Hack and Slash games have been around for a while; even some classic video games like Gauntlet, Altered Beast and Castlevania could be considered part of the genre. The premise of these games is to cut up opponents into tiny kibbles in as many satisfyingly gory ways as possible. As hardware become more complex, so did the Hack-and-Slash. Many recent games pit a super-warrior against a literal army of foes, which can be awe-inspring.
SouthPeak games has published X-Blades, which is a new hack-and-slash video game for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. The gameplay is nothing new. Well, neither is the story. But the sexy heroine and graphics of the game are really some of the best I’ve seen.
There’s nothing really complicated about these types of games, and many of them have redundant gameplay ad nauseum. But I guess that’s part of the genre’s charm. One way developers have made new games more appealing is to churn out the eye-candy, in terms of graphical visuals and scantily-clad heroines.
Available: Available Now
Developer: Gaijin Entertainment / Topware Interactive
Genre: Action Players: 1
Platform: PLAYSTATION®3, XBOX 360®, PC
ESRB Rating: M
X-Blades invites players into a fantastic universe where the enchanting heroine Ayumi fends off innumerable monsters and imposing bosses with her power, spells, fighting tactics and her deadly Pistol Blades! The anime-style level and character designs are what give X-Blades its special flair. Nearly 40 indoor and outdoor worlds dazzle players in an enthralling rhapsody of color and detail.
Non-stop action and vivid magical effects are impressively incorporated in gameplay through the use of cinema styling such as bullet time or motion blurring. X-Blades will prove to be a hack ‘n’ slash spectacle for fans of entertaining action games and anime!
Features
- Gripping fantasy story featuring an attractive anime-style heroine, spectacular landscapes and characters
- Transform into special Light or Dark forms, each of which boosts the player’s speed and power
- Innovative “Pistol Blades” for shooting projectiles and close quarters fights
- Over 40 indoor and outdoor level environments
- Over 30 different types of enemies
- Over 20 different types of magic in different classes
- Strong boss opponents in fantastic detail and designs
- Hidden artifacts encourage players to fully explore levels
- Alternate endings depending upon the player’s behavior throughout the game
The developers at Gaijin Entertainment try to mix up the gameplay a little bit. Taking a nod from Lara Croft, our anime-inspired heroine, Ayumi, has unlimited pistols which she can use for ranged attacks… and these pistols are integrated into her blades! Switching between close combat and ranged attacks is nothing new in the HnS genre, but it sure is a neat-sounding gimmick. All of the other recent additions to a good slasher is there: magic, powerups, combos, and treasure.
The storyline isn’t as “gripping” as SouthPeak claims on the box. You are shown an introductory cutscene of Ayumi pawning off her latest treasure, when she happens to come across an artifact which is the Yin to her Yang, so to speak. This apparently unleashes a bunch of beasties, which she has to fight.
She mysteriously is in some alternate universe, and this universe has big-ass bubbling blobs that seal off all exits until you clear the room. Heck, there is even an invisible wall that prevents you from going into the ocean.
Creatures start to come at you, and as soon as you encounter a new foe, you are told that information has been added to your Bestiary. Normally this isn’t a big whoop, but looking at the Bestiary can tell you of a certain enemie’s weakness. These weaknesses shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone: Ice creatures are venerable to fire, Light creatures are venerable to Dark-based magic, and so on.
The enemies that you face have absolutely no AI other than “attack the point where Ayumi is”, which is almost exactly the same as the foes in Serious Sam. Enemies will not duck, take cover, work in packs, or in any way do anything other than come directly at you, and they will chase you all over the map. You can use this to your advantage, of course, by drawing a train over to a narrow corridor or behind some cover to take out the horde while avoiding the big cannon in the middle of the room.
At first you are enticed by the visuals, because who doesn’t like looking at cute anime ass? Ayumi has an extremely sexy midriff, and all of her bodily features have been given the physics treatment. Her hair flows around realistically as she moves, and of course attention has been made towards breast physics.
The gameplay is very redundant, really fast, but that’s not necessarially a bad thing. Some people play mindless shooters and hack-and-slashers because they’re like classic video games in a sense. You can pick it up and put it down without investing a lot of time and energy, fulfilling the quick diversion you were looking for. It must be warned that those who do not enjoy mindless shooters will not enjoy this game, either.
To add even more redundancy, many of the creatures don’t differ all that much between arenas. Part of the game is fighting your way through the same levels, but with different lighting, which seems sort of cheap.In typical slasher style, you obtain more magic by defeating enemies with your blades. Once your magic bar fills up, you can unleash some magical attacks. You learn more as you progress, but you can only access four at any one time (which are assigned to some “quick keys” adjacent to the typical WASD). You can mix and match your magical abiilties on-the-fly by pressing the Escape key, and going through the menus to browse your abilities, and then assign them. Honestly, hopping to the menu really interrupts the action.
Yes, there are some gripes, but there is also some genuine enjoyment from the game. Obviously, the graphics are gorgeous, and the engine is fast. Using FRAPS, I was able to pull between 70 to 80 frames per second at 1900×1200 resolution on a Sapphire 4870 Toxic video card (reviewed here). I have read that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game can have framerate issues, though.
There’s really nothing new presented by X-blades that hasn’t been done before, and probably done better, but it does fill a hole for the gamer that isn’t feeling the Hack-and-Slash love. X-blades can be a fun mindless slasher that can be a bit of fun for a while. Just note that you really need to be a fan of Hack-and-Slash games to really feel like you got your money’s worth.
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1 Comment
" Ice creatures are venerable to fire,"
I'm thinking a 'UL' might be in order….