Articles tagged hack and slash

Divinity II: Ego Draconis by colin | 05-01-10

Review

Divinity II: Ego Draconis is one of the few games these days which keeps you guessing. There's an early plot twist, which anyone who's read the back of the box will foresee. Then Mr Gandalf-wannabe appears and, like that annoying guy who's seen the film already, tells you your destiny. After that, some may consider the progression linear, but the line is often colourful, and it probably doesn't end-up where you expect it to.

iPhone

Review

Hero of Sparta by Josh Wilson | 20-01-09

Ancient mythology is a grave oft plundered for concepts, creatures and whatnot. Hero of Sparta is very much a game in this vein...

Xbox 360

Review

Too Human by Craig Wilson | 09-09-08

It looks like the hype machine has done it again. After a development period longer than many gamer's lives, Too Human is little more than a dull action game touting itself as an RPG.

Xbox 360 | PS3

Review

Hellboy: The Science of Evil by Kieran McSherry | 04-09-08

I know what you're thinking: "Please, sweet and merciful Christ, not another hideous attempt at a movie game crossover". But surely, with the KONAMI logo plastered all over it Hellboy can't be that bad. Can it?

Xbox 360 | PS3

Review

Viking: Battle for Asgard by Dave Cook | 31-03-08

Hack n' Slash games have been around for several years. Their roots lie in old school legends such as Final Fight and the genius that is Streets of Rage 2. Yet back then it was apparent that it was a linear formula. Move from one side of the pre-set level to the other, fighting thugs and other stereotypes, picking up freshly prepared chicken along the way for health (who cooks these things??). Still, it is a style of game which has evolved over the years and evolved into titles such as David Jaffe's God of War and 2007's surprisingly good Conan. Viking firmly enters this list near the top of this list for its interesting spin on the genre and pleasing combat system. It is a dark time and the monstrous horde army has ravaged the land of Asgard and forced the humans into hiding and captivity. Playing as man-mountain Skarin it's up to you to take sword in hand and slice your way through enough of the evil buggers, recoup your Viking brethren and rally them to glorious victory. It sounds like Lord of the Rings and to be fair, the influence is apparent from the start. Beginning in the Viking encampment of Midgard, Skarin strides into town after being killed on the battlefield. Given a second shot at life by mythical goddess Freya and tasked with saving the world, your men look up to you and will follow you to the grave. The story spans several islands and the first one is massive. You are sent out into the countryside with a few small missions with the freedom to roam as you please. It's never overbearing though and exploration is encouraged. You can do things at your own pace, search for gold in beach coves and spooky forests or get on with it and go through the story. Each mission will result in you getting more troops to join your army and once you have enough you can lead a charge on one of the horde encampments. These are full-scale, epic battles with hundreds of characters on screen at any one time. It's a real rush to charge through a seemingly endless sea of monsters, cutting your way through the weaker baddies to the generals and sorcerers who provide a bigger challenge. They are tough fights but once you get to grips with the combat system and buy some new moves and combos, you'll be spilling blood with relative ease. Combat is very simple, with X and A used for light and heavy attacks, shoulder buttons use magic such as fire blades or the ability to freeze enemies. It's all been done before but flows very well here. Combat is brutal and slick and stunning enemies allows you to execute some rather gruesome deathblows which are satisfying to say the least. Although charging in head first is encouraged in these titles, there is an element of stealth present here. When near cover or in shadows Skarin automatically enters stealth mode, this allows for some brutal rush attacks as you slice a monster in two before he has a chance to see you. It works very well and is satisfying. As we all know, stealth sections can severely water down a game, but thankfully not here. Voice acting and soundtrack are over the top and all the better for it. It's a silly-epic, in the style of action flick Beowulf, only ten times better. If there was a niggle and, this is a very small one, it is the familiarity of it all. Sure it throws in army building and stealth tactics which work well but you can't shake the feeling you've seen this all somewhere before. God of War still rules the roost and it is often frustrating to see a developer like The Creative Assembly come up with a game like Viking only to see it overshadowed by this seemingly unshakable peer. Brilliant and worth a purchase in its own right, yet dwarfed by God of War. Another surprise hit from a new developer, the future's looking brighter all the time. 8/10