Golden Axe: Beast Rider

"The critical reception is a tragedy. This is a brutal, rewarding, and fun ride."

Golden Axe: Beast Rider is the latest entry in the Golden Axe franchise, a beat-em-up series that was last seen when the Sega Genesis was in its prime, differing itself from the similar Streets of Rage primarily by its good-natured aping of Conan's dark fantasy style. Sega passed the torch to Secret Level to handle this one. Secret Level is still working their way up to the big leagues, but this latest effort shows they have what it takes... if the poor critical reception doesn't kill them first. It is a shame, really. Every part of this game screams a high-budget work with a lot of love thrown at it, but the critical reviews make you think it is low-budget trash.

Beast Rider follows the story of Tyris Flare, the woefully underdressed sword-swinging heroine from the original Golden Axe games. She is a member of an order of warrior priestesses in the service of a dragon titan/god. She reminds us that "Gods always demand sacrifice" in the opening cutscene in such a way that we might expect to see oppressive, dark fantasy drama... But, instead, we have the villainous Death Adder's forces attacking the priestesses during a ritual summoning of the dragon titan. They murder Tyris's people to the last woman, capture the dragon titan, and leave Tyris for dead.

However, it takes more than that to keep a good action heroine down, and before long, Tyris is right back in the fray, carving a path through Death Adder's minions in combat that emulates the emphasis on defense of games like Ninja Gaiden as well as mounting a series of brutal beasts that only expand her killing arsenal.

Story: 5/10, Passable
The plot is simple enough. Death Adder is the big bad. You are not. You have to kill a lot of dudes to get the pieces of the Golden Axe, the only weapon who can take this fiend down. Tyris is a woman of action, and as such gets very little development, her foes even less so. It is rather unfortunate given the similar-in-concept Heavenly Sword was able to imbue the villains with such personality that Tyris's rogue's gallery could not attempt the same, but very little of it gets in the way of the action.

It is also worth noting that scrolls found throughout the game attempt to explain how the various enemies and settings of the game fit in with the game's universe. The slim paragraphs of text are quite the opposite of Mass Effect's endless exposition, but they do help the setting feel a bit more alive... not that it needed that much help...

Graphics: 9/10, Technically and thematically impressive
Golden Axe: Beast Rider is just an excellent looking game. Every level tries to ensure that you're never just running along a bland, sandy linear field. Everywhere you look, you're always treated to architecture, mountainous vistas showing distant structures, a foe's castle looming in the distance... The art design isn't particularly beautiful... but it doesn't try to be. This is, as I said before, a Conan-style dark fantasy world. The vistas may not be aesthetically pleasing, but they are always impressive and do a lot to ensure that you actually feel like there is a world to this game.

The character models too have a similar sort of grisly detail about them, but they are far less noticeable due to the pace of the game's combat. Armor being shattered to pieces off of your enemies, the gore as you hack them apart, it all looks good and feels quite satisfying.

Sound: 6/10 Passable
The game's music is barely noticeable, a collection of low, grisly fantasy tunes that move the action along and are instantly forgettable. The only piece that is noticeable is the playful... relative to the soundtrack's mood... gnome theme, a remix of the original from Golden Axe 1. Sounds are a decent lot. They manage to fit the bill without being exceptional. Tyris's combat grunts are the same way.

Gameplay: 8/10 Deep, challenging, and rewarding, if a bit schizophrenic
The meat of Beast Rider is the brutal combat you'll face. You can use either light, heavy, or knockback attacks, but for the most part any will do, as the only serious depth to your combos is timing your button presses out to engage in powered-up versions of those combos. The real meat of the combat is the parry and evade mechanic. Enemy attacks will be coated in colored auras. Orange strikes must be dodged with LB, blue sweeps must be parried with RB, green attacks can be handled either way. A successful defense will allow you to engage in a firey counter attack for massive damage... even more so if you time it correctly and pick the correct attack to counter with, depending on the foe you countered. While the game isn't as strictly defense oriented as the likes of Ninja Gaiden, wherein you absolutely had to defend precisely the way the game expected or you could enjoy seeing the last checkpoint, higher-end combat in Beast Rider will generally be a dance of counter-attacks as well as running and jumping from the unblockable attacks, while still allowing you the freedom to go to town on your opponents. Any foe not covered in armor will reel from your attacks, allowing you to pummel them as relentlessly as their armored brethren might do to you. The game is only rarely unfair... you can dodge and parry at any time, during attacks, combos, or even other dodge/parry counters. While this sounds simple, in practice, it leads to a challenging, but highly rewarding system of combat.

In addition to this on foot combat are the titular beasts. Riding them throws the normal rules out the window. You'll immediately notice that they control and turn with considerable weight, making them feel like true animals rather than glorified vehicles. Each beast is capable of dealing out serious damage to foes, as well as special attacks that range from invincibility to sending out shockwaves that all come at the cost of the beast's health. Since foes are not intimidated by beasts, and the beasts cannot dodge or parry, their lifespans are short. You'll be pleasantly surprised though by how freely the game gives you beasts. There are precious few silly beast pressure pad puzzles or contrived obstacles that force you to dismount. In fact, you can often find pots and walls that only beasts can break well beyond the last beast spawn point... a reward for the challenge of keeping your beast alive for a long time. Unfortunately, these beasts attacks are generally awkward, having long warmups and cooldowns. As a result, proper beast usage has a bit of a learning curve, but their destructive power is a welcome addition to the core gameplay. The only problem with them is that the jump from the challenging, counter-based on-foot combat to raw power of the beasts is often a little jarring, but both gameplay types are still a blast.

Longevity: 8/10, Enough to keep you coming back
Apart from substantial story mode with three difficulty levels (That can be changed at any time if you're having too tough or easy a time), Beast Rider boasts a survival mode, pitting Tyris on foot against increasing hordes of baddies. Treasure is awarded based on your combat prowess through all gameplay, and while there's no shop system, the more you accumulate, the better weapons you unlock for the level select or survival modes. You may replay the game's many levels, segmented neatly into "challenges", basically checkpoints you're graded after, to shoot for better scores. One sword you equip allows you to kill every enemy in one hit... but you also die in one hit, offering a whole different way to play the game. The game's combat is satisfying, a perfect blend of challenge while still letting you have fun with it, so going back to the slaughter fields is a no brainer.

Overall: 8/10
I had a blast with Golden Axe, and I believe that if you give it a chance, you'll be able to see what the critics were either unable or unwilling to see. There's a lot of love in this game, and the final product is one that is charming, deep, and rewarding. I recommend it to anyone who wants a challenging action game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/08

Game Release: Golden Axe: Beast Rider (US, 10/14/08)