Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War

A refreshing change from the well-worn gameplay Koei has become famous for, and the epic battles provide a satisfying fix for loyal fans of the genre.

A very, very good videogame: another brilliant evolution of Koei's unique interpretation of the real-time strategy genre, and every bit as satisfying as previous efforts. What it lacks in terms of the speed and immediacy of, say, Gundam Musou, it makes up for with strategic range, design ingenuity, and conceptual novelty. [JPN Import]

Bladestorm works hard to appease both the keen strategist and the action-hungry player, while confidently answering critics who claim that Koei is nothing more than a one-trick warhorse. [Christmas 2007, p.95]

If you want hollow button mashing then pick up the latest Dynasty Warriors, but if you are after something with a little more depth, breadth, scope and originality then give Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War a try; you might just be pleasantly surprised as it smashes away your preconceptions like so many scattering infantry.

It's almost like taking part in a ground-level "Total War" battle. Ace! [Dec 2007, p.82]

As one of the few fresh things on the menu, I would implore anybody with determination, an interest in strategy, and a desire for something new to check it out. It's got a fair few flaws, some of which can be draining, but it's a fine game indeed, one of Koei's best efforts to date.

An almost success that lacks staying power, worth checking out if you’re big into Koei’s other franchises or at the very least not put off by a lot of repetition.

Despite these few niggles, if you can overlook the moderate repetitiveness of the missions in Bladestorm, and conquer its slightly confusing initial battles, it's an extremely rewarding and fun game.

Bladestorm looks and plays better than "Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires", so longtime fans should enjoy this more next-gen DW-style title until "Dynasty Warriors 6" hits the battlefield next year. [Dec 2007, p.76]

No-nonsense strategy with a sense of humour.

Bladestorm does provide and incredibly well structured action-strategy game, and it juggles depth and accessibility with panache.

On the one hand it offers reasonably entertaining action and a good mix of strategy and battling, with some excellent music and a strangely compelling story mode to play through. On the flip side, dodgy AI and a feeling of being detached from the game at times can raise the question of whether you’re really having fun, or if you just think you are.

A strategy game that succeeds at what it's tried to do, even if it isn't that clever. [Christmas 2007, p.84]

This game succeeds at blending both action and strategy to create a title that is enjoyable. However, the AI is predictable and players will be able to exploit its weaknesses easily.

Bladestorm is fun, for the most part. If it had a little more polish and fewer technical flaws, we might go so far as to say that this is one of the finest KOEI games we've seen in a while.

It tries hard to be a good mixture of action, strategy and RPG. But its repetitive nature, limited gameplay and few strategic options make for a boring experience. [Dec 2007]

With some interesting and fun gameplay ideas, Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War is worth playing for fans of this style of game. Unfortunately, its undeniable flaws will keep it from becoming the success it could have been.

As something new, Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War is familiar but refreshingly new, even if doesn’t exactly work out quite as nicely as Koei probably would have liked.

Fresh ideas can't save Bladestorm from mediocrity.

With all these hiccups, I'm shocked this war lasted one year, let alone 100. [Dec 2007, p.109]

If you're starved for strategy and like the idea of open-area, semi-persistent medieval battle scenes, Bladestorm might make sense. Unfortunately, you won't find rewarding, patient strategy, or dynamic action within.

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War allows players to win most, if not all, of its battles solely by holding down the right bumper button on the Xbox 360 controller. [Nov 2007, p.73]

The majority of the environments are quite sparse, with few buildings yet plenty of fog to help hide the fact that the draw distance here isn't that spectacular. The lack of vision also doesn't help when you're traversing the grassy plains and trying to get a read on your enemy's position.

Sadly, Bladestorm isn’t an improvement on the Warriors games. An awkward mish-mash of action and strategy, which fails to succeed on either count. The combat is monotonous and the strategy underdeveloped. One to avoid.