Bladestorm: Nightmare

Unattractive, not as strategic as it could be, and the fighting gets samey quick. [June 2015, p78]

The great combination of real-time history, action, fantasy and strategy form a fast playing game with chaotic battles, which sometimes lack persuasion by cut scenes.

What new feature[s] Nightmare has to offer are intuitive and gel perfectly with Bladestorm’s existing mechanics. The demonic campaign is admittedly underwhelming in parts yet gives Bladestorm fans another series of unique battles to play through.

Bladestorm: Nightmare's vast battlefields only become truly welcoming once you're embedded deep within its progression system, but those who are on the lookout for a bit of tactical action will definitely want to test their mettle as a mercenary all the same. While combat's never spectacular, and the game isn't quite as strategic as it perhaps promises to be at first glance, it's still easy to get lost in this historical hack-'em-up's rewarding gameplay loop.

RTS fans will find it too simplistic, and Warriors fans will find the pace to be too slow. It doesn't hit the correct buttons to competently fill either role.

While it doesn’t have the best production values, it offers a lot of content to play through even if some of it feels a bit strategy-less at times.

The ideas behind this title are good, but the execution is irregular. Still, the gameplay is fun and works, so fans of the genre should consider it an option.

Bladestorm Nightmare gives us the chance to enjoy the game once again, with graphical enhancements and a new plot that adds certain elements to the game. Unfortunately, it has English text, unlike the original game which came with Spanish subtitles. However, it's a game to think about for newcomers as well as old players.

A decent HD conversion and expansion of the original Bladestorm adventure, edition that comes with new missions, playable heroes and more features.

A strategic hack 'n slash with an impressive upgrade system and welcome Nightmare mode, but it looks bland and combat often feels shallow.

Without making the effort to adapt the game to western audiences, the game is less appealing.

Bladestorm, initially released in 2007 for the previous generation of consoles, receives an update for new platforms with Nightmare, offering a touch of fantasy to the Hundred Years' War. The new content is interesting, but the gameplay remains unchanged.

Combat itself is a stuttering fit of clipping, incorrigible AI an dropped frames. [May 2015, p.93]

It’s hard to call Bladestorm: Nightmare a good game, but it is an oddly satisfying one. The main campaign is riddled with pacing issues, and the combat isn’t nearly as deep or tactical as Omega Force would like players to think it is. Still, leading a flock of powerful, sometimes supernatural soldiers is undeniably exhilarating.

Bladestorm: Nightmare at its core is the same game that came out in 2007 with some slight alterations to the mechanics that bring in a little fun, but at the same time kill off the strategy that this game was going for.

Entertaining for a time but it will ends up becoming stale if your session goes on too long.

Bladestorm: Nightmare is an updated version of the strategic Musou released in 2007, whose innovations are not enough to erase the structural and technical problems of the original work.

With its remake of the original Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War, Omega Force delivers a lot of content, but saves on quality. The result is a technically crippled Musou, with mediocre gameplay and even worse AI, although with a passable brand new fantasy-themed campaign.

Bladestorm: Nightmare is a decent HD conversion of a real time tactical title, sadly overlooked when it was released on old-gen consoles. The new story mode is a perfect fit for fans, but Omega Force could have definitely made something more.

Even had Bladestorm: Nightmare came out several years ago on PS3 I don't think I would have enjoyed it much. But, for those who like Dynasty Warrior-esque games and want more unit control and strategy, Bladestorm is worth checking out.

There was a chance here to make right a game that, even in the days of the old generation, didn't shine. Sadly, it's wasted, and what we're left with is just some mere add-ons and a light hand of HD polish.

It wasn't that good in the past, nor is it right now. Bladestorm Nightmare remains a boring and repetitive action game, whose few good ideas can't save.

Feels like a dinosaur. [Issue#160, p.103]

The update of the original Bladestorm simply does not work. With poor A.I., lots of problems with the in-game camera and shallow strategy options, Bladestom: Nightmare can truly become a bad dream.

While at its core there is a great idea, Bladestorm: Nightmare has too much going on both during battle and off the field. The game tries so hard to juggle story, character leveling up, massive battles, and strategy that in the end, it doesn’t do anything particularly well.

Bladestorm: Nightmare is a game trapped in 2007, awkwardly fumbling for a way to push a tried and true formula forward. The ideas are appreciable, but not nearly enough of the required effort has been put in to make this game great or even challenging.

Bladestorm: Nightmare is a terrible experience that fails to bring a fun game. If you like to suffer with bad controls and many technical problems, you should try it.

That is the problem with Bladestorm: Nightmare – it loses its appeal too quickly. Between the monotonous battles, boring story, and ugly visuals, there isn’t much there to hold someone’s attention. If you want to have some fun with it, rent it for a day or so. After that, Nightmare is pretty much worthless.

Rampaging through the French countryside is entertaining enough for a quick rental. Otherwise, it doesn't have much else going for it and squanders its fantastical setup with a lackluster plot, limited online options, restricted strategic choices, and neutered dragons.

A mediocre eight-year-old game judged by modern standards.

A game that suffers from its fundamentals. The act of moving your troops around the battlefield, and engaging in combat, is too far removed from the player’s input – leading to frustration rather than gratification.