KOEI's action-oriented spin-off of its historical strategy game series, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, marks its first appearance on Xbox 360 with Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires. Players are once again charged with the task of building an empire by conquering 25 areas of ancient China through hands-on combat against armies under the command of legendary generals. Yet before players cut a swath through the opposing forces, they must first engage in a turn-based strategy phase. Here players decide which of the game's 75 policies to implement in the areas of diplomacy, product development, government, military, and more. br br Each policy influences subsequent battles in specific ways, such as being able to fight with reinforcements or to cause an enemy officer to defect. On the battlefield, the action takes place from a third-person perspective as players initiate a variety of melee, projectile, and magic-based attacks to defeat as many individual units as possible to conquer the contested region. New to this installment is the ability to issue direct orders or general commands to officers, offering a greater level of strategic control during combat. Players can also team up with a friend for some cooperative action as well as learn more about the real-life battles depicted in the game with the encyclopedia option.