Blades of Glory
Brits vs. Frogs in a mix between Dynasty Warriors and Kessen.
Published: August 3, 2007
You remember Kessen, don't you? The PlayStation 2 launch game from KOEI was less stuffy Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy and more guide-a-bunch-of-dudes-into-battle-and-see-how-it-turns-out. And of course nobody at this point should need an introduction to the Dynasty Warriors franchise. If you were to combine the two in a dimly let room with some Miles Davis on the radio and just let the magic happen, you might end up with BLADESTORM (yeah, they love the all-caps titles at KOEI).
Conceived as something of a franchise, the first game in the series (provided it does well), concerns itself with the 100 Years War between uneasy neighbors the French and the English, with naught but a little strip of water separating the northern coast of France and the southern coast of England. Given that the two were a little battle-happy, it's not surprising that there was constant conflict, but because of the sheer length of the war, both sides ended up hiring mercenaries to thicken up the ranks, which is where you come in.
With a simple (and basic) create-a-character function, you start out in a tavern picking your sex, basic face and voice, and then seamlessly slide into conversation with the barkeep, who is privy to all the info on both sides of the war. You, then, can take missions from him for either side -- and since you're a mercenary, you don't have to stick to any one side for longer than a given mission. Sure you can side with Joan of Arc for the whole game if you want, but if you start longing for fish and chips over crepes and champagne, you can hope right over and fight for the other guys.
No matter what side you choose to fight on, the gameplay is essentially the same; find a squad of arrowmen or mounted cavalry or spearmen or swordsmen, tap a button and you now command the whole squad. You can move to any position and just start wading into the battle, either holding a shoulder button to issue a general attack command, or use one of the squad-specific moves to make things more interesting. For instance, archers can (and should) attack from afar, so if you park them on a hill and fire down into a mess of enemy troops, you can choose to pierce armor or fire a huge volley all at once, all done with the face buttons (though these moves have to recharge).
As you fight, you'll gain experience for those squads, as well as proficiency with those types of troops, unlocking new abilities and boosting their ranks. As you gain levels, you'll also gain fame, which gets you new missions. Neat, no? It's different, yes, but even the short time we had with the game was also horribly addictive, and if KOEI has their way, this could be the start of a whole new series -- that is if you like the games as much as we do.
We have a full preview build of the game, and we'll be sure to update things once we've had a little more time to build up some renown and cash and plow through a little more of the campaign. Check back soon!
Conceived as something of a franchise, the first game in the series (provided it does well), concerns itself with the 100 Years War between uneasy neighbors the French and the English, with naught but a little strip of water separating the northern coast of France and the southern coast of England. Given that the two were a little battle-happy, it's not surprising that there was constant conflict, but because of the sheer length of the war, both sides ended up hiring mercenaries to thicken up the ranks, which is where you come in.
With a simple (and basic) create-a-character function, you start out in a tavern picking your sex, basic face and voice, and then seamlessly slide into conversation with the barkeep, who is privy to all the info on both sides of the war. You, then, can take missions from him for either side -- and since you're a mercenary, you don't have to stick to any one side for longer than a given mission. Sure you can side with Joan of Arc for the whole game if you want, but if you start longing for fish and chips over crepes and champagne, you can hope right over and fight for the other guys.
No matter what side you choose to fight on, the gameplay is essentially the same; find a squad of arrowmen or mounted cavalry or spearmen or swordsmen, tap a button and you now command the whole squad. You can move to any position and just start wading into the battle, either holding a shoulder button to issue a general attack command, or use one of the squad-specific moves to make things more interesting. For instance, archers can (and should) attack from afar, so if you park them on a hill and fire down into a mess of enemy troops, you can choose to pierce armor or fire a huge volley all at once, all done with the face buttons (though these moves have to recharge).
As you fight, you'll gain experience for those squads, as well as proficiency with those types of troops, unlocking new abilities and boosting their ranks. As you gain levels, you'll also gain fame, which gets you new missions. Neat, no? It's different, yes, but even the short time we had with the game was also horribly addictive, and if KOEI has their way, this could be the start of a whole new series -- that is if you like the games as much as we do.
We have a full preview build of the game, and we'll be sure to update things once we've had a little more time to build up some renown and cash and plow through a little more of the campaign. Check back soon!