Berserk (Import)

You know my biggest problem with Final Fantasy VII? It's Cloud's sword. I mean, his standard weapon is bigger than he is ? and yet the little weasel-boy frequently gets beaten up by such laughable enemies as birds and snakes. If I had a sword that freaking huge, I wouldn't wait around and take turns ? I'd cleave my enemies in half and leave it at that.

And dammit, that's exactly what you get to do in Berserk, a new action slash-em-up from ASCII. Based on a Japanese manga of the same name, Berserk is the tale of Gatsu, a one-eyed hard-ass with a big sword and a bone to pick. Accompanying our hero is the shapely cleric Kaska, and an annoying little fairy-critter named Pak (who Gatsu takes great pleasure in smacking around).

As the game starts, Gatsu and Kaska are lolling about ? just like all wanderers do ? when they encounter a group of bandits about to lay waste to an innocent circus performer's troupe. Drawing his sword, Gatsu gets ready to lay the medieval smack-down on the marauders, and you're put in control.

After the first battle, you're treated the first of the game's incredibly long cutscenes, where we're introduced to a nasty virus, named "Mandrake." This sickness transforms the average townie into a drooling mutant, providing plenty of gameplay fodder. All of this information is given to you by Balzac, who closely resembles Doctor Zeius from Planet of the Apes. Naturally, it's up to Gatsu to find the source of Mandrake, and eliminate it. Of course, this is accomplished by running around and killing stuff, in classic video game fare.

The Berserk formula is Golden Axe starring Seigfreid from Soul Calibur. The analog pad lets you dash around the screen, sword in tow, while the A and B buttons execute horizontal and vertical attacks (which you can alternate to create combo moves, of course). Sliding, jumping, and blocking are easily pulled off, and the swordplay works pretty well in general.

You'll be thankful the combat is so easy, especially when you have a screen full of attackers. While most medieval brawlers usually restrict you to two or three bad guys at once, Berserk regularly throws a half-dozen axe-wielding madmen at you. Your attacks are purposely wide, so enemies to the left and right are frequently gored with each stroke. There's very little puzzle-solving involved ? just keep killing enemies as soon as they pop up, and eventually a door will open, and you'll be awarded some power-ups. Interspersed with the cut-scenes is the occasional Quick-Time Event, which adds a little variety (and gives a tip of the hat to Shen Mue).

If Gatsu gets swamped with attacks from enemies, the brown stuff really hits the fan, and he goes ? as the game's title says ? berserk. The screen goes dark, Gatsu's eyes start glowing, and he's given faster attacks and new moves. This is perfect for mowing down hordes of attackers in no time at all ? the only caveats being that you still can sustain damage, and you've only got so many seconds of rage before you revert back to normal.

Visually, Berserk is definitely above-par. Characters are large and distinctive, Gatsu's cape flaps magnificently in the wind, and textures are nicely detailed -- Berserk's worlds look hand-painted, almost like a CG anime. The in-game camerawork is appropriately cinematic, though we would have appreciated it if they picked up the editing pace, as things tend to drag a bit during the lengthy cutscenes. The music is the expected snyth-orchestral drek, and there's not much to write home about here.

So far, so good ? but Berserk stumbles a bit before it can attain true greatness. For starters, there's the camera system ? while it's not the zooming and panning vomit-fest that was Soul Fighter, you'll frequently be attacked by enemies who are off-screen. I don't know how many times I was smacked in the face by a flying axe, flung by an unseen assailant ? it almost made me go berserk. Also, world geometry and large characters can completely block your view ? this could have been fixed by pushing the camera back a few feet.

Another problem is that your sword frequently gets "caught" on nearby walls. While this isn't a big issue for the outdoor arenas, heading down a staircase or fighting in a town results in a lot of frustration ? you're simply unable to swing your sword, as the damn thing keeps clanking against the walls and interrupting your combo moves.

But my biggest problem with Berserk is that the gameplay is so simple ? a ton of game content was created for the real-time cutscenes, and all you ever get to do is kill things and watch twenty-minute cinemas. Some Resident Evil-style adventuring while playing as other characters would have been a nice touch, but this is a button-masher from start to finish.

While Berserk's art direction is rock-solid, the overall gameplay experience just left us wanting more... kinda like when I went to that one Mexican restaurant in Tokyo, and got two tacos and a tiny burrito for the equivalent of $30USD. If you skip the cutscenes, the game's over in a flash ? while importers with money to burn will have a blast, you might be better off saving up for Zombie Revenge instead.

-- Colin "Kendo Rage" Williamson, IGNDC