Dynasty Tactics is an excellently crafted game that puts some pizzazz into grid-based strategy. But since this is a Koei title, it has to have something to do with Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The characters are indeed from that Chinese tome, but unlike RTK games, the outcome actually depends on your successful strategy and battlefield maneuvering. You choose battle units and then deploy them across grid-laced battlefields. Topnotch controls enable you easily exercise your military muscles as you activate your army, doing everything from assigning commanders to deploying troops. On the battlefield, you manipulate units like pieces in a board game, basically trying to surround, overrun, and destroy opposing units. Glory or defeat depends on your ability to use powerful unit attacks called Tactics. Each unit can use certain Tactics, such a flanking move or a sudden charge. You have to figure out how to best to use Tactics, including coordinating multiple units, to launch devastating combos. So putting on your thinking cap…er, helmet, is a must, but every move also fires up an entertaining show. The graphics in Tactics look sharp. There’s an impressive blend of one-grid-at-time unit movement with gorgeous, sweeping battlefield cinemas. The whole thing’s cast in an impressive, Asian-styled look. The sounds basically focus on telling a good story with a straight-talking narrator and grand, luxurious symphonic music. There’s not a lot of energy, but there’s a nice touch of drama there. Dynasty Tactics makes the sometimes slow and daunting challenge of launching grid-based military campaigns fun and entertaining. Your brain will definitely get a workout, which will make victory taste that much sweeter.
