Dynasty Warriors Vol.2 is the second game in the long-running Dynasty Warriors series developed exclusively for the PSP. The game, like its predecessor, retells the story from Luo Guangzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms by allowing the player to control an officer from the Wu, Wei, or Shu kingdoms during the most pivotal battles in each kingdom’s storyline. Dynasty Warriors 5 inspired the playable characters and their appearance. Each scenario contains branching stages that can be unlocked by replaying the scenario but taking a different path. After that, each battle can be played in free mode. The actions occur on a map divided into several smaller areas. These locations could be allied or enemy camps, supply depots, or open fields.
The player must move from area to area, entering a battlefield only when the area is under enemy control or attacked by the enemy army. Defeating enemy officers and squads until their troop’s morale reaches zero will liberate the room, occasionally yielding rewards such as supplies, which add to the total time of the battle, reveal hidden places, or refill some health. Before each stage, the player can equip a new weapon and mount and select up to four generic officers to accompany the chosen character. Each officer has a level, rank, squadron units, and special abilities that will affect the battle’s outcome. The player character’s command stat determines the chosen officer. If the command number is 30, officers with a combined level of 30 can be selected. In battle, the player must defeat as many enemies as possible by combining regular and charge attacks and unleashing the series’ signature Musou attack. Different weapons enable more combo attacks and more potent attacks. The character will gain experience and level up by defeating enemies. However, the level is reset between battles, and the accumulated knowledge is converted into points, which are then used to advance the officers’ ranks. When the winning conditions of a stage are met, the army is declared victorious; however, if the player character is defeated, supplies run out, or the main camp is taken, the game is over. After winning a battle, the player is rewarded with new officers and weapons or mounts. Completing the Musou mode unlocks new playable characters. Depending on the scenario and actions won, different characters become available. Aside from the Musou (Story) mode, the game includes Free and Multiplayer methods. The Multiplayer mode supports up to four players Ad Hoc and consists of games such as Bombs Away, Battle Royal, Time Attack, and Sudden Death.
