Buy/Rent

Buy it for the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3 on Amazon.com

These are not your childhood fairytale stories!

In an attempt to regain their popularity, you and up to four friends can star as Red Riding Hood, Snow White, The Naked Emperor or Jack (of the Beanstalk variety) in a hack and slash adventure where no creature is safe.

You will start your journey in Taleville, a peaceful village where the rhythmic slaughtering of fluffy pink bunnies is normal. You can view your main statistics from this page, see how many types of weapons you’ve used in battle, and build an idol of yourself for everyone to worship. Sadly you cannot interact with any of the villagers; Taleville being the only place where violence towards others is forbidden. Here you will also choose to play Quest or Arena modes and have other players join you in battle.

Knock your enemies into spinning blades and off bridges to their doooooom!

Our first task in Fairytale Fights is to find out what happened to the Kettle belonging to the Three Bears. It’s been stolen, and if we want to become famous again, we are going to get it back. The first four chapters of the game have us exploring the Lumberjack’s forest, and man, these are some vile lumberjacks. To defeat them, we must be very aware of our surroundings, as they are several different types of weapons to find either lying on the ground (such as twigs or lumberjack axes) or inside chests. Chests also contain jewels, which you will slowly lose the more you need to be revived. Bringing jewels back to the village with you is great since you need to pimp out that statue. Also, be on the lookout for Wishing Wells, as spending some coin on them will provide you with weapons, sometimes of the rare variety.

The Naked Emperor does a Glory Attack

Attacking the enemy is easy enough when all is said and done. Using the right analog stick, make sure you are facing the enemy you wish to slice to pieces and rotate in various directions. The higher the combo, the greater the rewards. If you are holding certain weapons, you can also pull off a Glory Attack. For this, your combo meter must be flashing gold. With the right weapon in hand, say a slicing weapon, activating the Glory Attack will let you control exactly how you want to chop up your opponent.

When playing Quest Mode with friends, you can either have Friendly Fire on or off. Turning Friendly Fire on allows you to beat up your teammates as well, stealing their coins and weapons. Trust me, there are plenty of times when you might want to steal the weapon your friend is using. Especially when you are stuck with the squeaky Toy Bunny!

Snow White needs her meds

In addition to the slicing and dicing aspects of the game, there are also levers and apparatuses that come into play. This is where my biggest gripe with the game comes in. In certain instances, the camera angles make it impossible to see what you are doing, either they are zoomed way too far out or they are on such bad tilts that you cannot see what it is you need to do. When playing with others, if one player crosses a platform before another, it will sometimes make it near impossible for the other to even see themselves on the screen. I had this issue a couple times with the ferris wheel like platforms. I would let the other player get across first, which made the camera zoom out more to make sure he was still on the screen.

Arena Mode throws you and your friends into an arena where you will battle it out, blood a flying! This mode can be accessed locally or over Xbox Live. You can create timed matches and set the points values for winning each round. There are several achievements to be had in this mode.

Bumming around in Taleville for 15 minutes unlocks an achievement

I do love that so many of the classic fairytale characters make appearances in this game. Goldilocks looks and acts like a drug addict looking for her next porridge fix, there are Gingerbread Men, the Pied Piper, and the Mirror on the Wall is the tour guide for the game. Playlogic also did a wonderful job bringing the locations to life. Everything is wonderfully cartoonish and cutesy, which makes the bloody mayhem of the game that much more enjoyable.

When all is said and done, Fairytale Fights is a great game to pick up and play for a chapter or two. Just like any game of this nature, I tend to get a bit frustrated at certain points, mostly with the boss battles as it took a couple minutes for me to figure out the patterns or what I was supposed to do. This is definitely a game you want to play with other people. While it is fun by yourself, playing with friends really adds to the experience. As well as helps out when you are taking down bosses.

Overall Opinion:

Would I buy Fairytale Fights? In a heartbeat! Then why do I have both Buy and Rent for my rating? Well, I can see how some people would blast through the Quest Mode in a day or so and never utilize any of the multiplayer options. Also, its just better with friends, so if you don’t have any friends, a rental is probably all you’ll ever need for the game. Since I have someone to play Coop with me, purchasing the game is of greater benefit. And despite my issues with the camera angles, I really do love the game play. Would I ever let a little kid near this game? Most definitely not! The M rating is important to keep in mind. There is blood everywhere, and the fact that there are achievements for spilling blood and sliding around in it should suggest that its not really something children should be playing.

*Review product was provided by Playlogic, and does not affect the outcome of this review.*

ESRB: M for Mature
Genre: Action
Number of Players: One
Developer: FromSoftware Inc.
Release Date: Out now, Released April 7, 2009

PASS/RENT

When I first loaded this game up, I half expected yet another ninja-themed hack-and-slash game with maybe the occasional hint of plot. I was both surprised and disappointed with what I found as I played. The game brought together the classic ninja moves, like running on walls and epic leaps and combo attacks, and real-time sequences a la God of War.

