Xena: Warrior Princess

"A PSX Classic"

Released very nearly a decade ago, Xena Warrior Princess' release coincided very nicely with the TV show height of popularity. It may not have sold very well being compared to the other TV Show / Movie tie ins which became very popular at the same time, but was it worth a look? More importantly is it still worth a look or are the critics right in saying that this is just a game that follows the tradition of a rushed, low quality media transformation?
The storyline is something that works really well for the game, playing out very much like an episode or a few episodes of the actual show. It starts of where Xena finds out that a rogue band of pirates has murdered an old friend, so in true Xena style she sets of in search of revenge. However on the on set, Gabrielle is kidnapped by an evil king hell bent on fulfilling an old age prophecy. Simple, I hear you saying, but as you play, you will find that storyline evolves from a simple agenda to a more sinister series of events that eventually builds and builds to a climax. All revolving around an evil sorceress trying to resurrect her powers in order to take down that great Gods and rebuild the world in her own vision, and so the race is on for Xena to stop Kalabrax in a fight of Good vs. Evil.

Yes its a little cliched and probably cheesy but Vivendi Universal developed this game with the exact amount of atmosphere that fans of the show will love. What this means is that there is a great combination of action and camp humour that made the show so successful. The way that the story progresses is very much like how a series pans out also meaning that the depth within the game although seems lacking and docile to some actually is subtle enough for most people to enjoy the story whilst not becoming too involved. Its relaxing yet interesting and that's the whole point, though at some points the game tries to be serious, a lot of the comments and events are tongue n' cheek allowing you not to take things too over the top. A nice balance and a great offset too.

Whilst many people will judge the games graphics harshly, you have to remember that this is an original play station game, before the likes of PS2, so there bound not to be the standard of some. However, to be honest the graphics are quite timid at times, not really pushing boundaries, but instead keeping things simple and what is the bare necessity.

Character models are in block form and look a bit unrealistic with rough edges and lines and even more disgraceful facial features. Although Xena looks like the shows hero, you can tell the graphic designers haven't really tried but the game was obviously on a low budget. Still it would have been nice to see a more smoother design because at times the graphics become muddled and mix forming all sorts of weird shapes. These glitches do let the game down I'm afraid and it's annoying when it happens.

The settings again seem to be bland in design with each level all being created from the same set base design, but because there is a diversity of locations within the game, its easy to forget about the rough outlines and enjoy the atmosphere created, whether or not its thrashing your way through Amazon jungles or scrambling your way around the labyrinths of Hades itself.

Animation is a little irregular at times and though most of it is not smooth, it is not awful either. Characters move with some grace and fluidity but you can obviously tell its not top notch. Add this with heavy use of pop-up and you end up realising that visually, Xena Warrior Princess could offer so much more. FMV cutscence aren't badly developed though mixing great use of lighting with a smooth look. I think that the problem with it is that the developers were obviously headset on using fully rendered 3D environments there just seemed too much to fit in.

Atmosphere is heavily increased by the background music played throughout each level. Sound bytes of highland music mixed in with battle themes dominate throughout and it works really well, matching the typical music you would hear from the show. Aurally its great as it reminds you of the Ancient Greek style the show tries so hard to create in a camp way. Different variations of the tunes play out depending where you are in the game, with more echoic sounds reverberating throughout the underground levels, where a more light and airy feel in jungle levels.

The obvious sound effect are included with sword clashing and arrows swooping through the air, but more famously is the grand Xena cheer that belts out at times of special combos and great victories. It is so rewarding to hear honestly, but it makes you wonder who voiced it because despite the cheer the voice acting is quite bland also. Terra Allen voices Xena throughout the game rather than Lucy Lawless and even though you can tell it is not Lucy herself, Tera does not do an awful job and at times, you will hardly notice simply because of the little script the game has. Fans will be treated to exact real theme tune after you complete the game though as a nice reward.

At its base, Xena Warrior Princess is a Hack n Slash action adventure but it does have a nice balance of puzzle solving and platform elements. Although the puzzles are not necessarily difficult, it's nice to have diversity to the gameplay. Overall though you will spend most of your time slashing and kicking your way through level after level, and as repetitive as it sounds its has a nice simplicity to it. Truthfully its not God of War, but the combinations available to perform different moves are simple yet thorough meaning you can mix and match techniques al the time and in a few levels you can play with different weapons.

Justifying it as a plat forming game, there are plenty of level designs which require you to jump and jump and jump and collect pick ups, such as freeze spells or lighting bolts, including two secret scrolls that are placed in all of the 21 levels. This isn't exactly enjoyable but part of the experience nonetheless.

Enemy A.I. Isn't exactly breakthrough but still challenging as you get further and further in the game facing differing opponents that increase in difficulty. Whether its the barbarians, giant spiders, amazon warriors or druid priests each ones have different abilities and therefore require different approaches so simply slamming the buttons down all the time will not get you to the end of the game. Fans will be pleased to see the famous Chakram put to good use quite often throughout the game, reaching enemies from afar proves a good tactic but one that will cost you if used all the time. It leaves Xena vulnerable to attack from close enemies when in use which means that other tactics have to be thought out, and even though its not rocket science its definitely a nice approach.

The level structure tries to change as well which tries so hard to alleviate the repetitiveness and to be honest it works. One level may find you slashing your way through, whilst another leaves you to stealthy kill your enemies whilst protecting someone's, or you may find yourself in a level with a powerful boss such as the Cyclops or Minatour, What it doesn't do though it make you forget about the linearity of the game, which can be really frustrating at times. Especially in the beginning levels, there is simply on one way to do things it becomes almost patronizing and dull.

The camera can sometimes get in the way also leaving you shouting or looking around the Tv because you cannot steer the camera to a certain edge. What this does is create the frustrating sides of platfomers and leaves you wanting to play on, but sometimes cant. Its addictive though and thats simply what the game is about and mixed that with the other good elements, Xena Warrior Princess is a nice game that fills the time whilst having fun doing it.

Overall, the replayability is short as there is no secret options or modes to unlock but it does a few endings to try out. Fans will absolutely love this hack n slash adventure that mixes action games with plat forming elements and its nice to see how a simply story can evolve in something more enjoyable despite being predictable. The diversity of level location and type will challenge some players, whilst others will enjoy the amount of thought into each combination. Xena Warrior Princess may have some rough graphics, but it's a fantastic game especially for the Playstation One that combines the addictiveness of Golden Axe with the playability of Fighting Force. The Legend will always be with us ...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/08

Game Release: Xena: Warrior Princess (EU, 1999)