In Bladestorm, the player takes a mercenary captain during the Hundred Years War, taking contracts from either side of the conflict. In case that you didn’t knew, the conflict between England and France raged on for almost a century with epic struggles taking place in the age of full-plated knights, damsels in distress and longbows. An interesting setting that has all the hallmarks for a good hack&slash game, from flamboyant knights in armor, peasant infantry, brutal conflict and historical persona. Within this setting, the main character chooses side not according to some idealistic cause or code of valor but on who’s paying well and the possibility to raise enough fame to satisfy his/her vanity. To be perfectly honest, the series has spent too much time in the Far East so European medieval warfare is a very good setting. After all once you get into #6 title that has the Far East as its setting it might get a bit tedious seeing the same NPC’s and characters again and again.
No more button mashing! Well, sort of.
Yes, your eyes don’t deceive you. Bladestorm takes a totally different gameplay approach and throws away the true, tested and repetitive ‘hit a series of buttons on your gamepad as fast as you can’ interface and focuses more on the tactical side of things. The main character’s movement is dictated by the left analog stick while came angle changes with the right one. The main attack button is the right bumper, signifying that this game isn’t about insane 20-button-combo-here that sometimes delve into the realm of the arcane arts in order to get them right. You attach/detach your captain to a unit by walking close to it and press A, with the rest of the main buttons reserved for special unit abilities. In addition, by means of the left trigger you get access to a set of pennons aka short to medium buffs in the form of battle banners to augment your squad’s performance. On top of that, the left bumber grants access to your mercenary units that you’ve hired prior of starting the contract. As for the right trigger, it switches between two different minimap zoom levels and the Back button displays the currently attached unit’s strengths and weaknesses against all possible unit encounters. Overall the game’s interface makes the player realize that this game isn’t about a superhuman general having his unit as a meat shield until he unleashes fire and brimstone while pirouetting 20 meters in the air. About time if you ask me. In short, the game’s interface gives full and trouble-free access to the myriad of options and actions available to the player without a hiccup.
Graphics have moved on as well.
One of the Dynasty Warrior series issues –besides the 15 button combos- was the game’s dated visuals. If you take a look at our Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires Review, you’ll see at a glance that the series seemed stuck to older gaming consoles. This time around, the game’s graphics appear to belong in the 21st century with KOEI shedding the old skin and replacing it with a well polished and detailed representation of unit skins and textures with the environment following suit. Granted, it’s not a photo-realistic impression of individual links on chainmail armor shirts but still, they seem to be years ahead from what we’ve been used to so far in the saga. Different sets of gear have a distinct look and you’ll be able to tell at an instant if your target or your unit is equipped with leather armor, chainmail or full plate. In addition, as your main character progresses through the game and acquires new weapons, they make their appearance on the battlefield so you won’t be left with generic swords, pikes, spears or lances but the proper representation of your new shiny instrument of ‘enemy appreciation’. One definite aspect of medieval warfare was the variety in armor, weapons, markings and unit equipment ranging from menacing, to ‘fruity’ and downright absurd; Bladestorm manages to transpire this ‘individuality’ successfully. Moreover, special attention has to be given to the main screen’s minimap which is very well designed both in shape and size. After all a miniscule window would have someone completely disorientated within seconds. Just don’t expect anything in the realm of Medieval Total War but that’s another genre never mind story. However, the game’s designers decided that a certain Far Eastern artistic ‘touch’ was needed so the main character appearance has been influenced by anime aesthitics. It might be a matter of taste but I’m pretty sure that the Black Prince or the King of France didn’t looked as some cyber-punk novel heroes so they stick out like a sore thumb. Let me put it this way, imagine an action game that takes place in Medieval Japan during the Sengoku period and the main plot NPC’s look similar to King Magni Bronzebeard from WoW, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid and last but not least General Custer. Does it make sense? Not really. See the point? When as a designer you take the decision to follow a certain historic setting such ‘artistic’ liberties should not be taken. I’m not asking for a digital image of the true historical figures right down to their beard length but definitely not the out of time and place characters that are in this game. To summarize Bladestorm offers a very good visual representation that leaves a bad aftertaste with respect to main plot NPC’s. Besides the strange NPC’s that make their appearance in the game’s cutscenes, you will be relieved to know that Koei has finally moved their game’s graphics suite to today’s standards. Your commander changes appearance according to what gear and weapon you have equipped and before you ask yes you can tell the difference between a bastard sword and a shortsword. As for the units themselves, they truly look the part, from peasant spearmen to flamboyant Landsknechts and full plated knights rolling in open fields and meandering keeps and castles waiting to be sacked by you. Overall a very good job in visuals if you take the anime…thingies.
