May not be inovative but who cares. Dynasty Warriors Xtreme Legends is a great game.
This game has some modes not available in the Dynasty warriors 5 game, those being: Edit, Legend, Xtreme and Destiny. Those are the all new modes, there are other additions being extra levels, challenge games and more.
This game does NOT however have "Free" or "Musou" Modes which limits it's replayability. Without such the game may grow tiresome and repetitive. Not that those modes are spectacular, but they do contain the bulk of the dynasty warriors experience.
In Destiny mode you will play as a created officer and choose a simple weapon and a commander to fight under. As you progress you can purchase abilities to help you in battle, these vary from tactical fire attacks on supply depots to a horse skill allowing you to kill enemies in a single hit. To purchase said abilities and skills you will need to acquire points, you get these by fullfilling objectives throughout that stages as well as small missions. You receive various weapons throughout this mode, and when at the end will be able to choose your weapon set from the ones you have.
In Extreme mode you choose an officer who will start at a defualt level. You fight through stages aquiring points for purchasing items and iron for upgrading your weapon. You recieve these points by fufilling missions such as returning Sun jians favourite tiger and doing well in a stage. You can enlist officers by defeating or purchasing them. You can win land and progress through 100's of stages.
Legends mode consists of scenarios that you battle through at a chosen difficulty, the difficulty affects the level of items aquried. You must fulfil all the victory conditions to progress through each stage.
All in all the game is fun and enjoyable but without the original it's rather shallow and won't last long. If you already have Dynasty warriors 5 and like i certainly suggest getting this. The game is, in many aspects, an expansion pack; be it playable without the original it isn't really a "full" game.