Just as the name implies, Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat is a lot like the T.V. show it is
based upon. Take some of the nastiest killers throughout all of history, shake well, and see whom makes it out alive. In the Ancient Combat edition, we are treated to both of the downloadable games available on XBox Live and the Playstation Network: Deadliest Warrior the game and Deadliest WarriorLegends. This package also includes all the extras that have been released for the series via download. The cherry on top? Six episodes of the show have been included for your viewing pleasure.
What does all of this mean? It means we get to have legendary warriors from history such as Attila the Hun transcend time and space to do battle with the likes of Joan of Arc or Alexander the Great. Equip them with different weapons and armor from their time period to simulate authentic combat as well as tweak your combat prowess to prove which warrior is the greatest of all time.
1. Graphics(Good)-Getting to change the colors of the armor your warrior wears is probably the most outstanding graphical feat in these set of games. Environments are nice but do little then show the home where one of the two warriors fighting has come from. Most other fighting games offer at least an elephant or people watching and cheering the fighters on. Weapons can be disarmed and lay about as well as chopped off limbs if you are lucky to score a solid hit. Blood will also accumulate upon your champion depending on how much damage they have taken. Arrows will also stick out or through your warrior during combat sometimes giving off the hilarious effect that should have killed someone much like one of those headbands that emulate taking an arrow through the head…or the
knee if you know the Skyrim joke.
2. Gameplay(Good)-Combat games are really simple. Pick a character, face an enemy, and duke it out till the one of them is defeated. Sometimes combat is all hand to hand combat styling where the person that jams the right buttons in sequence can perform super powerful and visually stunning attacks. In Deadliest Warrior, weapons are the way of warfare. Each warrior is loaded with weapons unique to their time period and background. Some will also come equipped with armor that they historically wore which might make them faster and harder to hit or protected and hard to damage. Two handed weapons give you the advantage of reach. Sword and shield combine to offer quick attacks with heightened defense. Some fighters dual wield to offer balanced defense and offence. As a
little extra added incentive to play the game over and over again, warriors whom prove to be the deadliest of all warriors unlock new weapons and armor that you can customize them with. Full plate makes you slower then those that don’t have any armor but equip this unlocked leather jerkin to make you lighter on your feet, but still offer some protection.
345 games has put a lot of effort into making this game as realist as possible. To that effect, combat is fast and deadly. Three to four hits on you or your opponent and the show is probably over.
You’ll need to learn how to dodge, weave, and parry to protect yourself. There are no health bars to show how bad off you are. Weapons can maim by slashing off limbs or even decapitate giving a gory show. Much to my surprise during my first combat, my historical character pulled out a crossbow with the first button I pressed and imidiatly shot and arrow into my enemies head, instantly killing him for a flawless victory. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat at a loss as to why a one shot kill attack would be put into a game that is short by its very own natural genera. With combat so quick and deadly, I won 50% of my matches simply by shooting people with arrows. Game complete with one character in 20 minuets my first time around.
There aren’t any super moves to perform or characters to unlock. Those that wish to experience the whole of the game will need to learn the timed parry system and avoid getting shot with arrows to master the game. Aside from going online arcade style to fight other people online, playing the alternate risk style Generals mode is all else there really is to do besides grind out beating the game to unlock new weapons. General mode was interesting but quickly came to a screeching halt. It turned into a one on one dual to take over castles scattered on the map needing to be captured in order to gain more troops during your turn. Needless to say, I got my butt handed to me by the computer during every dual and wound up losing the strategy game because I couldn’t win these
duals. Six straight dual losses turned a light hearted Risk style game into a complete waste of time.
3. Story(Meh)-All fighter games have some sort of story following the character you pick’s conquests. The only thing that is offered in Deadliest Warrior are fun facts about these historical people while you wait between load screens that last longer then the actual fights themselves.
4. Soundtrack(Meh)-The voice acting is horrible. The only thing that makes it worse is the fact that they didn’t even bother to animate the characters talking at the same time the sound file goes off. Much like a poorly dubbed kung-fu movie, character faces move before and after they spout their wickedly bad lines. Your warrior can even poorly taunt another if you hit a button. Volume on the sound files also fluctuate to blaring loud for some to whisper quiet on others. I can’t tell if this was intended to happen or they just can’t hit the equalize button on their 10 dollar microphone recorders. Thank god they put in a taunt button so your character can be decapitated in style.
5. Replay Value(Good)-Two full games, an online arcade mode, General mode, unlockable weapons and armor, this game has a lot of stuff packed into it for one small price.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat is an interesting game packed with some decent value at 30 bucks. Value however is about all it has to offer. It won’t win any awards but it will help pass the time if you enjoy your fighting games.
Game Rating:(2)[Meh] Game type:(Fighting) Game System:(360, PS3) Published By: (345 Games) Developed by: (Pipeworks Software)
A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Reverb Games, Pipeworks Software, and 345 Games for providing a copy of Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat for review.
Rating system: Rating Point Value: (Trash)=0 (Meh)=.25(Good)=.5(Great)=.75(Outstanding)=1.0
Game Score System: Overall Total Value: (Trash)=0-1.5(Meh)=1.75-2.25(Good)=2.5-3.25(Great)=3.5-4.25(Outstanding)=4.5+
Rating Suggestions:
(Trash): Don’t bother with any form of purchase. This product isn’t worth the effort to purchase it.
(Meh): Not at all impressive. This product isn’t something that should be recommended for most people to enjoy. Flawed or incomplete.
(Good): An average score this product does what it is intended to do and will be worth at least a rent if you are interested in it. A solid item that will be enjoyed.
(Great): This product is highly recommended. It is well worth the investment if you are interested in it. You will not be disappointed in a purchase of this item.
(Outstanding): You needed to own two of this product yesterday. Superior quality, going beyond what it was intended to do.
-Nate Biller
