More so perhaps than any other genre, the effectiveness of a strategy is contingent upon its own gameplay mechanics and rules. In spite of this, there is always a premise or back-story; this elevates the experience by adding an emotional element to the sometimes intensely analytical gameplay. Dynasty Tactics 2, using Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a template, takes place at the end of the second century in a divided China. Dominant factions battle each other to take control of a country in disarray. Selecting one of four heroes, the player must expand his/her forces and unite the country under one rule to finally bring back and restore peace across the land. The ‘art of war’ aspect, which the vivid oriental backdrop provides, lends itself nicely to the tactical side of things and has been utilised to good effect previously in Koei’s own Kessen series.

Progress throughout Dynasty Tactics 2 is obtained by completing objective-based battles that help form a chapter structure. Big scenic battles have always been a staple of the Koei experience and Dynasty Tactics 2 always has something or someone to conquer or defeat. Upon concluding a stage, a player will subsequently progress either to a mandatory scenario, or make a choice, causing the story to diverge in a particular direction. This immediately affects the possible events and endings accessible to a player. Combined with a 2 player versus mode and a liberal selection of side-quests, the open structure makes Dynasty Tactics 2 a very replayable game with a great deal of longevity.

Battles take place atop grid-like fields and are at their most rudimentary comprised of a chosen line of attack and the successive repercussion. Gratifyingly, the core of the gameplay is not as plain as making a character type move several spaces. Dynasty Tactics 2 truly excels in the deliberation phase prior to any performance. The emphases on squad organisation, recruitment, resource management, plus various other variables to mull over and weigh up, make Dynasty Tactics 2 the ‘champ manager’ of feudal Asia.

Soldiers and armies have RPG-like attributes, which determine how well suited they are to a given scenario and its restrictions. A unit will have an increased chance of victory if the general confidence of the party (measured within the game by the Morale attribute) is high. A shrewd technique within the game, which allows a participant to prepare for battle and instil confidence within home troops, is to employ a spy. Spy characters, among other things, can spread lies around an enemy camp to lower its morale or gain some valuable intel on an opposing force in advance.

The game punishes failure to maintain and progress armies, in the form of grave defeat at the hands of a better prepared adversary. For that reason, the participant is motivated to constantly recruit new soldiers and level-up existing ones. Refreshingly, characters are measured according to skill-based criteria such as intelligence as well as traditional physical attributes.

The ‘tactics’ in the title refer to special battle moves of the same name. Tactics can only be called upon from certain positions, so unit and opponent placement is always a principal point of issue. There are three types of tactics, War, Intelligence and Leadership. War deals with ‘devastating blow to the enemy’ type manoeuvres , Intelligence tactics are more subtle than their War counterparts and generally serve to instil confusion within an enemy rank, and Leadership tactics consider more than one allied unit and concentrate on unit maintenance as well as offence.

It pays to think ahead in Dynasty Tactics 2, foresight is the most dangerous weapon a player can have at any point. Offensive manoeuvres, especially Tactics, become substantially more effective when in concert with each other. Follow-up and decoy attacks can spectacularly diminish an opposing force within a single turn and are a staple signature of the more experienced player.

Dynasty Tactics 2 houses a 2 player versus mode, which is a nice supplement to the principal single-player feature. The convenience of this element, however, is undermined on account that the core gameplay is simply not as accessible as the traditional array of fighting, racing and sports titles that have a versus feature. Competition can only truly be fulfilling if both players have a relatively equal understanding of this intricate title. This can be a problem as Dynasty Tactics 2 is a game one can learn at a basic level without too much difficulty, however, there is a substantial gap between playing this game in a rudimentary manner, and excelling at it, which requires a further several weeks of familiarisation. This is an unavoidable obstacle due to the nature of the gameplay but must be reflected upon for the sake of objective consideration. Ultimately the two-player mode is a very welcome inclusion and brings value to the product, providing both players are on an equal footing.

There are, unfortunately, issues that prevent this title from being essential rather than engaging and are mostly of a technical nature. Koei have managed to create a satisfactory, though not spectacular, looking title. Graphics are not nearly as intricate as the gameplay and sport a slightly grainy look reminiscent of earlier PlayStation 2 titles, and there is no widescreen support. Cut scenes look polished and help drive storylines, but the disparity between actual graphics and full motion video breaks consistency and can mar the engrossing nature of the game. Soldiers, with the exception of the main characters, generally look indistinguishable from one-another, which is understandable as they are mostly combat fodder, but even some of the higher ranking military personnel merely have uniform bodies attached to unique head models.

Incidental audio effects, such as the clashing of blades and war cries can, with the right setup, provide a very cinematic experience due to the inclusion of Dolby Digital support. The in-game music failing to captivate and seeming very average, does manage to harmonise its tempo nicely with the pace of the game, so it is not without impact. Voice acting, regrettably, is rather tawdry and brings back memories of straight-to-video kung fu fodder.

Much in the vein of Koei’s annual Dynasty Warriors sequels, Dynasty Tactics 2 does not deviate far from the template laid by its forerunner. The troop building, spying and recruitment phase of the game, along with having twice as many Tactics, makes this game an improvement upon - but not drastically different to - the original Dynasty Tactics.

It is easy to recommend Dynasty Tactics 2 simply based upon it being a very good (though not quite first-rate) title in a ghost town of a genre. The recently released Disgaea: Hour of Darkness transpires to be the pre-eminent of all PlayStation 2 strategy-based games so far. Nonetheless, Dynasty Tactics 2, despite technical shortcomings, deserves a place in any strategist’s collection. Those thus far unacquainted with Koei’s output, but well versed in the likes of Advance Wars and Final Fantasy Tactics, will find much to enjoy here.