Review- Bladestorm: Nightmare

**KENT HAMMER** Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:28 pm

Bladestorm: Nightmare
Developer: Koei Tecmo
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Format: XONE, PS4

The original game Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War was released on XBOX 360 way back in 2007 and was somewhat of a sleeper hit amongst those that played it.

Fast forward eight years and we now get a remaster update of the original game plus the extra nightmare mode of the title. This remaster has not really added much in terms of graphics and the game engine is also showing signs of age now. You do get a whole new scenario to play through though and it does add more fun and action to proceedings than the original release.

Now I must state early on that this game has nothing to do with the more famous Dynasty warriors and Samurai Warriors series also published by Koei Tecmo. In fact this game is far more of a Rome total war game for the console generation.

It is more hands on and action based than that series of games though as you play as the mercenary commander of an ever expanding group of soldiers. You start with a troop of ten and as you progress and upgrade through the game you soon command thirty and really become a finely tuned group of soldiers. This expands further when you unlock more commanders to fight alongside you, giving you the option of grouping together to from a formidable army of over one hundred troops!

The original storyline is based of historic characters like Joan of Arc and Edward the Black Prince, but you don't need to be up to speed with your history lessons to enjoy this game. There are cut scenes that fill you in and keep you up to speed along the way and help explain whether your fighting for the French or the English and what is expected of your to gain success in battle.

OK now onto the gameplay itself, you basically spend a lot of your time marching or riding horses across large maps. I found this to be the most tedious part of the game but I do lack abit of patience and just like to get stuck into the battles themselves.
So when you do reach your target castle your will basically hold in right bumper to use your normal attack, then once you have cleared away the minions and the bosses appear you might want to use one of three special attacks mapped to the face buttons on your controller.
It doesn't sound that exciting but once your up to speed it is very satisfying marching a large heavily upgraded army into battles and clocking up kill combo's of 400+

The nightmare scenario is more of the same but this time around your up against huge monsters, ghosts and mythical creatures, which does add to the fun.
The only downside of this mode is the battles themselves are a lot longer clocking in around 40 mins compared to only 10 mins on the standard storyline. So you have to be careful to follow the objectives keenly and not go too far off piste like I did and find that Joan of Arc has died miles across the map because you were not there to protect her! But that is the life of a mercenary gaining fame and fortune across the lands and having wenches in every tavern hoping you will return safely to them again!

Overall this game is very in depth with huge amount of scope for using hundreds of different troops types and weaponry, but it truly is not a new gen title with its heart still very much in 2007. I would recommend this title to those who are looking for something abit different to play on their consoles than the norm. I will continue to play and try to finish this title myself after compiling this review and that is not always the case. But I am mindful that the dated looks and slightly less action may put off some.
I am awarding this game seven randy swordsmen out of ten.

LethalThreat74 Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:50 pm

Nice review I'm usually on the fence when it comes to games of this type but you may have just persuaded me to invest a little coin, nice one m8.

Colne Crusader Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:16 pm

Good work Hammer. Sounds like a decent bit of fun to be honest. However, I'd rather you'd scored it 7 buxom wenches instead of seven swordsmen! Very Happy

**Tricky34** Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:57 pm

Good review Bossman, although I don't think its a game I'd have much interest in playing.

Stee01 Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:44 am

Nice review. I want to get into this game but the demo has put me off still. Maybe the demo was a little short or not done any justice. Fair play to them doing something different tho.

**minkey_monkey** Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:33 am

Good review. It's not my kind of game for what I have read but appreciate the time you took in writing it.

Guest Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:02 am

nice review sir but not my type of game

have some rep

TreeMunky Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:54 am

Nice review young man. I like your style of writing fella rep from me. Not a game I would enjoy playing unfortunately.

**KENT HAMMER** Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:43 pm

Thanks for the feedback and support guys Very Happy

**KENT HAMMER** Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:34 pm

I know this review was not popular with members here on the site but our facebook and twitter followers must have enjoyed it as this is now the most viewed review of the year! Shocked

Beating Dying Light and Evolve in the process.

Quite a nice surprise! Very Happy

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