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X-Blades Impressions - Touching Ayumi
Posted by Mike Fahey at 5:00 AM on August 27, 2008
I've been following the the game X-Blades ever since it was the Russian hack and slash title Oniblade, and not just for the adorable, barely-dressed anime-girl protagonist Ayumi. I was enthralled by...okay, I'm completely lying here. It was all about Ayumi, with her flowing blonde hair and her long legs that go all the way up to her oversized head. With the amount of information I had, she pretty much was the game as far as I was concerned. Well I finally got my hands on her X-Blades at the Games Convention and Leipzig in order to see if there was any substance behind all that style.
Before I got my turn playing the game, the TopWare Interactive rep manning the booth explained to me that X-Blades had added story and RPG elements to the original game, but the hands on time I spent was all about the action. After waiting what seemed like an eternity the guy before me finished playing, cleaned up his area, and left me to my own devices.
My device of choice was the Xbox 360 controller, hooked up to the PC version of the game. I started off in a rather nondescript rocky corridor without any sort of explanation, so I went with instinct and began killing everything in sight.
The game essentially plays like a poor man's Devil May Cry. You've got your blades for close combat, your gun for taking out those annoying bastards who materialise in the air 10 feet above you, and a few spells at your disposal to keep things interesting.
I was a bit disappointed, really. Though Ayumi is animated quite well the action fell a bit flat, with no real sense of impact. Rather than feeling like I was taking down hordes of enemies, I felt as if I was swinging my weapons and there just happened to be relatively insubstantial monsters nearby. What's worse, the game follows the old formula of running into a room, room seals, kill monsters, room unseals. Seems a bit primitive in this day and age. Block the path with debris that the last dying monster smashes free, or go the Gauntlet route and make the enemies the wall...just don't fall back on the old mystical forces path-blocking mechanic.
Ayumi still looks lovely, as do the environments she is running through and the foes she disperses (to a lesser degree), but I just didn't quite get the feeling she was actually there, carving her way through the armies of darkness. The style is definitely there, but the substance is a bit lacking. Damn anime women, always messing with my emotions.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
lilaliendog
Posted 5:40 AM 27/8/08
@penetraitor: I agree with everything said.
I am sure I will get this game if just because I wanna run around as an anime chick with less clothing than an abandoned clothesline.
lilaliendog
KristenBal
Posted 5:39 AM 27/8/08
I'd rather go with Oneechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayer. Yeah, this one also has the "room seallign till is cleared" old way of combat, but then again¿, I cant switch between 2 characters on the go, that's a plus not many hack and slash have
Maybe, 'll be playing the demo, and if I like it, buy it, i'm a sucker for anime girls, xDDDDD, my gf knows it, xDDDDD
KristenBal
HaydenTenno
Posted 5:36 AM 27/8/08
Sounds bad. Totally expected from SouthPeak.
HaydenTenno
AngryEddy
Posted 5:35 AM 27/8/08
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm blow away at the "meh" on display here.
AngryEddy
Chewbenator
Posted 5:17 AM 27/8/08
So basically another Heavenly Sword?
Chewbenator
tsukasa1288
Posted 5:17 AM 27/8/08
i never got my hopes up about this game. seems like a good thing i didn't.
tsukasa1288
TheCleaningGuy
Posted 5:11 AM 27/8/08
I hope it turns out better. It didn't look too amazing to me, but another action game (especially one with an interesting art style) is always a good thing in these days of FPSes.
TheCleaningGuy
Kyolux
Posted 5:10 AM 27/8/08
"I felt as if I was swinging my weapons and there just happened to be relatively insubstantial monsters nearby."
From the video footage you guys have shown last time. That's the vibe I was getting. Looked like it could be very nice. But instead, the ennemies looks like they are probably lose health at the same time has they're being hit, but that those two things are unrelated. Have the ennemies react a bit more on hit and that should help already.
Kyolux
penetraitor
Posted 5:09 AM 27/8/08
Oniblade was a cooler name. Hopefully they can read your impressions and make some changes. Those seem like points that could be addressed with a little more stewing time in the implementation.
penetraitor
PsyComa rides the lightning!
Posted 5:08 AM 27/8/08
Mike, your style keeps getting better.
Also, regarding the mystical walls, DMC4 did it, as always, and it felt especially out of place this time around.
PsyComa rides the lightning!
boopadoo
Posted 5:07 AM 27/8/08
I...am...shocked!
boopadoo
nitromic
Posted 5:05 AM 27/8/08
I have been following this one as well since it was Oniblade. I have always liked small Euro games. Hopefully it plays better in the full version and the problems you saw only stem from the fact it is a demo. I agree though, a game like this needs substance to the strikes, otherwise it doesn't feel right.
nitromic
Polterg3ist
Posted 5:05 AM 27/8/08
What I want to know is what the guy in front of you was "cleaning up".
