Golden Axe: Beast Rider

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I was excited when I saw this game online before it was released. I watched all the gameplay movies and went to wal-mart to buy it the day it was released. However, walmart didn't have it. I came back and got back online to see it again. I was extremely disappointed to see how terribly the critics had reviewed it. Still I kept my hopes up and bought it over the weekend. A horribly underrated game. I was not a fan of the original Golden Axe and I can see why some would be disappointed with this debut on next-gen consoles, but it is a traditional hack-and-slash game. Lots of blood, but that makes no difference to me. Several things the critics hit on:

Poor storyline: This is true, the storyline is lacking. Yet the developers were trying to make an arcade game next-gen and still stay true to the original. I didn't expect much for storyline.

Counter and Evade lags: Counter and evade work like Heavenly Sword where an enemy glows a certain color before attacking. Counter is a little slow, but once you realize this, it is easy to correct with proper timing.

Bad graphics: It's not the most beautiful game for PS3 (Uncharted or Heavenly Sword wins that for me), but the graphics are as horrible as the critics make it sound. I don't have an HDTV, so I'm just using composite and it looks great to me. Kinda bland with colors of the environment, but that's it.

Problems with Beasts: Yeah, they're slow and hard to turn. That was a disappointment as one expects beasts to be faster than the player's running speed. Another complaint is that the beasts die quickly. I haven't had a problem with that. It makes sense in the gameplay that the beasts shouldn't last long. If your beasts dies, just go back and respawn another one. Last thing about beasts, the critics were hard that you can get knocked off of your beast and replaced with an enemy. The solution is simple. Just jump and swing your sword in the air to knock him off. It works for me.

No Multiplayer: For fans of the original Golden Axe, I can see how this is disappointing, however the majority of games I play are single player. So I guess it's a personal preference.

In a world where most next-gen games are first-person shooters, a good hack-and-slash is hard to find. Saying that, I would recommend Devil May Cry 4 and Heavenly Sword over Golden Axe, but if you love hack-and-slash games like me, it's a worth a try.

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This is a good gamenot perfect, but good.

Yes, the camera can get in the way sometimesbut that's hardly unique among modern games. It's easily adjusted with the right analog stick and it's only a real annoyance when you're backed into a corner... so stay in the open.

Anyone who thinks the beasts are hard to control and are too easy to get knocked off of clearly hasn't played the original Golden Axe in a whilenow THOSE were easy to get knocked off of. Yes, some are big and lumbering and none of them turn on a dimebut they're beasts, not ballerinas. When you get the right beast in the right situation, you can really do some damage. There is something very satisfying about using an enraged Miragar to tear apart an opponents beast, or trampling hapless enemies and bowling them off bridges with a timely Cronoth charge.

On foot, combat can be challengingno doubt about it. But why is that a bad thing? Some complain that you can't simply button mash your way to victory...Good! You CAN button mash and do some damage, but without parrying or evading you're eventually going to get surrounded and take a beating. Once you get your timing down and start pulling off Brutal Counters, combat really starts to get enjoyable with the Tribute bonus system encouraging you to fight better and avoid damage.

Overall, this is a fun, very underrated game. It has some flaws, but should appeal to anyone who can appreciate it's old school gameplay.

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I really don't understand what people mean by bad graphics and gameplay, I thought the game was excellent. I can understand being upset about multiplayer, but Beast Rider isn't a terrible game as most make it out to be. Most people that say the game is bad haven't even finished it. The graphics are beautiful, in my personal opinion, if the game looks interesting, buy it. It's not that expensive because of the critics reviews, which brought the popularity down greatly. So now, every person that is interested in the game decides not to get it because most Golden Axe fans insist that it's a terrible game. Overall, I think it has a nice combat system, and the storyline is interesting. Don't flame Beast Rider because of it's reviews, try it and see for yourself.

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There are so many things wrong with this game, I barely even know where to start. So I guess I will start with the good. The ground combat had some pretty clever ideas. While fighting hand-to-hand, the game is focused on chaining together strings of parries, dodges, and counter-attacks. It's fast-paced, and would be a lot of fun. When enemies attack, their blades will glow different colors to indicate which type of defensive maneuver you need to use (similar but not identical to Heavenly Sword). But here the problems start. The camera doesn't track combat well at all. Enemies will often attack you from off the edge of the screen because, for some reason, the game thinks you want to see the terrain behind you rather than the enemies in front of you. This problem is further exacerbated by the frequent screen tearing, sometimes obscuring enemies even when they are on camera.

Things get even worse when you start delving into the mounted combat, which as you might guess from the title is the central focus of the game. The animals are slow, clunky, and bulky. They also have only 3 abilities, two of which actually drain the animal's health to use. Most of the time, riding an animal into combat probably just means that you are going to get knocked off and have your beast jacked by an enemy.

Lastly, if you are a fan of the old Golden Axe games from the Genesis era like I am, prepare for more disappointment. There is no multiplayer whatsoever in this game, and you cannot play as Gilius or Ax Battler at all. Not that Tyris isn't hot, but seriously I wanted to play as Gilius too.

Realistically, there is no reason to ever play this game. Ever.

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I do not regret spending the money I did to buy this game. It looks fantastic plays just like the first golden axe. The only problem I had with this game was that the difficulty curve is a bit much for people not used to this game-play style. With that being said, I would recommend this product to anyone who asked.