Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat (Xbox 360)

I was extremely excited about getting "Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat" for review. It marked a significant milestone for my blog. It meant I was literally stepping up my game from doing reviews on XBLIG, and XBLA titles to doing retail game reviews. Ben PerLee of (Reverb Inc.) was the guy who made this happen for me, and I'm very appreciative of that. The sad news is that not long after getting the game I experienced some significant issues with the game that kept me from completing my playthrough. I went back, and forth with Ben trying to figure out what was wrong, but every explanation he offered did not help in sorting out the unfortunate situation. In the end I think the fault lies with the game's unorthodox presentation. The fact that it didn't not load like regular retail (disc based) games is likely the reason for the complications. Keeping this in mind I have decided to go ahead with my review as best as I can. While I may not be able to provide every detail of the game I will do my best to explain it to you. I will also briefly go over the issue that plagues the game in it's current state.

'Deadliest Warrior' was originally a television series that aired on 'SPIKE', a cable channel known for the more manly shows. 'Deadliest Warrior' scientifically answered some fantasy based "What if?" questions pertaining to imaginary conflicts between ancient warriors of different eras, and fighting backgrounds. If you ever wondered whether a ninja would prevail against a pirate in a fight then this was the show for you. It wasn't too long after the show was out though (perhaps a few seasons in) that the idea for a video game was in the works. 345 Games along with SPIKE Entertainment ventured together to make this game a reality, and did so in a decent manner. The first game in the series was titled "Deadliest Warrior the Game". It was released on both the Playstation Network, and the Xbox Live marketplace (XBLA) at around the same time. Like the television show the game offered an innovative look at the "What if?" of historic duels only in a fighting game format. The first game, 'Deadliest Warrior the Game' allowed players to control a variety of warriors including a ninja, samurai, pirate, monk, a centurion as well as a handful of other historic warriors. Thrown in the mix were some bonus rounds that payed homage to the television show's idea (cut down the pig carcasses ...). The second game, 'Deadliest Warriors: Legend' was an improvement on the first in that it offered new less generic fighters (Joan of Arc, Vlad the Impaler, Shaka Zulu ...), and even had some new features.

'Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat" is a disc-based compilation made up of 'Deadliest Warrior the Game', and 'Deadliest Warrior: Legends'. It takes all the content that the first two XBLA games had, and offers a decent amount more. Aside from getting all of the original XBLA DLC that was sold separately for the initial game releases you also get 30 new weapons, a bonus dvd with never-before-seen "Deadliest Warrior" television shows, and a new Graveyard location. One thing that needs to be mentioned is that 'Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat' does not load like a regular retail game. When you put the disc into the drive, and start it up via the Xbox 360 dashboard it will immediately take you to your games library. This is intentional, and is not a glitch. You must start the game through your Xbox 360 game library menu after locating it there. Another thing that definitely needs to be said before I get into the bulk of this review is that the game has the tendency to freeze up your console requiring you to reset your Xbox 360. I experienced this myself as did another friend (@IamWeapon) who got the same game for review. I'm not sure if it's the way the game loads up that has something to do with this, or how the game was made. I'm also unsure of how many copies this glitch has affected. As I am typing this review the game's issues have yet to be sorted out.

'Deadliest Warrior the Game', the first game in the 'Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat' compilation is far from being a perfect fighting game by any means. It features decent but primitive graphics when compared to today's fighters. The rag doll physics give the game a somewhat silly appearance in some instances. What 'Deadliest Warrior the Game' does offer though is simple gory combat similar to that a player would expect from the 'Mortal Kombat' games. 345 Games seemed to want to make the game more realistic, and pretty much succeeded in doing just that for the most part. They shied away from making the game a combo heavy fighter, and focused more on the visceral weapon based attacks instead. The developer's, and designers for the game added blood effects, dismemberments, and even some organ loss for good measure. Unlike the 'MK' developers I don't think '345 Games' was going for the shock factor, but instead they were trying to stay true to the show and scientific aspects of the ideals behind the franchise. In that sense they hit the nail on the head. As far as the game goes it offers a few modes of play in both single player (Arcade, practice ...), and multiplayer (Local, Online/LIVE). It's a 1-on-1 fighter that pits each player against one another in ancient environments giving the combatants three different weapons with which to survive/fight.

The matches within 'Deadliest Warrior the Game', and 'Deadliest Warrior: Legends' focus on two rounds of combat. Unlike most fighting games out there there isn't a life bar, but instead the combatants involved lose by suffering significant wounds from the opposing player/character. A fighter can be killed instantly by a projectile weapon (bombs, spears, crossbows, bows ...) if thrown/used accurately, or they can be killed from multiple weapon strikes that usually involve bladed weapons such as various types of swords, and spears. Limbs can also be lost in the process of fighting adding yet another way to die quickly. If a fighter loses an arm during the battle they can usually survive for a brief moment, but their fighting will become limited without the use of said limb. On the other hand if a player loses a leg, loses their head or is cut in half the match is pretty much over right then. In that sense there's a wider variety of ways to lose than in your average fighting games. In that respect the game plays out more like real life than many of the fighting games of today.

'Deadliest Warrior: Legends' is by far my favorite game in the compilation. I had actually owned the XBLA version of this game before getting 'Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat' for review. The graphics in this second game are greatly improved. Some stages have special effects, and even the character design seems to be greatly improved giving each historical character a somewhat more realistic appearance. The key difference in the game though is that instead of using generic warriors such as the ninja or pirate you have actual historic figures like Joan of Arc, William Wallace, and even Vlad the Impaler (my personal favorite!). Each fighter has their own historically referenced in-game quotes/voice-overs, and character specific weapons. As with the first Deadliest Warrior game this one has two alternate costumes that can be used. Unlocking the extra costumes, and weapons applies to both games, and can be done by completing battles/bonus rounds throughout the 'Arcade' mode of each title. In both games the colors of the costumes can also be altered giving the game a more personal touch. The online in 'Deadliest Warrior: Legends' is a little different in that you can select name tags similar to those found in 'Marvel vs Capcom 3' to add to your online identity/Gamertag. These special tags also add something personal for the players of the game. Each game in the compilation definitely has a lot to offer, and plenty to unlock (zombie mode, joke weapons, weapons, costumes ...).

After playing 'Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat' to the best of my ability I have decided that the game is flawed to the point that it's pretty much unplayable. The console freeze up issues with 'Deadliest Warrior the Game', and 'Deadliest Warrior: Legends' kept me from experiencing the game like I should have been able to. I'm honestly not sure how many copies of the game these glitches have effected, but the copy I have is the same one you'd find in a retail gaming store. This alone leads me to believe the problem may be widespread. Whether or not a fix will be available is yet to be seen. I tried my best to hold out until an update was issued, but I have a review blog to run, and I can't just keep waiting on a fix. At this point considering all I went through with the game I'm going to have to say skip it. You'd be better off buying the XBLA versions of the game even though you'll be missing out on some fairly neat extras.