by Brian - January 27, 2004

Blade & Sword is a Diablo-like hack and slash RPG set in Ancient China. Utilizing fighting game techniques like combos, special attacks, and blocking, Blade & Sword offers a pleasant alternative to the Diablo universe. It is both fun and addicting, but where it differs from Diablo is very obviously where its faults lie.

Gameplay

First of all, there is the story. Because the game was poorly translated from the original Chinese, it is very hard to make out the story. All you really need to know, though, is that some powerful wizard has unleashed demons and beasts upon the world in an attempt to conquer it. In other words, its up to you to destroy a crap load of monsters and save the world. There are three acts with plenty levels in each.

You can play as one of three characters. There are two male characters, a Long Swordsman and a Broad Swordsman. The Long Swordsman is the most balanced of the three; able to stun enemies before moving in for the kill, and the Broad Swordsman is the brute force guy. He can knock down any monster in three hits, although that doesn�t necessarily mean you kill them in three. The woman is the weak but very fast type. She uses twin blades and has the best combos but they don�t do as much damage as the others. Each character has a unique skill set with four categories, three skills in each one, followed by a super attack. Each of the first level skills costs one skill point, the second costs two, etc� You can upgrade each of the skills twice, but to upgrade it costs one more than you paid for it. However, unlike the Diablo series you [I]can[/I] have every skill mastered by the end of the game. However, the downside to having every skill by the end is that you can�t have an original character, and makes the game have virtually no replayability. That is compounded by the fact that when you level up, the game automatically updates your vital stats. You can�t diversify in that area either. The skills are mostly martial arts moves but there are also ones that increase your Chi (mana), attack power, and health. Each special attack uses a certain amount of chi to perform and must be used if you plan on getting anywhere in the game.

As for the super attacks, they work differently than the other special attacks. Rather than using Chi, they use 1000 power. In order to use one, you must go into block mode (hold down the Alt key) and trace a symbol with your mouse on the screen. Then you have about one second to right click where to do the attack, but don�t worry if you mess up. You only lose power if you do the attack successfully. Most of them are very powerful. Some can kill monsters in one hit, but some are also pretty useless, such as the Broad Swordsman�s invulnerability because it only lasts for five seconds.

Once you have a few special attacks, you may want to think about making a combo. You can have four different combos at one time and you can always overwrite one you no longer want. Combos are useful because you don�t have to stop and switch skills every ten seconds to defeat a difficult enemy. Instead, all you have to do is select the combo and right click to perform the moves consecutively. Also, while most of the special attacks aren�t very powerful on their own, they can be utterly devastating in a good combo. As the enemies become more and more difficult throughout the game, combos also become more useful.

One of the faults that sticks out like a sore thumb in Blade & Sword is that there is no gathering of items. The only items you will ever find in the game are gems, potions, gold, spell scrolls, and throwing weapons. One of the greatest things to do in Diablo II was finding rare and special items to make your character better. Blade & Sword has none of that. Instead, you imbed jewels into your armor and blade to power them up, much like socketed items in Diablo II. Different gems do different things and all gems can be upgraded by transmuting them in the spyragic cube, another Diablo II game element. By putting three of the same type of gem in the cube, you will get one upgraded gem of the same type. This also works for potions and some other items. The equipment system really leaves much to be desired though.

Aside from the bad things, Blade & Sword�s combat system is very good. As stated before, the special moves and combos add a lot to the game that you won�t find in other RPG�s of this type. It really makes up for a lot of the bad things about the game, but some things just can�t be overlooked.

Graphics

Blade & Sword uses the same graphical style as most other games in its genre, such as Diablo II. It uses an isometric view of the world, along with the pixilated characters just like the others. Additionally, the interface is exactly the same as Diablo II. Although the Diablo II interface is very functional and easy to use, it wouldn�t hurt to be a little innovative. Nothing really stands out, and the graphics aren�t up to today�s standards, but you won�t notice it for the most part.

One of the great things about the graphics, though, is that your weapons are sharp. What I mean by that is there is plenty of blood, severing limbs, and decapitations. Gore like this is something I have missed from the RPG genre, and Blade & Sword delivers it.

However, Blade & Sword is completely devoid of any cinematics. No cut scenes, nothing. That was a real disappointment.

Sound / Music

The only redeeming quality about the sound in this game is the music. I liked the background music in the game quite a bit, but the game has absolutely no voice acting, and very few ambient sounds. Rather, there is just a scrolling text box for characters talking and for storytelling between chapters. A definite let down. The combat noises are nothing spectacular either, and get very repetitive as you progress through the game.

Funfactor

That brings me to my next point. The game is completely devoid of multiplayer! This is the straw that broke the camel�s back, folks. No hack and slash RPG can survive without it.

Furthermore, the game has virtually no replayability unless you want to go through with every character on the same maps with the same monsters. That�s right folks, the game has no random map generator. That alone could give it a good 30 more hours of playability but as it stands now, it only has 20-25 hours depending on the difficulty you choose. Not enough in my opinion.

Plasmafactor

That brings me to my next point. The game is completely devoid of multiplayer! This is the straw that broke the camel�s back, folks. No hack and slash RPG can survive without it.

Furthermore, the game has virtually no replayability unless you want to go through with every character on the same maps with the same monsters. That�s right folks; the game has no random map generator. That alone could give it a good 30 more hours of playability but as it stands now, it only has 20-25 hours depending on the difficulty you choose. Not enough in my opinion.

One of the good extras, though, is the A.I.. The game�s enemies will keep you on your toes throughout the game. They block, do combos, have special attacks, and some even have multiple health bars, making them extremely hard to kill. Some monsters even continue fighting after being cut in half, crawling at you with a spear or a bow. Some of them are simply relentless. If it didn�t have good A.I., Blade & Sword wouldn�t be a challenge at all. Thank the developers for that.

Conclusion

It�s amazing that I can still play this game and have fun, despite all the terrible mistakes the game has. Despite the low score, I still think this game is worth the money. That�s something I can�t say about any other of the games I have reviewed, so I guess that makes this game somewhat unique.