Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage

"Ahhh... the ultimate stress relieving game out there!"

Alright, let's try and get a backdrop here. Picture this in your mind. Take Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, and combine him with Cloud from Final Fantasy VII in his early days. Er, make him a little bigger, tougher, and or a vagrant. Now, give him Cloud's sword. Er, make that a little bigger too, if it's possible. Now, put him a semi-mid evil setting and imagine him in a big 3D enviroment, and have this beast of a man be beating off loads of Resident Evil type zombie-like creatures. Imagine he is beating them off, hitting four in each gigantic swing of his gigantic sword, chopping them in half, making a total and complete blood bath. This is Sword of the Berserk!

Like I said before, this game is a total mixing-pot of every game imaginable. I can draw serious comparisions from pretty much every fighting, RPG, or action/adventure game out there. A lot of people I know say this game is really unoriginal, but I have no problem with that. It does seriously borrow from other games, but then again, the factor that makes this game stand out from others is that fact itself. This game takes good things from other genres and specific games, and combines it to make a unique and great game. This game never really got me hooked, but like Bushido Blade for the PSX, this game helps me calm down from the frustration we find in all those big-long dungeons.

The gameplay is simple, but excellent. You are in a 3-D environment, in anyplace from a winding staircase to a dark alleyway to a small circular opening. Guys come from all directions, and in loads. The main character can fight with his huge sword, swinging wildly in all directions, or he can fight with his fists. He can also use his autocrossbow attached to his arm, throw darts, etc. But mostly, you will use nothing but your sword.

The style of this game is unique, too. Your battle are like levels. It goes like this. Cutscene, maybe another cutscene, followed by maybe ANOTHER cutscene, then are placed in your battlefield. Like I said before, this can be anything from a small prison to a section of a forest. You kill all the bad guys, then it goes to more cutscenes. You are either watching cutscenes, or killing zombies, bandits, etc. If the plot starts to get a little old or stale, you can hit start to skip 'em. If you do that, this game is nothing but fighting. As it stands, this game is roughly 2/3 cutscenes used to unfold that plot. Again, there is no exploring whatsoever.

This game really isn't too hard. If you are about to die, you're not hitting the buttons fast enough. Surrounded by enemies? About to die? Start hitting the buttons faster, stupid. Also, there is a berserk meter under your life bar. Every time you get hit or hit someone, it increases, a lot like FF7's limit breaks(either the makers of this game played FF7 too much, or maybe I've played FF7 too much...:))
Anyway, when this meter fills up, your guy goes beserk. You swing faster and harder. Even if some guy manages to hit you in this state, it won't do much. In other words, if you're trapped in a corner getting pounded and about to die, chances are you will go berserk and kill all your opponents in .5. :)

The graphics in this game really take the Dreamcast's power to the max. The sound's alright, but mostly you won't hear it through the bloody screams and sword clings. The graphics look really realistic and the sound's not annoying. What more can you ask? Of course, this game would be even better on the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox, but that's a different story...;).

The plot in this game is alright. You are Guts,(his nickname, I can't remember how to spell his full name). You used to be part of a fierce warrior clan that was massacred by some other group. The feared leader of the clan, who was in love with Guts, was mortified by the gruesome battle(some fierce warrior, eh?), and now is just sorta a mindless person who just seems out of it. Much like an autistic person. Well anyway, Guts, (former fierce warrior whose name I just so happen to have forgot), and your fairy companion are now just traveling the world looking for a cure. Well anyway, these plants where appear, start to possess people, turn them to zombies(Resident Evil, anyone?), and have some mysterious connection to just about every strange person you happen to meet, and you have to bring peace to the world. Great huh?

The replayibility in this game can be very high, or very low. If you go totally on the plot, this game gets kind of old. If you pay little attention to the plot and just go by the gameplay, this game is for you. You can skip any cutscene you want, and without cutscenes, it is all battling. Battles are fun, though. So, it just depends on what you want out of this game.

To buy or to rent. Well, the Dreamcast is just about dead, as of now. But all that means is you can get the stuff for cheap. I'd say, for $75 max, you can get the Dreamcast, this game, and a memory card. Believe me, this is one the better titles there is for the Dreamcast. If you already have a Dreamcast, don't hesitate to put this game on your wish list. Either way, get this game while you can. You won't regret it.

Don't listen to people who say this game is just a copy cat who can't get any of it's own ideas. I say, that because it used all the best things from other releases, it is original. Either way, this game is probably my favorite game for the short-lived Dreamcast. You can get it for cheap now. Get it while you can. You won't regret getting, but if you don't act fast you just might regret not getting it while you could.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/01, Updated 12/28/01