Deadliest Warrior: The Game

By - Craig H.

Deadliest Warrior: The Game is based on the hit TV show on Spike TV. In the show, two historical warriors are pitted against one another to see, theoretically, who would win in a fight to the death. The extensive research on close, mid-range and long-range weapons for each combatant are used in the simulation of 100 battles to find out who statistically would win in a battle. The show is pure fiction but the crazy use of ballistic dummies, pig carcasses and historical weapons has created a large following for the Spike TV show.

The game features 8 combatants and follows the overall premise of the show. Each combatant is fitted with character unique close, mid-range, and long-range weapon that they can use in a fight to the death. The characters you have to choose from are a Viking, Samurai, Apache, Pirate, Centurion, Knight, Spartan, and Ninja. All of the fighters were from the first season of the show with the exception of the Centurion who was from the second.

Each combatant has a different fight style and simply mashing buttons will not always lead to victory. The Ninja is very quick but cannot take much damage while the Spartan can use his shield to muscle his opponents into a vulnerable position. This thoughtful gameplay makes each character feel different and makes you want to play as each character at least once. The overall gameplay is not incredibly deep but will require you to think about how to approach your opponent. The game is set up in a 3 round battle with most rounds ending in less than 10 seconds. You must choose your shots wisely or your day (and life) will be very short.

The game features only the standard modes found in a fighting game. Arcade Mode pits the selected fighter against all the other fighters in the game. This mode is also where you will unlock new weapons for the fighter you have selected by completing mini challenges throughout the mode. These challenges are slicing up a room full of pig carcasses or a quick limb chopping fight to the death. Multiplayer is handled with both local and online battles. Online battles consist of unranked matches, ranked matches, and tournaments. Leaderboards are basic but provide players with a quick snapshot of their overall ranking.

One thing that made me scratch my head was while in the arcade mode you have to fight the same character that you are playing as. Therefore, if you are a Ninja you have to fight a Ninja. Since the show is about seeing who would win between two historical combatants, the idea of fighting the same characters goes against the entire premise of the show.

The game looks great for a downloadable $10 title. The characters are detailed and the sound effects of the weapons clashing together are handled very well. The game does have some awful ragdoll effect at the end of the rounds that are jarring to watch though. The game runs great and I did not experience any framerate issues while playing. You can tell that the development team, Pipeworks Software, took a great deal of time with this project.

The game retails for $10 and is worth every penny if you enjoy a fun, fast-paced fighting game. Though, if you are looking for an in-depth fighting system the likes of Street Fighter or Tekken you will be disappointed. Hurling your javelin across the entire field of battle to have is impale your foe in the head on the other side is incredibly satisfying. The game is a blast to run through by yourself or have a friend join you both locally and online for a quick battle to the death. Fans of the show will have a blast with the game and those looking for a fun fighting game will not be disappointed either.

Pros:

• Priced right at $10

• Fun, fast-paced gameplay

• High quality presentation both sound and graphically

• Unlockable weapons specific to each warrior

• Each combatant fights differently and provides incentive to try out all of them at least once

Cons:

• Ragdoll effects at the end of matches is awkward

• No extra modes beyond 1 vs 1 online and offline battles

• Would have been nice to see a few more arenas (game has 4 plus the training room)

RATING: 8/10