Oh no, not again.
Koei has kept the lackluster and lacking English voice-acting ‘tradition’ that’s being plaguing the Dynasty Warrior saga. In all honesty, it’s perhaps the worst technical aspect of Bladestorm with wrong accents, bland and uninteresting sound bites all given with a certain Far Eastern ‘flavor’. You can’t get away with a pseudo-British, Spanish and English accent in this day and age unfortunately. Granted, we’re not asking for Jean Renno, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino or Hugh Grant to lend their voices –although that would have been amazing- but still, the current cast is sorely lacking in believability and ‘weight’. Besides that, you can expect the typical arm clash sound effects and battle cries all over the battlefield and the best part, a very good and engrossing soundtrack. Bladestorm’s music themes truly add a touch of quality in the game without being repetitive and bland with good melodical variety and orchestrated themes.
The Thinking Man’s Button Masher.
That phrase sums up Bladestorm’s gameplay which does offer a wide variety of tactical options while remaining a very good action game in its core. When you start the game, you create your mercenary captain through a somewhat limited options screen and choose the less irritating voice. From then onwards you take contracts, get in touch with the latest rumors that sometimes unlock special battles to take part, hire new troops and haggle with the local merchant. As a mercenary captain you’ll pick up contracts from both sides of the conflict that according to their degree of difficulty denoted by the number of starts in their description and time frame in which they have to be accomplished. As you win battles and slay enemies you can upgrade your commander’s armor, upgrade your units statistics and weapons and of course gain fame to get access to more challenging engagements and historical battles.
The core gameplay departs from the Dynasty series –about time if you ask me- although the main idea is the same, in other words you command your troops, storm enemy castles and take part in historical battles of the time of varying difficulty. One of the most important aspects is collecting books that describe unit types and serve as the means to upgrade them as you progress in the game and put your foes under the sword/axe/polesword or riddle them with arrows. You see, in Bladestorm your commander is nothing without a healthy assortment of troops so it’s necessary to attach him at the best possible formation. All the medieval units are there, from spearmen to swordsmen –and even swordswomen- to light, medium and heavy cavalry. Ranged units consist of crossbows, short bows and the dreaded English longbow and then, there are the Mongol horse archers, the author’s favorite unit able to obliterate almost each and every unit in the game. You see, the main disadvantage of the game’s ranged units is their limited mobility which is nullified with these horse archers. Historically correct, these feared warriors spread panic throughout the known world and their appearance, use and tactics is as accurate as possible within the context of an action game. However, their main weakness is capturing keeps and castles since the confined spaces nullify their superior firepower and mobility but that’s where your additional troops come to play. Feel free to summon a contingent of polesword infantry and oblilterate the enemy’s base commander, taking control of the castle/keep/base and of course grab necessary loot and coins to fuel your war effort. A minor game gliltch is that sometimes your opponents will keep circling around your units making it that much harder to hit so at times you’ll have an enemy officer surrounded by a dozen of your troops unable to hit him resulting in a somewhat frustrating engagement. Nevertheless, Bladestorm is a very good game with a huge amount of content for today’s standards, customization options and achievements that aims to take hold of your free time and get you going for ‘just another contract’ when the next thing you know is that it’s actually dawn and you truly have to take a break.
Saddle my mount, I’m going to war!
Bladestorm succeeds where the Dynasty saga failed, that is to provide an encompassing gameplay with ample customization and progress rewards while taking the tactical route. Button mashing will not get you far in this game since a battle’s outcome is determined from the following factors in order of significance: Unit level, unit type and equipment. You should not for example charge your cavalry in a well-formed pikeman unit under no circumstances because it is going to hurt, a lot! The game’s historical setting is a welcomed one departing from the Far East theme that seems repetitive. If it wasn’t for the bad voice-acting and lackluster sound we might have had a classic.
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