Golden Axe: Beast Rider Preview

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	Bomberman Ultra Platforms: PS3 (PSN) Release Date: TBA Genres: Puzzle Developer: Hudson

Golden Axe: Beast Rider Preview

(2 Votes)

Sean Tonks, Senior Editor

Friday, July 25 2008

Kicking a gnome in the head and watching his little body fall to the ground and toss out a potion ranks up there with the most fun experiences in gaming. 1989's Golden Axe not only allowed you to punt gnomes, but actually rewarded you for it! An act not truly seen in gaming since, but it wasn't just the abuse of little races that catapulted this game to Classic status. The central theme of cooperative play was one of the first gamers remember, and for that Golden Axe remains as one of multiplayer gaming's forefathers. Not content to let the game simply be a memory of the old Golden Age of the arcade, SEGA is giving the franchise rejuvenation on the current hardware.

In the previous game players were able to choose between Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead to take down the evil Death Adder. This time around SEGA is focusing the adventure of Golden Axe: Beast Rider around the scantily clad mistress of combat, Tyris Flare. The other characters do make an appearance in the game, though only in the form on NPCs.

While the game is going to have a deep and engaging story, according to developers, the game is centered on brutal combat, which is broken into three separate focuses: beast combat, melee combat, and magic combat. While the magic system is still more of a mystery we were given a full glimpse of what it is to fight hand-to-hand –or best-to-beast.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider

Tyris will have five different beasts to hop on and control through the frenzied combat. Each beast has their own advantages, abilities, and weaknesses. Miragar, for instance, is a giant troll-like brute. With his enormous size and strength you can sweep up your foes and tear them apart and send them flying back into their comrades.

Abrax, perhaps recognizable to fans, looks like a bird-reptile hybrid from the time of the dinosaurs. Lightweight and very mobile, Abrax is incredibly different from most of the other beasts. Along with his mobility, Abrax can shoot a steady stream of fire to annihilate your enemies. Running streams of flames through the enemy ranks and making circles of burning death is a huge allure to this nimble monster.

Not all beasts are as docile as Abrax though. For instance, Raptor, a giant monstrosity must be controlled when being ridden. In order to take control of the beast, Tyris must leap onto the back of Raptor and jam her sword into his spine like a brutal, rudimentary joystick. There is a drawback to utilizing the beast's destructive power. With your sword imbedded into its spine, the Raptor is losing blood and can only be satiated by feeding on enemies. If you fail to keep him fed, and happy, you come bucking off in a violent display of insubordination.

Melee combat seems to take on the familiar action game format. You will have your base attacks that can be chained together, as well as those few strong attacks, some of which cannot be parried or blocked. Developers Secret Level are also including a rhythm based counter and dodge system thus keeping button-mashers from getting too far. They want the combat to be more cerebral and a game of thought over random smashing.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider

The actual Golden Axe does appear in the game, but mainly as a way of vanquishing the tougher demons. These creatures are persistent and can only be permanently banished when their heads are sliced off with this gilded, legendary weapon.

Magic combat is still fairly under wraps, though we assume it will take on a familiar, action game feel. One spell we did see allowed Tyris to slip into the background Predator-style to sneak up on her enemies and deliver a devastating blow.

With all of this, and the promising of epic, multi-stage boss fights to really put your combat and beast skills to the test, Golden Axe: Beast Rider could be the revitalization of the classic series we want. Yet we can't help but be disappointed by the lack of cooperative play, which identified the original game. But if Beast Rider does well, they have promised it in the next installment. To the classic gamers who fell in love with Golden Axe that may be worth taking a look at the renewed series.

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