|  | Raging Blades screenshots |    | The Final Say! | Gameplay
7.9 | Graphics
8.0 | Sound
6.0 | Value
8.0 | Raging Blades
- reviewed by Alex Cuming
Review Date: 20 May 2003
Review Score 7.9/10
Distributed By: Take2 | | | The innocuously designed packaging that this game comes in could come to disguise the fact that this is a gem. It could be a long lost passion once felt in the titles Final Fight or Streets of Rage. There can even be four people playing at once, which makes this great game even better. There is swordplay, magic, ambiguous paths all of which are different for any of the four fighters. All four fighters specialise predominantly in each of the four areas. These being Speed, Attack, Defence, and Magic. The four characters that can be utilised are a monk, knight, Warrior and Wizard. Each with their own stories and quests. It is set in a fantasy world with the threat of the shroud of evil darkness sweeping over the land. You are there to stop this from happening. There was a lot of fun had by this reviewer and I only played the single player campaign. Each of the four fighters with as much as twenty to unlock imply different tactics for each situation. The reason for it being so much fun is that whilst there are only a handful of moves to be used, there is constant action. The invisible lock on and stunning technique is pulled off so well that the enjoyment rivals even Shinobi in terms of enjoyment. The control is triangle for special attack, x is primary attack, circle is secondary attack and square of stealth dash. There are some great combos albeit few in number to be pulled off. The low amount of moves may contribute to repetitive gameplay but when you can have a friend playing too, this could fade into insignificance. In duel mode you get to fight some friends in a fight to the death, muah ha. But wait there’s more, the graphics are terrific being viewed isometrically to enhance the 3d feel to it. There are labyrinths and castles, palaces all looking superb. Character designs are adequate whilst not to the same calibre of Devil May Cry. But what is? The sound effects are made very well with the odd voice over. The music is mostly of a midi quality, which could have had more work to improve the quality in this area. The title screen has a nice tune to it and the intro is fun, along the lines of a medieval Powerstone more or less. There is a duel mode to duke it out with your friends with up to four people playing on screen simultaneously. The only main fault of the game is that the moves are so few in number that you may find yourself discovering all of them in the first five minutes. There are magic potions such as vampire spells, invulnerability and thunder spells but there needs to be more. |
