And the Award for Most Rehashed and Least Improved Game Goes To...

What gaming series has been beat to death more than any other? Could it be the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, where the quality of the games have been on the decline for years now? Nah. While it's true that Sega's once mighty blue mascot has seen better days, the Sonic games are generally different enough not to be considered mere rehashes. How about Mario? Well, most of the plumber's adventures are quite good.

So what could it be then? Well, none other than Koei's Dynasty Warriors series. Since its original release this mediocre and highly-repetitive action series has seen a staggering 32 releases (if you count the offshoots like Samurai Warriors and such, which share the same exact game play as the Dynasty Warriors titles. The Dynasty Tactics releases were not included because the game play is unique from the action versions). That comes out to nearly four new Dynasty Warriors games released per year with little innovation (if any) from title to title.

However, someone must be eating these titles up. Despite the Warriors series typically being a one-trick pony, the releases of these games seem to have no end in sight. Koei already has Dynasty Warriors 7 and Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 in the works, as well as a few other titles for the series. However, it seems like Koei has built up a cult audience. While the Warriors games aren't in the same league as something like Grand Theft Auto in terms of sales, I'm sure each new release sells a decent enough amount to churn a profit for Koei. And I hear that these games are quite popular in Japan... so much for Western gamers being stereotyped as the only ones with poor taste in games...