Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage

"Maim,Kill,Slay,Slaughter,Murder, whatever you call it, Beserk has it."

Sword of the Beserk is one fantastic ride that you will not forget. I wasn't expecting too much when I turned Beserk on. Hopefully the graphics would be ok, maybe some ok voices and a little maiming to boot. Damn, I was wrong.

I am VERY impressed with Yukes 1st offering on the US Dreamcast. After playing Beserk for ten minutes I soon realized Beserk was something special in terms of overall package. From graphics to control, everything is very refined.

The graphics are truly impressive for the Dreamcast. Though you won't see Soul Calibur or Dead or Alive 2 visuals, Beserk is definetly pretty. Gatsu is your main character, well maybe the 7ft long dragon slayer sword is.
Gatsu is very unique looking in that he will likely remind you of a Cloud/Link/Raziel mixture. From his cool flowing cape to his battle torn face, Gatsu is one cool looking badass. The mosters in the game are also very impressive and well designed. Huge skinless bears you can slice in halves, Knights and zombiefied villagers too. Environments are also rather varied(a good thing). From mountain roads to dark,dank dungeons, its all there. Theres not much else on home consoles that can compare to the nicely rendered visual flare of Berserk. Also the cutscenes are very well done and will surely keep you interested to watch them all. Its also very nice to get a little emotion and empathy towards your characters. Lastly the best thing about the graphics has to be the amount of gore. Never before has it been so much fun to go ape^*() on 10 or so enemies at once. Spilling this much blood, with so many enemies on screen doesn't even effect the framerate! JOY! Be sure to yell out ''COME GET SOME'' or ''YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!?'' as you unleash a bloodbath fury upon the unfortunate.

Control wise Beserk is slightly better than average. Using the analog stick only it may be a little difficult at 1st. Don't worry, you'll be dishing out some red glee soon enough. The controller setup is good to go and very well laid out. Analog to move, L to sheath the mammoth sword, and R to hold which then lets you press the buttons to pick which weapon to use. Though its nice to have different weapons and some other abilities like punching,jumping,sliding and such, stick to the sword..just stick to the sword. Yes, old Bessy(thats what I call the sword) will deal out the death faster and bloodier than anything else. My only gripe about the control would have to be from the slow sword swinging or that you too slow when your being attacked up close by a horde of baddies. But this is rather rare and its not too noticeable. Since I'm a tard I sometimes got waxed during the quick time events when you have to quickly press a button so you can avoid death or cut some fool up. So as long as you know the DC button layout well you'll have no qualms about the quicktimes.

WOW! This game has good voice actors? I'm very impressed. I was expected some half assed job. Guts is very cool sounding, he actually sounds like a man and not some teenager before puberty. Even your little fairy pal Puck sounds how you would hope him to be. The music and atmosphere effect are exceptional. I really only expect to hear this type stuff from big huge block buster Metal Gear type games. Just wait till you hear the giant SWOOSH! SWOOSH! of old Bessy. I've always thought that a good sounding game makes the excursion 10times better. Theres nothing like getting a feel for the game from the sounds. Pump up the volume and bass to FEEL the crushing blows from Gatsu's sword and the sloshing sound of vast amounts of blood and gore. And thank god they put in some screams from the dead every now and then.

Sword of the Beserk is one helluva good time. Buy this game if you remotely like beatem ups and story stacked games. If you have a problem with some animated blood and gore go to the dry cleaners and pick up your skirt, this games not for you. This game will surely be underated by all the popular magazines and websites. If you like mindless fun with a good story this is the game! You should at the very very least rent this one. Beserk is the coolest game I've played in a long time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/19/00, Updated 03/19/00