM, a battle begins.

Battles consist of your generals (and their troops/hitpoints) facing off against enemy generals (w/ troops/hitpoints). The battlefield is a map divided up into a grid pattern. Depending on the types of units your generals command (which you can change only outside of battle) the units can only move so fast across certain kinds of terrain, certain units are better at attacking other types of units, (cavalry is strong against archers, but weak against pikemen, for example).

The meat of the battles is Tactics, though. No, not tactics, but Tactics. With a capital T. Tactics are special "moves" that each general knows. Rather than simply flat out attacking, Tactics allow you to attack, defend, move about the field, etc. much more powerfully and effectively. Its hard to explain, but....for example: Flank is a tactic that can only be used when your unit faces the side of an enemy unit, it damages the enemy unit, and forces the enemy unit forward one square. THEN, for example, you could have several units surrounding the square where the enemy arrives after being flanked, ready to execute even more tactics, like Pincer, Aid, Charge, Raid, etc. Tactics executed consecutively, which is to say one after another automatically, do more damage to the enemy.

The best way to beat the enemy and win the battle is to take out all their generals with chain-reaction tactics. Do something to one enemy unit that causes them to move where you want, right into an Ambush, a Fire Attack, a Volley attack, whatever, that causes them to move yet again into ANOTHER Ambush, maybe a Raid attack, a Charge attack, whatever. Simply Attacking is no good - it doesnt do enough damage, and leaves you open to enemy Tactics (the computer can do some mean combos).

In order to fully enjoy the game, hell, to even SURVIVE the battles to the end, you really, really, really, REALLY need to think. You need to plan. You need to strategize, conceptualize, prioritize, ponder, put on your thinking cap, deduce your enemy's plan, come up with your own, and TROUNCE the enemy, grind them under your heel with superior force, strategy, and tactics.

If you get stuck in this game, you can't just fight random battles until your characters get enough experience and levels to beat the Boss. This isn't your kiddy RPG. This game is TOUGH, and will eat you alive unless you use your head. But its FUN. I've spent many an hour grappling with the computer-controlled generals, struggling to win the battle. And, because its so difficult, when you DO win, its MUCH more satisfying than a lot of other games I could mention.

Like the title says: Only people who use their heads need apply.