Bushido Blade - PS3

ESRB Rating:
Release Date: 11-26-2008
Critic Score (1-100): Not Availalbe
Genre(s): Action, 1st-person, Martial arts, Fighting, 3rd-person (Other), Cinematic camera, Japan (Ancient/Classical/Medieval), Regional differences
Media Type(s): Physical

What's the point, you might ask, in a fighting game where you can be dead in seconds, penalised for behaving badly, or, for that matter where you can just run away and hide? Run away and hide? In a fighting game? Um, like hello? Isn't that just totally game over?

But this is Bushido Blade from Squaresoft; and this is fighting re-invented. 'Bushido' is a Japanese word referring to the moral code and sense of honour developed among the Samurai and apparently first used in the civil war in Japan in the 16th century. Influenced by the national tradition of Zen and Confucianism, the Bushido code demanded kindness, honesty and loyalty; as well as the more familiar slash and burn qualities. Bushido Blade reflects this in the way that your behaviour during a fight will affect later stages of the game. There are rules, and if you break them, your success could be in jeopardy.

The game features a huge 3D environment in which the action takes place; and you can literally run anywhere within it whilst pursuing your foes, or hide and wait to ambush an opponent. The environment is fully interactive: you can fight in bamboo forests (where the trees get in your way), or chase an opponent knee-deep in a river. You can also choose to play in standard second person, or the POV (first person) view which gives you an even more authentic experience.

Besides the 2 player mode (split-screen or via a link cable) there is also Slash mode, where you are given a mission of defeating 100 armed ninjas in succession; and the innovative and fascinating Story mode which weaves a complete storyline into your numerous battles. You fight as a deserter from the secret assassin group known as Kage, the aim being to survive until you can find an escape route concealed somewhere in the confines of a ruined castle tower . . .

Bushido Blade takes a completely new approach to combat, with a selection of weapons for each character and various 'stances' both affecting the range of attack moves available. New special moves become available depending on which stance your character assumes. The system of simply taking a hit whilst blocking an opponent is gone too. Instead, Bushido Blade makes you actively work at your defence - by parrying your opponent's blade you can actually turn defensive moves into successful counter attacks.

Bushido Blade takes the fighting genre onto a higher plane. Now, you could sit down honourably and meditate on this whilst communing with the elements. Chances are though, someone will creep up behind you with a large sword. Eat your heart out Confucius . . .before someone else does.

The Bushido code of honor governs the actions of the Samurai and sets a code of ethics for use in fighting. Sometime in the 20th century, a group of Narukagami ninja, each proficient in a different style, find themselves in a battle to regain their honor in the fighting ring.

Bushido Blade is a versus fighting game with several unique features. It does away with health bars, special meters, and other traditional gimmicks and allows for battles to be won with a single hit. Players select from among six ninja, each of a different fighting style and attributes. Players also choose equipment from among eight weapons, including Japanese swords, European blades, naginata and a sledgehammer.

Battles take place in wide open areas in which combatants can run around as well as climb up and down. Some structures, like bamboo trees, can even be cut down. In the single player game, players can even run through the entire castle, picking a preferred fighting ground location. In addition to the single player story mode, there's a versus mode, a slash mode where you will be attacked by 100 generic ninja in one long corridor, a training, and a 'POV' mode, which allows players to play from first person, heightening the realism. The game's versus mode can also be played using two Playstations linked up.

Gameplay involves picking one of three stances, then attacking high, middle, or low. Directions while attacking change attacks, and attacks can be combo'd. Player damage is location based, with hits to arms often making them useless, hits to legs crippling, and hits to heads and clean across the torso being mortal. The use of stances and the easily achieved one hit kills make Bushido Blade one of the most deadly, and therefore realistic, weapon fighters around.

*** Data by MobyGames.com ***

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