undefined

Product description ------------------- Disc(s) only. Ships in generic case. Disc(s) are professoinally cleaned. Guaranteed functional or replacement. .com ---- of the Berserk: Guts' Rage is an action game with phenomenally good graphics but overly simplistic gameplay. You fill the shoes of the main character, Guts, and spend most of your time smiting foes with his seven-foot monster of a , Dragon Slayer. Some levels provide the best hack-and-slash gaming to be found anywhere, but usually of the Berserk is more cheap than challenging. We certainly felt rage when boulders began falling on Guts's head at random during one level and the designers took great pains to populate most of the levels with dozens of tiny ankle-biting enemies that are nigh impossible to hit. Unfortunately the lack of combat moves, weapon upgrades, or anything else that could have spiced up gameplay makes of the Berserk far more tedious than it should be for gamers. What really distinguishes this game from other gore games is the eloquent integration of storyline-enhancing cut-scenes that are gorgeously rendered with the game engine. There is over an hour of noninteractive story line to sit through--so many scenes that this almost qualifies as an interactive movie. If mindless combat and a compelling story sound appealing, of the Berserk is what you've been waiting for. Parents should note that this game is particularly violent, and may not be suited for young children. --T. Byrl Baker Pros: * Beautiful graphics * Gory, visceral combat * Outstanding production values Cons: * Repetitive gameplay * Level design sometimes cheap P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review ------ When you think of the most recent attempts at bringing Final Fight's 2D gameplay to the 3D realm, you probably think of games like Dynamite Cop, Zombie Revenge, and Fighting Force. You'd be forgiven if you think those games get really boring fast, because they do. Well, Eidos and developer Yuke's (Evil Zone, WWF SmackDown!, and Soukaigi) have joined forces and taken one of Japan's most popular man, Kentauro Miura's Berserk, and turned it into the bloodiest hack 'n' slasher yet. Renamed of the Berserk: Guts' Rage for the US, Eidos, surprisingly has picked up the game for American distribution. Guts, the poorly-named main character, typically wields a massive nearly one and a half times his own body length, and as the game's title indicates, Guts has a tendency to go berserk once he has suffered enough damage during battle. At the moment he goes berserk, the screen turns blood red, and Guts' speed and power double. Guts is a one-eyed knight traveling through Europe during the Middle Ages. He is identifiable by his one working eye and a dark brand on his neck, which attracts the weird and varied creatures he continuously battles. When creatures are close at hand, the strange mark bleeds, giving Guts warning of impending danger. The game begins with a scenario, rendered by the game's impressive engine, where some of the game's main characters are introduced beside their broken caravan. They are suddenly attacked by highwaymen looking for trouble, and that's when Guts enters the scene. You'll figure out the controls in no time flat. Aside from swinging your giant , you can jump, block, and even sheath your in favor of a wrist-sized crossbow. You also have a limited supply of items that you can access by pressing the right trigger button and any of the corresponding four colored controller buttons. The items you can use are grenades, a small , refills, and throwing knives. While these items are extremely limited, you can find them in the many boxes and barrels placed around the game environments. Once acclimated to the controls, you'll find that of the Berserk is a straightforward hack 'n' slash action game where you rely on little more than your basest survival instincts. Chop the enemy to bits and try not to get chopped yourself. That's it. You are amidst an endless swarm of soldiers, monsters, and mutated thingamajigs, and your singular goal is to hack, hack, hack your way through the assembled masses. When you're not hacking these guys to bits, you're engaging in fisticuffs or blowing the attackers to tiny pieces with your grenades. Musket s are best reserved for the bosses, since ammo is in limited supply. Unlike recent Final Fight-style games like Dynamite Cop, Zombie Revenge, and Fighting Force 2, Berserk doesn't ever get nearly as tedious. In Berserk, you'll run from level to level through a gamut of alleys, ainsides, and villages. While some areas are wide open, others are restricted to tight spaces, which will cause your to clang off the walls. While you're in berserker mode, this doesn't affect you, but any other time this can be very difficult, especially with lots of enemies around you. When this happens, resorting to your fists is the best choice, as it's much easier to make contact this way. If you're cornered, a grenade will always clear everyone in the immediate area out like a smart bomb. You'll meet bosses in unique encounters, and each will require a different strategy. One boss, for example, is a huge, man-bull creature with one enormous horn protruding from his head. This is one of the hardest bosses to defeat in the game because his patterns aren't as predictable as some of the others, and he is possibly the most mobile. You'll need to use every attack you know to beat him on the harder difficulty levels. What also makes this game significantly more engrossing than Dynamite Cop or its ilk is the sound. This is one of the most impressive-sounding games ever made. From the first time you hear the sound of your cutting through the air, you'll be amazed. The meaty crunch of steel hitting is made more realistic by the appropriate thud. The simple act of listening to Guts walk is rewarded with the crunch of dirt and sticks, and the jangle of his chains is also very impressive. Ambient sounds like footsteps and voices in dank stairwells resound with accurate reverb and echo. The voice-acting is filled with aural clarity, and the soundtrack is an amazing blend of ominous compositions. --James Mielke --Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review See more ( javascript:void(0) )