Koei

Game Description: Colosseum: Road To Freedom takes you to the time after Caesar's death and follows the life of a gladiator in those trying times. Travel back in time to the height of the Roman Empire circa 190 AD, to see the brutal reality of life-and-death fights in the Colosseum. Narcissus the Gladiator saw his village burnt to ashes by Roman soldiers. On his quest for revenge, he is captured and sent to the arena, to entertain the Roman citizens by shedding blood.

Every strike and its delivery is determined by the player.  This alone makes it a unique title, and one with considerable appeal for players interested in the gladiatorial subject matter.

Even before I played Dynasty Warriors 6, I was dreading having to write this review. For a critic, there's nothing worse than having to review games that we really like (yes, I'm a fan). Contrary to popular belief, critics do try to enjoy ourselves and we don't point out flaws for the sake of being negative.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

Game Description: Based on the epic novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the genre defining series depicts the massive battles ignited by the fall of the Han Dynasty when three rebellious states moved to overthrow the Emperor of China. Featuring a new proprietary combat engine, Dynasty Warriors 6 delivers the exhilaration of single-handedly destroying thousands of soldiers on massive fields of combat. The lightning-fast, kung-fu fighting, fluid motion-captured animation, intuitive combat system and immersive environments create an unparalleled gaming experience, and push the limits of tactical action.

Although the formula has long since been left in the dust, I feel comfortable in saying that if this game had hit shelves within a reasonable amount of time after the original, it would have stood a good chance of becoming a leader in the action genre.

Game Description: Dynasty Warriors 5 is the greatest Dynasty Warriors game ever. All of the characters have their own story, and events will be viewed from the Warrior's own perspective. More powerful weapons, smarter soliders and battlefields that are 30% larger—all here to help you conquer. You'll be challenged to make snap decisions in the heat of battle—and keep advancing into enemy territory to complete your goal and build a Dynasty. Twice as many characters per screen, for the most devastating Musou attacks ever. The enhanced battlefield base system challenges your strategy skills in combat.

This review is for all the Dynasty Warriors-haters (which appear to be mostly people from the Western hemisphere). Dynasty Warriors 5 isn't all that different from part 4 which wasn't all the different from part 3.