JAMMA 2002: Hands-on: Mazon: Flash of the Blade

Along with version D of Soul Calibur 2 and the home version of its taiko drumming game, Namco had a new rail shooter of sorts on display at its booth at the JAMMA show. But instead of wielding some sort of gun peripheral, you'll actually be holding a small plastic sword in your hands, which you swipe at the screen to attack. Mazon: Flash of the Blade puts you in the role of a samurai driven into an ancient castle where gangs of skeletons, demons, and beheaded warriors reside.

At the start of the game, you'll be asked whether or not you want to calibrate the aim of the sword, or in this case, the positioning of the sword onscreen when you're breaking the sensor barrier that surrounds the cabinet. To calibrate the sword, you simply move it into three different positions on the screen. When you're done, an enemy will run out and force you into a brief conflict that teaches you how to counter enemy attacks. For example, when an enemy performs an overhead slash you can block by raising the sword over your head. This results in the enemy leaving his defenses open and allowing you to get in the equivalent of a critical blow, but the tutorial only gives a brief glimpse as to how well the game actually works.

In the first level, you'll get a quick look at the hero of the game as well as a massive army of skeleton warriors wielding swords and pikes. There are two ways you can approach this particular level--you can simply swing the sword around haphazardly and hope that it hits enemies, or you can pay attention and take advantage of the sword technique that the game has to offer. The latter option is much more entertaining and impressive from a spectator's standpoint because it forces you to look at how enemies are holding their weapons and the direction that they're swinging in so that you can block the attack accordingly. It's incredibly satisfying to successfully parry and kill an enemy in one or two fluid movements. Plus, there are some situations where making random slashes doesn't do any good since some enemies are capable of blocking such attacks.

Most of the objects within the environment are fully destructible as well. In the first level, you'll have to slice at spiked logs that are blocking your path. In another section of the level, you'll run beside a long spear rack, and you can actually cut every spear in half. There also appeared to be some power-ups in the baskets and vases located around the castle.

Though some people were having trouble with the game, this was mostly because they weren't paying attention to the foot symbols located on the ground that indicate where you're supposed to stand. Additionally, some people were standing far too close to the screen, which causes similar problems, but for the most part the game appeared to be one of the more popular attractions at Namco's booth.