It seems that a certain dragon called Manaxa has gotten some
delusions of grandeur and took over your peaceful city. Infesting the place
will all kinds of evil creatures and stripping your master of his power, it's
now up to you bring peace to the world by stopping the foul creature. You can
take your pick from a feisty female warrior, muscle bound knight and small but powerful
wizard. Best of all you can hook up with a friend and take on the baddies as a
due.
While Blades of Vengeance contain all the standard platform
elements, it's more of a hack and slash adventure than platform game. You'll
still leap your fare share of platforms and pits but there are some puzzle
elements to solve and items to use along the way. The graphics in the game are
quite nice and contain some nice big and bold sprites as well as some very cool
animations. Some of the bosses are also quite impressive. Levels themselves are
nice and locations ranging from forests to towers, caves and dungeons must all
be traversed. Enemies are the usual fantasy creatures like skeletons, zombies
and ogres. Some of them take a few hits to go down and don't think you're going
to go around jumping on things to complete the game.
At your disposal you have some powerful weapons and even
better items. The game is packed with secret rooms where you'll find some of
the more powerful items. Keys will also have to be found along the way and at
the end of each level you get to spend some cash in a shop. Here you can
purchase extra lives and potions or even upgrade your armor giving you better
protection and new weapons. Handy spells that turn your enemies into cash and
all types of strength and shield potions can also be acquired.
Some levels are quite large and contain multiple areas with
a boss battle awaiting your before you go on to the next level. Extra lives has
to be bought and continues are also thin on the ground so you're in for a bit
of a challenge. At least you re-start where you died which makes things a bit easier.
Besides your weapons and items, your character can also block most attacks by
pressing down. This is vital as enemies can knock you around by touching you,
which usually ends with you falling down a pit. Even falling from a high ledge
can cause damage so be careful.
The sound in the game is nothing special and apart from a
few sound effects not very inspiring. Nothing horrible but also not anything
that will stick in your head after switching off the game. Controls are pretty
responsive and it's only the cheap hits that spoil things. Some enemies are
almost impossible to kill without taking hits and enemies love ganging up on
you or attacking from all directions.
Blades of Vengeance is a nice break from the usual platform
game featuring cute furry creatures and the almost RPG like atmosphere is guaranteed
to gain it some fans. The two-player mode is also a highlight and will be one
of the main reasons you'll come back to this one. While it's not a classic
title it's still fun to play although it can get a bit tedious at times. It's
unlikely that you'll complete it will all three characters but if you like the
story and characters you'll enjoy the game. Definitely a case of good but not
great.
[7/10]
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