It's good, then, that playing as an Officer is an entertaining inclusion. When you first select (or create) your character, you can be a vagrant and select which Ruler you follow. Rulers offer different pay, and they're of varying strengths. As you do the actions your Ruler tells you to (invade, defend, deliver messages, etc.) you'll begin to earn more of their trust, and have more of a say in what actions they take. The best part? You can backstab your ruler in the middle of battle, joining the other side if it looks like they're going to win. Or, alternatively, you can deflect and attempt to take control of your former Ruler's land if you think you can do a better job.

It may be fun, but no amount of political (and entertaining) backstabbing can hide the fact that, at the end of the day, this is still Dynasty Warriors 6 with a slight incentive to keep hacking and slashing. Is the Empires version better than the standard Dynasty Warriors 6? Definitely. Is it worth paying full price for? Not really. Wait for it to drop in price or show up used, get it cheap, grab a friend, and have a couple of fun afternoons trying to beat Lu Bu before you get bored with it.

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