	Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War
	Developer: Koei Publisher: Koei Release Date: Out Now Players: 1	Words By:
“If Joan of Arc… had a heart… would she give it… as a gift…?” A small slice of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark there. And Bladestorm provides a rather huge helping of medieval battlefield manoeuvres in the northern regions of France. Occasionally in the dark… One thing I have always wanted Koei to explore in their button mashing, ‘take on a whole army single handed’ game engine is the European knights in armour thing. There is much more scope for large scale, brutal violence in the history of our plague ridden medieval continent and it makes for a refreshing change from the rather stagnant oriental Dynasty Wars. The fact that they had chosen the hundred years war period had me jumping noisily in my plate mail with joy. Chivalry? Agincourt? Dysentery? Count me in! From the moment I started to play the game though it became clear that things were not going to be quite as I expected. For starters when I selected my male or female protagonist it was obvious that the modelling was still stuck in a distinctly far eastern perspective on what European characters should look like. Clean cut, modern, sexy and stylish are not exactly befitting of this pudding bowl hair do, pox ridden period. “Prepare for some inappropriate fantasy 4thy” I said to myself- a line I usually save for other personal pursuits…. Things didn’t seem much better when I visited the tavern. For some reason a moustachioed pub landlord with a suspect Inspector Clouseau accent had a personal interest in all my mercenary dealings. And then when I decided upon one of the campaigns on offer (as if it was like going to the job centre in those days!) I found myself plonked on the battlefield all at sixes and sevens. Why is my character not hacking and slashing?” I screamed as I mashed buttons. “Where are his moves? Why are all these troops standing around doing nothing?” It all seemed wrong, confusing and as badly matched as a frogs legs and chips….. But patience is a virtue, especially in battle. When playing a game released under the KOEI banner it is natural to expect to encounter one track, finger numbing hack and slashing. However with Bladestorm it seems that they have tried something different and hey nonny nonny it works! Interestingly, your playable character is not really the focal point of the gameplay anymore. Sure, you can move your guy freely around the battlefields of Normandy and throw him/her into a brawl but you won’t last long on your own and your reflexes are of no use no matter how quick you are. Instead this game is all about the strategic use of the A button and the shoulder button. Using your map you can see that there are units all over the battlefield, red or blue depending on whether you are fighting for England or France. These can be cavalry, archers, swordmen, pikemen etc of countless varieties. Each of these units number a couple of dozen nicely drawn soldiers and by walking amidst one of them you can press the A button and take control. And this is the brilliance of the game. By taking your unit you can travel wherever you want on the battlefield, sneaking through trees and around castle walls to engage the enemy by holding down the shoulder button. You and your men will then automatically engage in brutal hacking until either they or your foes are slain or dispersed. Fortunately there is a tactical element thrown in as well so it’s not just a matter sitting and watching. Every unit has some special moves assigned to the other face buttons and these can be crucial against different types of armour or mounted foes. For example, Greatswords have a self explanatory move called the ‘Mount Masher’ and Pole Arms have one called ‘scythe.’ So it soon becomes clear that there is a lot of tactical scope and variety here with units needing to be matched against the correct foes to succeed. There were many times where I took a company of archers, waited on a hillside and ambushed some cavalry on the road. Then with a press of the A button I left them there and picked up a nearby company of mace-wielding berserkers and held off a unit of armoured swordsmen. It’s brilliant when your men get up a head of steam and with a brutally delivered special move send horses and armour flying up into the air! The tactical gameplay is something of a double-edged sword though. On the one hand it’s perfectly realised for console gaming with its variety and elegant simplicity. On the other, it can be dumb. There was more than one occasion when asked to capture a town I ignored most of the battles round about and simply marched with a powerful company of great swords directly into Arcy and penetrated it straight away after a simple brawl….. And where are the blood and guts? I know that Dynasty Warriors never descended into graphic violence but there is something about its omission here that just feels wrong. Blood, severed limbs and heads would have added a lot to the period feel of the game in my opinion but then maybe I am just sick and have read too many trash historic novels. And there is something about the distance pop up and drab environments that continually disappoints. Bladestorm is too shiny and not gritty or detailed enough. Still, the developers have worked hard on other touches that add to the immersion of the game. The music is truly excellent stuff, sometimes melodic, often rousing but always appropriate to the action and keeping enough of a period feel. The ability to upgrade your powers and weapons at the tavern, as well as unlocking rumours and new challenges also keeps things interesting. Bladestorm is just good enough to avoid being burned at the stake. Koei should have a sweet ballad sung in their honour for tackling a new field of history and reworking their control and tactical method. They should also have a bitter lament sung by a mocking jester for the occasional lack of polish in the gameplay and graphics that could have made this stellar. But as things stand, playing as a fortune seeking, double crossing, booty gathering mercenary ensures that this game will never be a hundred years bore…

Best Bits
- Taking personal command of different combat units is fun
- Expansive battlefields and plenty of shiny characters on screen
- Good freedom of movement and scope for decisions during battles
- Some truly excellent, rousing music
- Loads of campaigns and skirmishes to throw yourself into
- The choice of upgrade options and rumours at the tavern keep things interesting

Worst Bits
- The absence of blood and guts feels wrong
- Pop up and samey environments
- Stylised characters don’t exactly look authentically European and medieval
- The hands off approach controls for your character won’t be for everyone
- Sometimes not as clever and tactical as it should be
- Dodgy Allo Allo voice work, especially from the barkeep


by: 4thy