The big issue with the real-time sequences is their number. Almost every 10 minutes or so of gameplay, you’re guaranteed to get at least one sequence if not more during boss fights. Some of the big finishing moves require you to press a certain button as it pops up. If you mess up during the cutscenes, you have to restart the whole thing. This process can get tiring if you don’t have quick reflexes or good timing, though for those with great reflexes will breeze through them. You get maybe a second to try for a perfect or a couple seconds to get the button at all.

For those like me that love getting achievements, this game has some in all ranges of the spectrum. You get them from finding costumes and other specific items for the first time and for completing the sets. There are some for completing missions withing a specific amount of time or completing a goal. It’s pretty easy for some, so it’s a good 200-500 point bonus on just one playthrough. For collectors, there are a lot of different things to collect like the costumes, Shinobi Moji, and emblems.

The scenery is very nice, though. The buildings look so realistic down to the way things would fall down or crack. The maps are based on actual skyscrapers and building tops in Tokyo. The monsters have unique looks, some of them even look like mutated zombies. The variety of bosses is impressive, each one provides a different challenge.

As far as combat goes, I have to give the developers credit. The combat style is both standard for ninja games and creative. Players get the standard wall running, awesome sword action, jumping and grabbing onto insanely small poles to jump over big gaps, as well as a wide range of weaponry. Your character has a shuriken that has multiple elements which transform it to a Cyclone or Flame shuriken, among other things.

The Todome Attack is a nice little treat. It combines the real-time events because you have to hit the right buttons at the right time, but they provide super-powerful finishing attacks. The Finish Attacks, which don’t pop up and announce themselves like the cut scene ones, also involve punching in a combination of buttons. These are really fun to pull off because they not only provide a quick finish to an enemy, they just look awesome.

Ninja Vision is a feature that is unique to this game. It allows you, the player, to see the weak spots on some enemies, places on walls that you can run on, secret passages, and other information you can’t normally see. While using Ninja Vision, though, you become susceptible to more damage than usual.

Saving is a big problem in this game. Yes, there are checkpoints, but with my experience, every time I went to load up a mission, I would have to start the entire mission over. That ate up a lot of time when I would have to take a break to study or do something else just to come back to having to start the mission I just spent an hour on. I’m not sure if there isn’t a way to save mid-mission, but it’s not easy enough for just anyone to figure out.

If you have a lot of time to play, like during a vacation or something, this game is good for a rent if you really like the ninja game genre. This game consumes a lot of time to get all the achievements and to get through the missions, especially if you want to try and go for completion. If you don’t have much time, then it’s a pass. This is definitely not a game for casual players.

Review product was provided by FromSoftware Inc., and does not affect the outcome of this review.

Disclaimer: This review is based on the review build that was sent out. The final version of the game may have some slight differences and tweaking of gameplay.

I haven’t played a good hack and slash game in a very long time. So when you tell me about a game that incorporates zombies into it…. well, I’m sold! Tecmo Games has done just that, with a great new game for the PSP – Undead Knights.

The story is a simple one: the King, influenced by his hot and busty young new wife, has decided that the House of Blood (a family who has long serviced the throne) should be wiped out. Little did the King know that his daughter had just married into the family, and the House Leader Romulus, the princess Sylvia and her new husband Remus were slaughtered on their way to share the joyous news with her father. The House of Blood has powerful blood pumping through its veins, and so in death, the three are reborn, commanding forces of the living dead as they systematically destroy those who were behind their murders.

Let’s begin with choosing which character is right for you!

Romulus: The most balanced of the three, Romulus wields a decent blade and has decent recovery time between hits. He is good for the beginner player.

Remus: Speed makes up for his weaker rapier attacks.

Sylvia: Her scythe attacks do heavy damage, but her slow movements leave her vulnerable to attacks.

Characters are chosen at the start of each chapter, so if you find one isn’t working out for you in a particular chapter, you can always chose another when you restart. You will also choose your difficulty level for each chapter, thus allowing yourself to face tougher challenges.

There are 20 chapters in Undead Knights, providing you with tons of zombie minions to clear the way for you. Turning zombies is relatively easy. Hold the Circle button to perform a choke hold on the enemy. As you progress through the game, you will find that some enemies need to be grabbed twice as they become stronger than earlier levels. Another way to turn zombies is by activating a powerful Wrath move that will instantly kill and turn any enemies caught in its wake. Sometimes you need to stun the soldier before you can grab him. Using the Triangle and Square buttons you can attack your enemies and weaken them.

There are several things you can do with your newly turned minions. They can climb on top of each other to build bridges, take down structures for you, and you can throw them at larger enemies to stun and distract them. The most important command you want to give them is to attack the enemies. By stringing together attacks you will increase the amount of White Souls you earn at the end of the chapter.

On the topic of souls, green ones will replenish some health, and red souls will help fill your Wrath bar quicker. Red souls are generally found in giant chests hidden in each level, while green souls comes from destructible vases and other such items.