Probably a good choice to use the controller if he was, erm, "using" the keyboard and mouse.
Polterg3ist
Parapraxis
Posted 5:04 AM 27/8/08
trust me, anime, real... they all mess with your emotions.
Now if you're talking about realdolls...
Parapraxis
VladMalice
Posted 5:01 AM 27/8/08
A "poor man's Devil May Cry"?... No thanks.
VladMalice
16bit
Posted 5:51 AM 27/8/08
"old mystical forces path-blocking mechanic"
..er, didn't like, Devil May Cry 4 use that?
16bit
kilikafinal
Posted 5:49 AM 27/8/08
touching ayumi. good choice of words
kilikafinal
RTW
Posted 5:46 AM 27/8/08
#@ Mike Fahey: "What's worse, the game follows the old formula of running into a room, room seals, kill monsters, room unseals."
Ummmmm..... can someone say GoW I and II, and probably III?
That's the typical hack and slash type of map really... In fact that same thing applies to Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry.. . heck, the only good hack and slashes really...
RTW
Sex_For_Pandas
Posted 6:31 AM 27/8/08
I serious need a good or, at the very least, a half way decent action game. The ps3 has really been disappointing since I bought it a good year ago in that area. Come on New Generation of consoles!! Give me my platformers and acton game fix. Do we seriously need another "Generic Shoot'em up Number 842".
I'm hoping this game might fill the void in my heart when it finally comes out.
Sex_For_Pandas
Zatoichi666
Posted 6:30 AM 27/8/08
I thought Devil May Cry was poor-man's Ninja Gaiden!!!!
zing....................
Zatoichi666
Bakkster_Man
Posted 6:17 AM 27/8/08
@16bit: That's why it's a poor-man's Devil May Cry ;)
Bakkster_Man
GnatB
Posted 7:16 AM 27/8/08
I'm just curious how long it will be before art directors cut it out with all the lens flare. Unless I really am looking at the light source through some sort of lens, (say, the curve of multiple panes of glass in the cockpit of my space ship, or the instant replay camera in a football game) lens flare has absolutely NO excuse being there.
GnatB
pandafresh
Posted 10:09 AM 27/8/08
@Parapraxis: i actually have this documentary about people living with realdolls, its kinda a sad and dreary look at a few peoples lives...gets you all depressed =/
pandafresh
Netnavi
Posted 10:34 AM 27/8/08
Too bad they went with the cell shading. I remember they had an earlier build and it was regular old 3D textures. Looked a little "animays" (americans trying to do anime and failing) but it looked good also. Like a mix between Kameo and that Xbox 1 RPG that I never got around to actually playing.
Netnavi
Akin
Posted 10:29 AM 27/8/08
1. Rape Ayumi.
2. Don't rape Ayumi.
Points for those who don't have to look up where that's from.
Akin
MR. FAP★FAP!
Posted 2:35 PM 27/8/08
@MR. FAP★FAP!:
OK, I just read it.
'eh, good enough for me!
MR. FAP★FAP!
Swift_
Posted 2:34 PM 27/8/08
I hope they leave in Russian as a language option.
Swift_
MR. FAP★FAP!
Posted 2:33 PM 27/8/08
I haven't read these impressions yet. I just want to say that I just bought a 360 and this is one of the games that actually pushed me over the edge to get it (one of, like, 5 total).
MR. FAP★FAP!
13xforever
Posted 3:03 PM 27/8/08
Just what I was saying a looooong time ago :-p
13xforever
Marceux
Posted 9:59 AM 27/8/08
Anyone else reminded of the Disney Channel Original Movie, "Brink," and was hoping to see information on a rollerblading team of sell-outs guest starring Zack from Power Rangers? Boss Battles against Team Pup'n'Suds. Yum.
Oh, but this game actually looks neat.
Marceux
360FanBoy4LIFE
Posted 6:10 AM 27/8/08
This game looks really nice. I was at E3 and got to play this game. It was very entertaining and it seems it has more to it than just your momma's old hack & slash title.
360FanBoy4LIFE
GhostWhoWalks
Posted 8:04 PM 27/8/08
@Zatoichi666: Except that, as a 3-D action game, Devil May Cry came first.
.........zing.
But seriously, criticizing the "room seals and monsters" as archaic is fairly silly since, yeah, they ALL do that. It's sort of along the same lines as why people in strategy RPGs calmly stand around and wait for the other characters to take their turn; it's just an aspect of the genre.
GhostWhoWalks
Archaenon
Posted 9:30 PM 27/8/08
I'm the only person who looks at this game and thinks it looks rather awful.
Archaenon
Skeezy
Posted 11:25 PM 27/8/08
Blooman Gaems
Skeezy