Bleach: Dark Souls

"A great addition, but I feel let down"

Ok, for starters, let me tell you about how much I used to play Bleach: The Blade of Fate. A lot. So for anyone who says that "I suck" because I may be accusing the game of being a let down, just remember I played the first one before this.

Alright, enough of that... welcome to my review of Bleach: Dark Souls. After completing it, I find myself not so much awestruck but satisfied I completed an objective.

Story - 9/10
The story in Bleach: Dark Souls (BDS from now on) is a much greater improvement from Bleach: The Blade of Fate (BTBF from now on). My only problem with is that you must complete story mode 5 times from beginning to end to fully complete the game... and that's if you do all the perfect paths. Also, the character variety also sorely lacks from BTBF. But hey, better storyline... some things come at a price. Not the best story I've seen, but still a decent addition to the Bleach Universe (coming from someone who is up to the latest chapter in Bleach).

Graphics - 8/10
Still 2D but an improvement from BTBF, with some glitches fixed and some animations updated. In all, good, but when you compare it to other graphically outstanding games, this one is a bit behind. AKA Pokemon :/

Gameplay - 6/10
This is where I felt left down. Where were the days where newbies could spam special attacks using the touch button (not that I advocate it) and special effect cards? I don't mind the special attack "cooling down" system, but the special effect cards? I don't want to stand there for 5 seconds saying ,"HERE ATTACK ME, I'M USING AN AWESOME SPIRIT CARD BUT YOU CAN ATTACK ME AND CANCEL THE EFFECT". It pretty much renders some powerful cards useless on 1v1 fights, which really irks me. Compared to BTBF, the gameplay feels much more "nerfed". As well as the characters. Ichimaru is drastically downpowered, making him pretty much useless in my list of character (just so you know, I used Ichimaru 24/7 in BTBF).

Repeatability: 5/10
After you complete it, I'm pretty sure you'll get bored of it UNLESS you have friends that play it with you. Otherwise it's fun.

Overall: 7/10
I know it's not a full review, but this is where most people are concerned about - gameplay, story, graphics, repeatability. My advice would be to borrow it if you're interested, and only to get it if you have a couple of friends that play it regularly. It's much more of a blast in multiplayer mode than single player, after you've finished the game for the tenth time.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/09

Game Release: Bleach: Dark Souls (US, 10/07/08)