Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage review (Dreamcast)

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 sword cutting through the air, you'll be amazed. The meaty crunch of steel hitting flesh 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. The problems this game suffers from are not unique, nor are they necessarily solved in any manner here. The problem is that the camera can often be too close to the main character, making for a consistently dramatic-looking game but hampering gameplay at some points. The closeness of the camera doesn't affect things too much in wide-open areas, but when you're fighting in tight alleys or are being hounded by a particularly malicious boss, it is sometimes impossible to see what you're doing, due in part to Guts's huge cape. If the camera were pulled back a bit or tilted to an overhead perspective at some junctions, the game would be less problematic. It is also hard to target and kill some of the smaller enemies in the game, despite the vertical and horizontal nature of your attacks. In some stages, little turnip babies (don't ask) and frogmen attack you, and dropping your grenades is often the best strategy.

When you're between levels, the game is chock full of cut-scenes rendered by the sturdy engine. These sequences are long and can be skipped, but they add a lot to the game, and they're worth watching the first time through.

The graphics are stunning. Although things seem a little too gray and brown at times, these colors are appropriate to the heavy atmosphere that the game's storyline seeks to convey. Characters are extremely well modeled, often having a Virtua Fighter 3 level of quality to them. Monsters have been given less thought than Guts himself, but that's expected considering their disposable nature. The animations are also well done, especially the main character's sword work. It's even cool how he slides to a halt when you abruptly change directions. While the characters are impressive enough, the detail of the backdrops is even more amazing. Everything is modeled in 3D, and the attention paid to texture detail and environment modeling rivals Sonic Adventure. Stone blocks look like stone blocks. Furniture, torture devices, straw mats - everything has been painstakingly constructed, and to great effect. Again, the only element that ever detracts from all this beauty are the funky camera angles. It should also be mentioned that the amount of bloodletting in this game makes Mortal Kombat look like a Teletubbies episode. With each successful strike, Guts send pints of the stuff flying around on walls, floors, other enemies, etc. Surprisingly, the US version of Berserk not only doesn't reduce the amount of blood shed, it increases it by 30 percent. Apparently the boys at Eidos thought this would be a good change, but in the end, it really doesn't affect much at all.

Replay value is enhanced by a prize box that unlocks items (a la Panzer Dragoon Zwei) as you beat the game on its various difficulty settings. The harder levels are really challenging, so it will be awhile before you unlock the extra secrets in the game. Fortunately, Eidos and Yuke's have done away with the extra-easy and extra-hard levels in the game, allowing you to unlock the game's secrets by beating easy, normal and hard modes. Thankfully, this means that the minigames, stage select, artwork, movies, and other amusing items can be had more easily. While the complete lack of a multiplayer mode makes this a completely solitary experience, it is still an exciting way to mow down the masses. The import version had some excellent voicework, and so does the US version. Eidos sicced the same team that handled the vocal chores in Soul Reaver on Sword of the Berserk, and it shows. Recorded in mere weeks, the acting in SotB is better than any Resident Evil title thus far. Sadly, no improvements were made to the funky camera issues or wanky collision-detection in the game. The only improvements were aesthetic, although it must be said that those improvements were handled well. As it stands, this is the Dreamcast's best hack 'n' slasher to date and one of Yuke's finest efforts. Although it has limited gameplay and it is meant to appeal to a niche, hard-core audience, Berserk is a white-knuckle experience that keeps your finger on the attack button. More than a mere rental, Sword of the Berserk is the best Final Fight-type game to appear in ages.