Golden Axe: Beast Rider

The graphics and sound are great, and the numerous challenges and arena modes offer some diversity. If you're up for a quick hack-and-slash game, rent it. If you want a game with depth, however, this Axe needs sharpening.

Although Golden Axe: Beast Rider honors its roots and does a nice job of storytelling, it fails to deliver on the all-important technical side of things.

Eschewing the expected hack-n’-slash mindlessness, a timing-based evasion and blocking system is required to master the melee. It’s not enough to save an otherwise lackluster effort, but Secret Level was definitely on to something with the combat.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider confuses the tribute to retro with the flat and boring gameplay. The new game of SEGA is mediocre in every aspect, and comes as a failure in its attempt to recover a legendary name and turn it into a worthy product of Next-Gen platforms.

Ditch the “Golden Axe” moniker and just call this baby “Beast Rider”. Like those old ‘80s barbarian fantasy flicks that also had their share of serious faults, Beast Rider is blunt, exploitative, and plenty of fun when no one else is watching.

While it’s kind of cool to see a new take on such an old game, the presence of a muddy palette and outdated game mechanics combined with the inexplicable absence of co-op makes Beast Rider forgettable and so much less than it could have been.

Not even the inclusion of co-op would have made this one any the better, no matter how angry you might be that it was excluded.

This half-hearted revival attempt leaves Golden Axe lifeless and dull.

This game is initially promising, stunning even. Graphics and animation are impressive, but looking beyond that, we find a game which lacks deepness. The main character doesn't have enough movements and feels limited, the camera management is poor and the graphical engine suffers and has imperfections that ruin the initial impressions of a game that could be way better.

Exactly like the original, and that's a bad thing. [Dec 2008, p.94]