Hyrule Warriors

Hyrule Warriors brings the worlds of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors closer together in a fun, repetitive action game.

An unlikely pairing of Dynasty Warriors and The Legend Of Zelda yields greatly satisfying results.

Hyrule Warriors rewards thoughtful play and demands a strategic approach that transcends the brute force combo-strings of its moment-to-moment gameplay. The marriage of Zelda and Musou is an unexpected success, then - a game that recounts the Zelda myth not just in a new way, but in a whole new language.

Team Ninja and Omega Force have forced Zelda's universe into the confines of a beat-em-up, but much of the charm and appeal was strained out in the process.

Hyrule Warriors has brilliant Zelda fan-service, but is ruined by unimaginative combat and brain-dead enemies.

This aggressive version of Zelda can become repetitious, but there are reasons to keep fighting

Hyrule Warriors ought not to work – it smacks of Nintendo's desperation to get any sort of game out for its overlooked machine – but it will certainly delight the faithful fans, and manages to remain utterly true to the world of Zelda while offering really fresh-feeling gameplay. It's far from perfect, and won't win any awards, but has the attributes required to gain cult status in the years to come. If you have a Wii U, it's a must-buy.

Hyrule Warriors can fall into the same trappings as any hack and slash, but the amount of effort that went into making it enjoyable for Zelda fans is staggering. This is one of the best couch co-op games I've ever played, warts and all.

It's no Ocarina of Time or Link Between Worlds. Hell, it's not really a Zelda game. But if you like Zelda, you finally get a Zelda fan-service game. That's the allure. Wait. You don't like Zelda? What's wrong with you?

For those that come in expecting a classic Legend of Zelda adventure this could potentially be an underwhelming experience; yet as a fun action game with plenty of content is delivers well. Once the problem of perception — courtesy of the iconic characters at play — is resolved, this is an entertaining addition for action fans.