The life of a pimp isn't at all like their portrayal in videogames and television. Sure, you have to smack the occasional bitch around and can optionally wear funny hats, but most your time is spent dealing with abusive Johns who damage your merchandise, as well as the inevitable STDs putting your girls out of business. That's why every self-respecting pimp needs an Old Faithful. Her name might be Bessy or Nelly, or something equally bovine/equestrian sounding. And that's fitting, because she's a real work horse; she isn't the best looking or youngest in his stable, but she's been turning tricks since before most of the other girls were twinkles in their father's eye. She puts in a solid performance, but nothing toe-curling, but she's always on time and she always gets the job done. Every self-respecting pimp needs an Old Faithful, and for Koei, that work horse is Dynasty Warriors.

Dynasty Warriors first appeared on the streets way back in 1997 as a fresh-faced young fighting game, full of promise and expectations of the videogame world. Koei, whose stable was more geared towards strategic satisfaction, put the fighter to work immediately, and thousands of punters couldn't get enough. Dynasty Warriors, flushed with success, took her earnings and invested heavily in staying fresh and exciting, changing her style from a pure fighter to a roaming action-brawler set in historical levels. Of course, her clients lapped it up; in fact they couldn't get enough of it, which is where our story takes a turn for the worse. Nearly 10 years later, Dynasty Warriors is stuck in a rut, performing the same old tricks she has for the better part of a decade. Sometimes she puts a few twists in, and applies her make-up a little thicker every morning, but it doesn't disguise the fact that she hasn't changed much in the last 9 years.

And so the scene is set for the newest chapter in our little work horse's story, as Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires makes its first foray into the brave new world of ‘next-gen' gaming. But these aren't the same street corners, dark alleys and back-seats she is used to; her clientele are more sophisticated, demanding better looking girls, with a wider variety of tricks and goodies under the hood, they want fast, smooth action, and they want to be able to see what's going on more than four feet in front of them. In short, they want something new, and fresh to get their kicks. And with sexy little hardbodies like 99 Nights strutting their stuff on the main drag, things aren't looking good for our hooker heroine with the heart of gold. Her solution? Reduce her rates...

At $40 less than most brand-new titles, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires is practically giving itself away to any creep walking down the street. And sadly, for the average punter, this is going to be about the most attractive thing in this package. And even then, with other Xbox 360 titles already dropping in price to around the same amount, Old Faithful is going to struggle to get any play at all. Which is a shame, because if you can get past the bland exterior and the fact that the core gameplay hasn't changed in years, there's still a lot to enjoy in Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires.

In case you somehow managed to miss Dynasty Warriors 2, 3 4 or 5, the Extreme and/or Legends and/or Empires versions, or Samurai Warriors, it is a historical adventure/brawler, whereby you control any one of hundreds of figures from the period of the Han Dynasty, made popular in the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. You'll battle through dozens of historic battles and scenarios using these characters, decimating legions of grunts, while engaging in epic duels with other historical figures. This probably sounds quite simple, but Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires is anything but, as you will no doubt know if you have previously played a Dynasty Warriors game suffixed by "Empires”.

The main game mode is called, funnily enough, Empire Mode, and is basically a highly stripped-down, much-simplified version of Koei's own Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy games (which have never made it to Xbox). It presents the player with a variety of historical scenarios, asks them to pick a character and province, and then drops you slap bang in the middle of things without nary a tutorial or helping hand. This strategic map of China will be pretty daunting if you've never played a Dynasty Warriors: Empires variant before, but essentially, it's up to you to take your hero character, a couple of other generals and lieutenants, and invade the other 25 provinces, eventually capturing them all. The invading should be familiar at least – it's just the normal game mode – and once you've done that, you'll be presented with, yep; you guessed it, more daunting strategic options.

Many tough years on the street have made Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires a hardened character, unforthcoming with information or advice, and sending off the sort of vibe that is likely to make potential newcomer balk. But underneath the tough exterior is a game waiting to be played, and in this case, the strategic gameplay present in the Empire Mode is deeply rewarding once you understand what is going on. The main strategic aspect plays out during what is known as the Policy Phase, which allows you to guide the direction of your burgeoning empire.

When you first load up Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires this range of policies is disappointingly small, limited to things like levying an emergency tax or producing an item. However, as you slog your way through the various Empire Mode campaigns, you'll unlock a host of new policies, strategies, tactics, items and special abilities that can be deployed. And the larger your empire, the more policies you can unleash per turn. Not only that, but certain provinces have access to policies and production capabilities you otherwise wouldn't be able to get, so picking who to invade in when is a whole other layer of strategy. It's another clear example of why Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires isn't the kind of game many people can just pick up and play, but if you're willing to put in the effort, it can be a deeply rewarding experience.

The most familiar example of this mantra comes in the form of officers, who are playable characters gained during the course of the game. When you begin, you'll have one or two dozen available, but by the end, you could have over two hundred available to choose from. And of course, every one of them can earn experience and items in battle – and they'll gain XP regardless of whether you're directly controlling them in combat – which gives you even more reason to keep playing and build them up from weak recruits to unstoppable super warriors.

This is of course done by engaging in the repetitive acts Dynasty Warriors has become famous for, namely decimating hordes of enemies at a time with ridiculously powerful combos. This core mechanic is the tool with which the game practices its profession and hasn't changed a bit; X & Y are your normal and heavy attacks, while B unleashes your Musou attack when the relevant meter is full. You'll gad about in your fancy costumes attacking enemy officers and capturing them (which is how you can unlock them if they're willing to join you), capturing bases and eventually winning the battle. There's something quite comforting in the familiarity of the gameplay it must be said, but punters expecting new tricks will probably be disappointed.

Speaking of disappointments, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires is hardly the definitive ‘next-gen', high-definition gaming experience. It's basically a higher resolution version of the Xbox game with admittedly a vastly improved draw-distance, but one that still manages to have its fair share of pop-ins. The framerate is rock solid as you would expect, but it's clear that nothing has really been done to optimize the experience for the Xbox 360. We can only hope that Samurai Warriors 2 will put in a little more effort. Suffice to say that this game is visually underwhelming in every regard, from the low-polygon models and sparse battlefields to the odd pop-ins and occasional glitches, it screams of a rush-job. Likewise the audio seems largely unchanged from the previous games, although the implementation of Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound certainly spices things up for those with a home theatre system.

There isn't a whole lot to Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires outside of its all-consuming Empire Mode, which is where you will no doubt spend countless hours strategizing and slaying armies. Free Mode is pretty much just a quick one-off battle that lets you pick your scenario, adjust all the variables, and then just have at it. You can play with a friend in this mode and also in Empire Mode battles, but sadly there's no versus mode which is a real shame. You'll unlock all your Achievements during Empire Mode too, gaining one Achievement for every 10 officers you unlock, as well as a dozen or so for beating the scenarios or special battles that pop up in the scenarios.

Aside from that, there's a pretty extensive Encyclopedia and library filled with historical background and character info for those of you inclined to learn a little bit more about the period in which the game is set. But ultimately, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires is just a series of long, repetitive battles spiced up by the surprisingly rewarding and deep Empire Mode, but at its heart nothing has changed. If Dynasty Warriors's old tricks managed to get you going in the past, then she'll probably still please you. Virgins to this style of game may be better served starting with something like 99 Nights, however.