3d, ranged arena fighter overcomes some clunky presentation with fast action and a nice depth to pick-up-and-play ratio.
The are two possible, vaguely sci-fi-fantasy, battle groups, "Arcanes" and "Teknos," each featuring an array of carefully-balanced fighters with distinct abilities, and two gameplay modes "Mayhem," for quick pick 'em up games, my preference, and "Strategy" for more drawn out grid battles that I never really got into.
Most people's first reaction to this game might be to recoil at the graphics. (When I tested the disc in a game store years ago someone actually made fun of me when Brontu appeared on the screen.) This is an old school ps1 game.
Here's why the game may be worth a pick up for those still reading. The team battle component of the game is very well executed. You really have to take into consideration the level design and your opponent...and their remaining fighters...when you select your next fighter.
Fighter skills are also well implemented, easy to learn and distinct. When you play this with a friend there's no sticking to one powerful fighter or easy, cheap hits. To win, you have to master all the fighters and play with them all...and on a variety of maps, which is actually quite cool since some maps favor some fighters over others. (One downside to this is there's no reason to try to focus on playing with any particular fighter, there's no point, and the individual fighter's abilities are not that deep.)
This game's main strength is that the battles keep you in near constant motion with very fast sustained action coupled with a level of strategy not present in most games like this. Unholy War also implements a zooming camera and battle for power ups well. It's like the game designers put all their juice into the gameplay, and the action flows.
While this game does not have the retro-cool of Destrega or Psychic Force or Trap Gunner, its siblings in the ps1 library, that's too bad, because if it did, it might have earned greater cult status.
As it stands, Unholy War is a minor hidden gem; it's not for everyone, but those interested in game design or interested in a quick, fast-paced arena fighter that you can pick up an play through the years or play in strategic 2-player battles, should give it a look.