At the end of each chapter you will be ranked on Souls Earned and Clear Time. The combination of the two ranks will then give you an overall rank and determine the amount of Dark Energy you have earned for customization. Upgrading your character is key in this game. By doing so you will be able to increase your strength and the destructive power of your weapons. Keep in mind that Dark Energy is shared between all three characters, so upgrade accordingly.

As you progress through the game you will also notice that you unlock Revenge Titles at the end of chapters. You can check which Titles you have gained in the Records of Revenge. You can also see your chapter records from this section as well.

Ad-hoc mode will let you hook up with friends for various multiplayer matches. Survival Race, King Battle and Undead Battle. Unfortunately I was not able to try out these mode for the review, but I bet they are a blast.

Fans of metal music will love the soundtrack to the game. There are three metal groups who have music featured in the game: Lightning Swords of Death, Endless Blizzard, and Valdur.

Overall Opinion: As far as hack & slash games go, this one ranks right up there for me. I normally don’t enjoy these titles too much, or at least I haven’t since the original Devil May Cry. (The sequels just weren’t fun for me at all.) It also was another reason to charge up my PSP and use the thing again. There isn’t a whole lot of dialogue in the game, but for what there is, the voice acting was just the right amount of cheesiness. If this was ever to get the movie makeover, it would have to have Bruce Campbell star in it.

I really enjoyed the game, although I did run into a couple instances that I am 100% sure will be fixed for the retail release. You can just pick it up and play a couple levels at a time then come back to it later on or play it through in a sitting. Sylvia was my Anti-Hero of choice, and I loved every minute I spent swinging that enormous scythe around the screen. And while not a big metal fan, I did find that the soundtrack was extremely fitting for the game. I am so glad that I was able to enjoy this title earlier than I originally expected to.

Official Website

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Graphics: Once you have a moment to sit back and take in the sites, the detailing in the ruins you progress through is actually quite well done. Ayumi’s overall character design is pretty nice, and her cel-shaded anime moments in the few cut scenes are lovely. But after a while, all the textures being to look the same and it just becomes boring.

Controls: There is not much to the controls of this game. A button mashing free for all. One button for your blades, a trigger for the guns, the other for targeting, and then assigning 4 extra buttons for magic & skills that you can purchase buy trading in collected souls. The difference between X-Blades and other games that use this system is that you can purchase these upgrades right away instead of waiting to find an altar to exchange them at.

Fun Factor: I’m sure once upon a time when everyone sat down at the table, some people had their thinking caps on and thought “Hey! Why not make a really cool game similar to Devil May Cry, but more on the fantasy side of things.” They came up with the thinnest storyline they possibly could, because, well, for some reason they seemed to have stuck it in their heads that they wouldn’t need to worry about having any semblance of story as long as they through in a practically nude buxom blonde. She’d be hacking & slashing her way through oodles of baddies, and whenever she jumped, you could get a great look at her bare behind each time. Slap on $60 price tag on that, market it to horny teenage boys who’s parents don’t bother to look at the ESRB ratings on games and you have easy money.

Female Aspect: X-Blades has you playing as the anime-inspired Ayumi. She fits all the qualifications of the fan-service type character: big boobs, scantily clad in barely there bra top & microshorts. While I admire the character design itself, you can clearly tell that Ayumi was developed with the underage or immature male mentality in mind.

Yukino’s Comments: I was really looking forward to this game. Overlooking the fan-serviceness of Ayumi, she was a strong adventurous female character, kicking some butt with her gunblades and fantastic magical moves. It had promise. An anime version of Heavenly Sword or Tomb Raider, minus the puzzle solving. And while it does offer several enemies and multiple power ups and skills to learn, a la Devil May Cry, I just cannot seem to get past the repetitive nature of the gameplay. There is no direction throughout the levels. No clues or hints as to where to go or what to do. For instance, at one point you are trapped in a room with spikes coming from the floor. There is no camera zoom to a potential hidden switch or even anything you can target in the room. And the story… Well, that just takes forever to get anywhere. Level after level of hack & slash with practically no story progression whatsoever. Some levels are boss battle after boss battle, which is also ridiculous as it takes forever to kill them. They take very little damage even with a direct hit.

Another issue I have is that with what little storyline that had been injected into the game. Ayumi’s voice work is less than stellar; it’s very flat and uninteresting. Supposedly she is a treasure hunter searching for an artifact that will give her fame, power, money – all the usual things that every treasure hunter based game seem to have in common. One day, while selling another artifact she had found, she just happens to find a funny blocky artifact that just happens to match one she for some reason is keeping in her pocket but never sold. A door unlocks, she walks in, slashes some enemies, touches an orb which gets her goopy, fights a boss called The Light, and that’s it for story for a very, very, very long time. If you want to keep someone interested in a game, you need to let them know they are slashing their way through all these enemies and bosses for some reason. That reason just takes too long to get to, and make X-Blades lose it’s appeal very quickly.