"An awsome game that broke away from today's many cliched' titles."

"Blood Will Tell" is an awesome game that bring's fourth one of the most original and refreshing story/plot that I have seen in quite some time. Also, the combat is original too. So don't expect to pull out any duel pistols or use any devil trigger or rage mode. But enough, we must get to the review:

Story:
(ahem, ahem)
The story(like I said) is totally different from anything you have ever played.I will try to give you some information without ruining the plot for you. You play as a lone warrior Who's name is Hyakkimaru( This name is peculiar even in japan), who in fact is blind and deaf and has no arms, nor does he have legs. He doesn't even have a respiratory system, and thats not all. How did he end up like this? Well when he was but just an infant, his father was tricked into giving 48 of his son's body parts to the 48 demons(They all act like bosses) in exchange for power. He thought his son was going to die anyway's so he decides to go through with it and obtain his power. He puts what's left of the boy in a basket and floats him down a river, thinking he will perish within hours. But surprisingly, the boy lives. Now how the friggen heck are we gonna play a game let alone MOVE with someone with this much of a handicap? Luckily for Haykkimaru, he was found by a man who took him in and raised him as one of his own. The man new the child was special but he had no idea. He awoke one night to the sound of someone speaking to him. The child was talking to him, even though he had no voicebox let alone a mouth. With the communication Hyakkimaru provided him, he could get the necessary things. After growing up some, the man started working Hyakkimaru, giveing him arms, legs and a more humane appearance. But after he decides to wander the land, looking for answers and of course his body parts, the old man builds swords directly into his arms, and a cannon into his leg and also, a machine gun in your arm. With these additional "upgrades" he sets fourth to burn a hole in the demons plans.

The good: Awesome original story.
The bad: A few plot holes but nothing big.

Story:9
This is an awesome story but they left out a few holes in it so it gets a 9.

Gameplay:
The gameplay of this game is quite original too. You get the two arm blades which are your main weapons. ou also get swords which usually have some kind of attribute boost( such as electric/Fire/Ice attack or defense) and an attack rating( AT+10 0r AT+5). Your arm blades can level up but the swords must be found to get different abilities. So it's a real advantege to just use the arm blades. The combos are fairly limited but with great response. You can easily rack up the numbers with the combos. One such is that, if you power up your more powerful attack, you can perform a slice attack. Which is when you stun an enemy and diliver an astounding amount of blows in rapid succession by hitting the randomly generated buttons. The more blows you land, the more items you get. These range from bullets to rice ball(Health) to medicine. If you can collect 100 medicines, then you get an extra life up to a max of 3. The only magic you get in the game is in the form of a spirit attack. Which you use when your at a boss or in a pinch. You fill up this gauge bby landing blows to your enemies or finding special items. You can get different spirit attacks by finding special scrolls. But the one you start out with is disappointingly the better of them all.

The Good: Nice fluid and responsive moves. Ok choice of weaponry(swords)
The Bad: Not much veriety in attacks. When you level up the arm blades their leveled up individually. One blades is more likely to be at level 20 and the other at 7, Annoying but not a huge deal.

Gameplay: 7
Good fighting but lacking.

Graphics:
The graphics are not bad but not awsome either. The cutscenes are on par with anything out there today but the in-game are pretty shabby. The landscape is bland and overused, the trees look almost identical and the water does not move much at all, even when thrashing about in it. The monsters on the other hand are extremely well done. There are a lot of them so expect a lot of good looking fiends out there(hehe). The bosses are the best looking. They are all different. No one looks in anyway the same. Kudos to the design team.

The Good: The monsters are well done and the Bosses are all done very well. The cutscenes rival anything out there.
The Bad: The graphics are still not up to snuff with FF:X or DMC.

Graphics:6
Good but not great graphics.

Sound:
Not much Music to it but it's grunts and "Hiyaa's" are pretty well done. I really like to turn the sound OFF and listen to some of my own music so...........not much here.

The good: Japanese music all up in hurr. If your into it that is.
The Bad: Not much veriety.

Sound:5
If Japanese music(Now I MEAN Japanese music) flouts your chu chu train then crank that baby up!( Up In Hurrr)

Difficulty:
This game is HARD! I mean really hard. You will need to practice this for a while so dont just go in there looking to kick this game right in the proof of purchase in one weekend. No, no. For anyone who's played Ninja Gaiden on hard mode, it would be between that and normal. Like.......hella normal. But only at the boss fights and begging areas is it the hardest.

The Good: Good Challenge. A sense of accomplishment after beating this game.
The Bad: Not very user friendly. Should have had an easy easy setting for the more casual gamers.

Difficulty:6
Big challenge, big sense of accomplishment.

Overall:
This is a great game that has been over shadowed by many others. For $20 Bucks its Really good. But if theres a copy of DVC 3 or Ninja Gaiden: Black for $20, get them instead. But come back when you get more cash and add this baby to your collection.

T RENT- Only if your low on cash or not sure if you'd like it
C BUY- If you Have Enough, get it. I recommend buying it. This game is very rare so you most likely have to search around for it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/06/06