Bushido Blade
Sony PlayStation £34.99
One would expect a beat'em-up to include some fist fighting and maybe a life meter or two, then again you would also expect to fight in an arena of sorts with a set time limit. Fortunately that is not the case. Square Soft, which created the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy VII, has totally gone against the grain with this their latest product. And in a genre that has more or less been played out Bushido Blade breathes new life into an otherwise stagnant market.
There are seven modes of gameplay (VS, Two Player, Story, Training, Link, POV or point-of-view and Slash) and each of the six characters can choose from an arsenal of eight weapons (Katana, Nodachi, Long Sword, Sabre, Sledgehammer, Broad Sword, Naginata and Rapier).
Each character has his or her own particular traits and each weapon has its individual strengths and weakness. The key here is to find the best combination - a slow character with a cumbersome heavy weapon will mean instant death. While most of the modes of gameplay have been seen before on more than one occasion, in Story mode your goal is to find an escape route from within the ruins of the Yin and Yang labyrinth castle while fending off Kage assassins. In this mode dishonourable fighting will halt your progress. Stabbing in the back or attacking before your opponent is ready are some of the moves that are deemed dishonourable.
Slash mode will take you on a quest that may well last into the next millennium. Facing you are 100 crazed ninja-type characters who are hell bent on seeing you to an early grave. It is a marathon of marathons.
In Bushido Blade one skull-splitting swoosh of your weapon will lead you to victory. There are no fancy multiple combos or super-secret moves to perform. It makes for a tactical fight with tension-building stand-offs an integral part of proceedings. As a consequence battles can last 10 seconds or 10 minutes. Bushido Blade is a must-have for all beat-'em-up fans and will tide you over nicely until the much anticipated Tekken 3 arrives on these shores.
Graphics: 90% Sound: 82% Gameplay: 90%