Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War

"Bladestorm: A Game That May Take 100 Years To Complete"

In the 14th century, a quarrel over English succession to the French throne escalated into what history would call the Hundred Year's War. This ongoing war created a growing dependence on mercenaries. Take charge as a mercenary leader and contract your army to either side. Overwhelm your opponents to be the last one standing when the dust settles on one of history's greatest wars.


Gameplay: Bladestorm: The Hundred Year's War takes you back in time to fight with the powerhouses of that time; England and France. You are a mercenary, someone who is recruited to fight for any army. You are able to control many different types of soldiers, from swordsmen to archers to cavalry. There are plenty others that I will not mention, as they are unlockable later on in the game. Different parts of the game will be easier depending on the soldiers you recruit. It works a little like rock-paper-scissors. Some soldiers are good against different soldiers while they are weak against different types. They can also be equal with different types. In that case, the higher level unit usually wins. Each unit has three special abilities, ranging from manual aim arrows, to using you shield to block incoming attacks. Some units have repeating abilities, as most units with a shield will have the move that blocks incoming attacks. The variety really keeps the game interesting and non-repetitive. Each unit can be upgraded in a number of categories up to ten times, and each other special abilities can also be upgraded up to three times.


Story: Bladestorm's story was not that involving for me. In most cases, it will be just a beneficial to skip all of the cutscenes an still get as much enjoyment out of the game as if you watched them. The story is very long though, and will take a long time to finish. There are many battles that will need to be done to finish the game, and before and after these “story” battles, there are 2-4 minute cutscenes. There is a final battle that will draw a closure to the story.

During the main game, there are many side quests and missions to keep you occupied. There are also reward missions where you will have to do something extra in order to complete them. This game take a long time to complete, and you will have a lot of fun doing most of the missions.


Graphics: Running at either 720p or 480p, the graphics are not that incredible. They are O.K., and do not take away from the game. Sadly, they really don't add anything. You can customize your character with many different armor choices. You have the option to pick a male or a female, with 3 voices and a few different face options. Each person in a unit looks the same. The other mercenaries have different looks as well. You can view other characters you meet in detail at the Diary section of the main menu.

During the main battle mode, the scenery looks pretty good. You can see forests, wasteland and while going through castles, you can really see nice textures. Every now and then you will see a deer or rabbit running around outside. Sadly, when going from base to base, units and buildings will just appear out of nowhere.


Sounds: The game's soundtrack is medieval styled songs. There is nothing really memorable about it. It was a good idea to include music during the entire game, but to me, it got really repetitive. Some people may say the Gameplay is the most repetitive part about the game, but to me, it is the soundtrack.

The voice acting kind-of brings this game down. Sure they all talk in medieval accents, but none of it is really very good. It is very basic.


Play Time: This is where Bladestorm really shines. It will take a long time just to finish the main storyline, and there are a lot of different things to do as well. Upgrading each unit to it's highest potential will take even longer. There is also a mission you unlock after the final battle that you can re-do to your hearts content. The shortest time you could probably finish this game would be around 30 hours. If you do side quests and upgrading the units, you could be looking at 70-100 hours.


Overall Impressions: Bladestorm is a very good tactical based action game based on the medieval wars between the French and the English. It goes very in depth with different units and fighting styles. There are also different classes within each style. An example of this would be in the Swords unit. There are normal swords units, shield and sword units or long sword units. The graphics are not that great, but don't detract from the game. The sounds of the game can get annoying and the voice acting is bad to say the least. The length of the game is a long as you wish to make it, but even making it the shortest, it will last you around 30 hours.

Scoring:
Gameplay: 8/10
Story: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sounds: 4/10
Play Time: 9.5/10
Fun: 8.5/10
Buy/Rent: Buy

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/26/08

Game Release: Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (US, 11/06/07)