The name sounds weird for starters, doesn't it? I would have just prefered Berserk like the Japanese version. Anyways this game is probably the bloodiest I've seen in a game like this. I guess the name of the genre, hack and slash, suits this game nicely. You play as a man named Gatsu hacking through 30 different types of enemies as you find a cure for a deadly disease to save people stricken with it. I think I'm going to puke.
Bloody Graphics
Well as I said before, this game is pretty gruesome. It doesn't have guts and gore, but it's just the blood that's a lot. Well let's get to the graphics. Eidos has done a good job of making the character models and the surronding environment realistic, though some of the character models, enemies, and bosses are a bit blocky. Mainly in the joints area is where you'll notice it. But overall the player models are good. The environments are good during cinematic sequences, as are in the battle sequences. But you don't really care to notice the detail because you're busy kicking ass. The only problem are the camera angles. It's hard to judge where some enemies are sometimes. You have to keep moving to find a good spot to see. The graphics are rock-solid as is the frame-rate. The game never really slows down. That's a good thing.
Clang, There Goes Your Head
I was sitting down in my living room and tried the game out on my Dolby Surround Sound System. I do this to all my games, but Sword of the Berserk left me pretty amazed. The footsteps, sword clanging, doors opening, talking and the music are all done extremely well. The sound is well polished for a hack and slash game. It felt so great cutting a zombie in half and hearing that snapping sound as you do it along with all the squishes and squashes of the blood going around. Even Gatsu's walking sounds great, with his armor hitting on the ground with a heavy clang. The voice actors are above average making situations believable in certain circumstances. Gatsu has a bad-ass voice. You know those ones that are scratchy. Kind of like Snake from Metal Gear. I didn't really expect the sound to be audio rich, but is a pleasant surprise.
Ha, My Reflexes Are Too Quick Grasshopper
Ahhhh, the gameplay. The one factor that could make or break a game. So does SOB cut it? I would say yes. It's easy to control, but when you start button mashing, it's hard to get turned around if there's an enemy behind you. It's easily masterable if there is time taken into it. The combos are really cool hitting enemies 3 to 4 times to their untimely death. What I didn't really expect that I found in this game were Quick Timer Events. Yeah like Shen Mue! These were entertaining breaks from mindlessly slashing guys. I've only been through 2 of them, but they were cool. One had me moving from a falling boulder and the other, hacking this guy before he cut off a bridge so I wouldn't be able to get across. I wonder what it would be like to hold a sword like that. Crap, I probably wouldn't be able to pick it up.
Overall
Solid, solid game. It's very entertaining and challenging. But it's short. Try the game on the harder difficulty settings to challenge yourself, there are little goodies that can be acquired if the game is beaten on other settings. It's a game that will get old after a while. It's a great game to rent. If you like it a lot after you rent it, then go out and buy it. You won't be disapointed.
--Alvin
Graphics: 8.7
Sound: 9.8
Gameplay: 8.5
Satisfaction: 8.4
Overall: 8.3
