i've played through the first three chapters, and killed 16 of its 48 fiends. it's not as if i don't understand the reviews -- the camera's a mess, the in game animation borders on inept, and the fighting's nowhere near as forceful or dynamic as something like ninja gaiden. in fact, forget ninja gaiden: blood will tell is clunkier than practically the entire damn crop of contemporary 3d action games. but hang on a moment -- it has a lot going for it.
it's not exactly a straight action game. there's lots of hidden stuff to root out, and there are a few different kinds of stat building. and while the cutscenes aren't spectacular or overbearing in an mgs style, they're smartly plotted and well animated, and they do a really good job of lending your actions context. it's at least an adventure game. wouldn't be a huge stretch to call it an action rpg...it'd certainly be one if the world was continuous rather than delivered in chapters.
it's an intriguing world, anyway. a lot of the pleasure is in the world rather than the action. the writing isn't great. it tends to be crudely expository. but the basic idea of a clockwork samurai wandering from one bombed out village to another hunting demons and reclaiming his body part by part is enjoyable. it has sort of a phantasmagorical samurai western thing going for it. the comic must have been a big influence on blade of the immortal, whose hiroaki samura contributes the game's character designs. the level designs are nicely atmospheric, and a lot of the fun is in returning to levels and scouring them for hidden fiends (seems like roughly half are optional).
the merits of the level designs don't end at atmosphere -- they're smartly paced and choreographed as well. again, the game is really good at context; you never feel as if you're just walking down a path and bopping mooks, even when that's precisely what you're doing. i don't want to spoil it, but there's a very good bit where hyakkimaru (the samurai) and dororo (the kid) coordinate to take on something very, very big. it's fucking cool.
it occurs to me that i hadn't mentioned the kid yet. that's reprehensible. the kid is great. thanks to strong animation and voice acting, he's charming where he might have been really irritating. and the sections where you take control of him nicely break up the action. plus you can assign him to root out secrets for you, and you're in no way responsible for protecting him. this makes him one of the very few likeable sidekicks in gaming.
i've said the action is clunky -- and it is -- but it's fun all the same. you can't block at all. you have to dodge everything or simply attack your enemies first. this works really well. particularly in the numerous and often well-designed boss encounters. the game's one novel mechanic is the "slice attack" system (or something of the sort), in which you follow an onscreen button sequence to prolong your combo, like parappa without the rhythm. i really like the way it's implemented. it can be interrupted by other enemies, so you have to set it up carefully. it's fun to see how many attacks you can cram into the short window you're given (i've gotten as many as 28). and critically, a successful slice attack makes enemies drop items, and the longer your combo, the better the drop.
i've already written a lot more than i meant to. but i'm really enjoying it. and if you can forgive some clumsiness in a very clever game, you should check it out.
it's not exactly a straight action game. there's lots of hidden stuff to root out, and there are a few different kinds of stat building. and while the cutscenes aren't spectacular or overbearing in an mgs style, they're smartly plotted and well animated, and they do a really good job of lending your actions context. it's at least an adventure game. wouldn't be a huge stretch to call it an action rpg...it'd certainly be one if the world was continuous rather than delivered in chapters.
it's an intriguing world, anyway. a lot of the pleasure is in the world rather than the action. the writing isn't great. it tends to be crudely expository. but the basic idea of a clockwork samurai wandering from one bombed out village to another hunting demons and reclaiming his body part by part is enjoyable. it has sort of a phantasmagorical samurai western thing going for it. the comic must have been a big influence on blade of the immortal, whose hiroaki samura contributes the game's character designs. the level designs are nicely atmospheric, and a lot of the fun is in returning to levels and scouring them for hidden fiends (seems like roughly half are optional).
the merits of the level designs don't end at atmosphere -- they're smartly paced and choreographed as well. again, the game is really good at context; you never feel as if you're just walking down a path and bopping mooks, even when that's precisely what you're doing. i don't want to spoil it, but there's a very good bit where hyakkimaru (the samurai) and dororo (the kid) coordinate to take on something very, very big. it's fucking cool.
it occurs to me that i hadn't mentioned the kid yet. that's reprehensible. the kid is great. thanks to strong animation and voice acting, he's charming where he might have been really irritating. and the sections where you take control of him nicely break up the action. plus you can assign him to root out secrets for you, and you're in no way responsible for protecting him. this makes him one of the very few likeable sidekicks in gaming.
i've said the action is clunky -- and it is -- but it's fun all the same. you can't block at all. you have to dodge everything or simply attack your enemies first. this works really well. particularly in the numerous and often well-designed boss encounters. the game's one novel mechanic is the "slice attack" system (or something of the sort), in which you follow an onscreen button sequence to prolong your combo, like parappa without the rhythm. i really like the way it's implemented. it can be interrupted by other enemies, so you have to set it up carefully. it's fun to see how many attacks you can cram into the short window you're given (i've gotten as many as 28). and critically, a successful slice attack makes enemies drop items, and the longer your combo, the better the drop.
i've already written a lot more than i meant to. but i'm really enjoying it. and if you can forgive some clumsiness in a very clever game, you should check it out.
