Tag Archives: Hack-and-Slash

Warriors Orochi 3 Review

Across the last twelve years, Omega Force’s musou games have often been assailed for their repetitive combat. To help counterbalance these criticisms, the Yokohama-based developers have crammed an encyclopedic amount of content with each successive ...

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Sumioni: Demon Arts Review

What is the concept? Blending Japanese folklore, sumptuous ink wash aesthetics, and a healthy amount of touchscreen control, recent PSN release Sumioni: Demon Arts seems poised to cultivate a modest, but fervent, cult following. The ...

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Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus Review

French poet Paul Valéry once wrote, “An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it”. With the release of Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus for the Vita, it’s clear that the bosses at Koei-Tecmo ...

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Dynasty Warriors Next Review

In the interest of journalistic transparency, a disclosure needs to be issued: I am a stalwart Dynasty Warriors devotee. Having played through nearly every series permutation, I’ve witnessed the franchise steadily advance alongside each new ...

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Shank 2 Review

What is the concept? 2010’s Shank injected the fusty 2D brawler with much-needed dose of adrenaline, resulting in a wonderfully hyperkinetic and impishly violent game. For the sequel, the developers at Klei Entertainment knew not ...

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Samurai Sword Destiny Review

What is the concept? Although gameplay videos might suggest that Samurai Sword Destiny is little more than a simplistic beat-‘em-up in the vein of Data East’s Kung-Fu Master or Vigilante, the title has several gameplay ...

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Dungeon Defenders Review

What is the concept? As titles such as Toy Soldiers, Monday Night Combat, Trenched and Orcs Must Die have demonstrated, the action/tower defense genre has proliferated across Xbox Live Arcade. Yet, associating the recent release ...

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Guardian Heroes Review

What is the concept? 1996’s Guardian Heroes is a textbook example of the fan-pleasing design philosophy of Japanese developer Treasure (Gunstar Heroes, Bangai-O, Ikaruga). Most brawlers of the era focused on the protagonist’s efforts to ...

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Orcs Must Die Review

What is the concept? Recalling Trenched and Toy Soldiers adept amalgamations of the tower defense and third-person shooter genres, Orcs Must Die rewards marksmanship as much as prudent planning. Players are thrust into the role ...

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