Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires vs Total War Battles: Kingdom
Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires
Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is another Empires spin-off from the main Dynasty Warriors franchise. It combines the repetitive hack and slash that the series is so famous for with a more strategic, Risk-like gameplay where you'll not only need to get your hands dirty in actual combat, but also make important military decisions based on your role as a leader of an army.However, many players have said that this game is definitely a step down from the 7th installment. Not to mention, like Dynasty Warriors 8, this PC port is plagued with the same control issues if you use the mouse and keyboard combo, but the problems go away once you switched over to using a controller. So, if you plan on buying this game, make sure you have a controller ready.
That being said, Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is definitely the sort of game that caters to fans of the game series and may also appeal to some fans of strategy games, but as mentioned, despite being the newest, it's certainly not the best game in the spin-off series - it is merely a somewhat decent one.
Total War Battles: Kingdom
Total War Battles: Kingdom is the free-to-play version of a Total War game that is available on the mobile platform. Set in the medieval times, the game perfectly captures how things were back then - an era filled with almost constant skirmishes and conflicts between lords and fledgling kingdoms. The gameplay mechanics are pretty well-done despite being somewhat restricted - you can only bring a maximum of 9 battalions into battle, for example, and it does retain most of the Total War archetypes like city-building, army training, and battles.Unfortunately, Total War Battles: Kingdom definitely pales in comparison to any of the games in the main series mainly because it fell victim to one of the worst pitfalls in the free-to-play gaming industry: microtransactions. Don’t expect to get far into the game without spending real money first, but if you still choose to persevere, it would probably take you weeks of constant playing to get your kingdom somewhere solid enough for you to hold your own.
That said, the game is still a pretty decent albeit casual installment of the Total War series. Fans of the franchise or of casual MMO strategy games on the mobile platform may want to give the game a try.