Impossible! They made a decent beat-em up after 1993?
This is the story of the anime upon which this beat'em-up is based. It's a great anime and the backdrop certainly is impressive, but does this game do the anime justice?
For the most part, it does.
Graphics: 9/10
The first thing you'll notice about the graphics is the smooth frame rate that is sustained throughout the game. The generally detailed graphics and the smooth frame rate translate the Berserk world very well to the player and are definitely a prime example of what the DC can do. The graphics themselves boast all the features that you expect from DC games: lip-synch, good lighting effects, great environments, and lots and lots of blood and limbs flying around... but more on that later.
The only problem with the graphics, that I have, is that sometimes, due to the palette of very dark colors that is used throughout the game it may be hard to find doorways or crates that are essential to the game. A prime example of this is one of the games levels were your stuck in a poorly lighten cave. You may have a hard time finding the door that leads to the next passage due to the use of colors that match the door. It's not bad, and it only happened a few times, but it can get annoying.
Sound: 10/10
The great music that accompanies the anime is here. Hell, I would even go as far as to say that some of the tunes in this game are better then the ones in the anime! The sound effects and voices further the ''cause''. The actors are excellent and the sound effects are dead on, literally. Limbs being chopped off, swords clashing, doors busting open - all of these sound effects are very accurate to real life... at least as far as one can tell.
Gameplay: 7/10
It's a hack and slash beat'em-up... so it's pretty standard fare. You, Guts (Guttsu), wield a sword that’s a little bit taller then you are. You use the sword to ''sort out'' things through the places where you go. A plentiful array of moves and combos accompanies you including: jump slashes, 3 hit combos, and 360 degree spins. You also have the ability to block or to slide kick with the Y button. And speaking of buttons, there are 2 sword attacks. A light and relatively fast one (A) and a more powerful one but also a slower one (B). You use X to jump.
However, you also have a hand-to-hand combat mode. If you choose to put your sword away (using L) you can engage in hand-to-hand combat. Doing so opens up and machine-gun-like arbalest that lets you fire hundreds of little arrows all over the place. Hand to hand combat is pretty much never used in the game, unless you fell like using it to beat on some poor sap that pissed you off.
Guts also has 4 alternate abilities that he can use at any given time. 3 of those abilities are used for attack and one is used for healing. They are as follows: elf powder (heals you completely, it has 2 charges), shotgun (very powerful canon type weapon, with 2 charges), grenades (kills a bunch of enemies, 5 charges) and daggers (which are like the arbalest except you can use them at any time, they are infinite). You can use these abilities by holding down R and the using either of the action buttons (A, X, Y or B). They are very well balanced and help you throughout the game and chances are you'll be using'em after the first act.
The levels and monsters in the game are pretty varied. Levels range from all kinds of dungeons, to towns, to forests. Some levels will have quick-time challenges ala Shenmue (press a certain button on the controller in a few seconds), while others don't have any action at all. The variety is nice, but for the most part, you'll be slaying monsters and baddies. Monsters too range from zombies to soldiers to mutations and to all sorts of baddies. The bosses are well designed and offer a pretty good challenge for the most part.
Guts can also go into a state of berserk after he takes enough damage, where the screen turns red, your speed increase and you become invincible for a short period of time. The difficulty in this game, unlike many other hack and slash/beat'em-ups is balanced. At times it can get hard but generally it's right on. Not too hard, not too easy. Of course there are 3 difficulties and 2 more to unlock if you think it's too hard or too easy.
The game also has a pretty expansive array of minigames and extras. A free battle arena, a gallery, etc. It's a nice addition but it's not too much.
Now, before you run out and get this game lemme make a few things clear to all of you. First off, this is a hack and slash. As such, it can get monotonous at times. The good array of moves and enemies, not to mention the story, however, keep it interesting for about 85% of the time... And speaking about time, you may find yourself done with this game in a few hours. It's almost as short as Zone of the Enders for the PS2.
But there is one thing about this game that makes it all worth it, the story. Oh my God! I love the story in this game. It continues the saga of Berserk after the little ''incident''. You'll be surprised and amazed to see who travels with Guts at the begging pf the game and you'll be even more surprised about all the tokens and references to the series that the game makes. On top of that, its covered in a brand new story that centers around the zombies you fight in the game. It's great, but it has a draw back. Even though this game has a huge encyclopedia of all the ''terms'' in the anime, if you don't know what happened you won't even understand half of the events or objects that the game eludes too. And this is the one reason most people complain. I loved the cinema heavy (more then 50% of the game is spent watching cut scenes) experience and all the events in the Berserk world, but to someone who hasn't seen the anime this won't make much sense at all.
Unfortunately problems don't stop there. The game has 2 technical problems: the camera and the sword. See, that sword I told you about in the beginning, the one that's bigger then the main character? Yeah that one! See, this game happens in many small villages with streets that are just big enough to fit a standing Guts and 2 other baddies in them. Now tell me how does a 7 ft sword fit in a 5 ft street? It does not. As such, the sword keeps hitting the walls instead of your enemies. If you do a 360-degree swing in one of those small streets you'll easily make it a 90-degree swing due to the length of the sword. You'll learn to cope with it later in the game, but getting your ass kicked 5 minutes after the game begins because your sword keeps hitting the wall instead of the enemy isn't too much fun. Then, there's the camera. There's not much to say about it except that its bad. It's fixed and you can never alter it. It's also a 60/40 deal. For about 60% of the game the camera is great, for another 40 it's not. The problem is though, that for the 40% it doesn’t work well, it should. Getting beaten by a boss that took you 10 minutes to get down to 2 HP because the camera tilted crazily when you were about to strike the final blow is not something to be proud of.
Generally speaking however, the problems in the game are more then anything just annoyances, but they do detract from the whole feel of the game.
Multiplayer: N/A
It has no multi.
Overall: 8/10
Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage is a great hack and slash/beat'em-up since it doesn't stray to far from the time tested formula. However it also happens to do everything thing a beat’em-up should do right, that is: it has great visuals, lots of action, great boss battles, superb music and sound effects (not to mention a story to complement them perfectly) and lots and lots of blood and guts (no pun intended). And if you also happen to be fan of the series then this game is clearly a must buy.
The truth is for $13 you can't go wrong. In a day and age where beat'em-ups are nearly extinct Berserk is not only a great game but also one of the few available in the genre.