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Mythic Blades (Cartel Games)
Indie fighting games unfortunately are few and far between. Street Fighter type games are among the hardest to come by in the indie community. Going head to head against a computer or live opponent can be great fun when the game is done properly. Mythic Blades isn't all bad. The 3-D graphics for one thing, are probably some of the best you'll find regardless of whether or not you like this type of game. Each of the mythological creatures and warriors are modelled with great detail and even have multiple costumes and designs depending on your selection at the character select screen. The stages and background graphics are nicely detailed but for obvious reasons don't stand out like the characters do. Each stage or arena has a slightly different setting and properly represents the mythological theme.
It's too bad Mythic Blades falls short on multiple levels.
Athough this game has 3-D characters and stages, the entire game plays as if it is a 2-D fighting game. Characters may only move left and right and cannot move into background or foreground, and absolutely none of the moves or special abilities that the characters perform utilize the 3-D setting. When striking or hitting an opponent, each warrior or monster will only move along the single 2-D plane defeating the whole purpose of having 3-D environments and fighters. Had the developers given players the ability to explore the stages even slightly, or perhaps even dodge or sidestep into the foreground or background, it would have added a little more value to the game's already excellent graphics.
The sound fx and music are two other elements that aren't very bad, although they could use a little more attention. The music isn't exactly memorable but it is fitting for the games setting. The sfx are decent with weapons clashing and thuds are made when a warrior has makes contact during combat. At the same time, however, these sounds fx quickly become annoying.
In terms of actual gameplay, Mythic Blades controls simply enough if you have a gamepad. If not, you'll be forced to play this game using the keyboard which could ruin even the best of fighting games out there. If you own a gamepad, controls will be easier to input but you'll most likely find yourself doing a lot of mindless button mashing or simply performing the same special move over, and over, and over. Basic movement should be familiar to fans of this genre. Pressing backwards (or away from the opponent) makes your character block, while pushing forward makes the character approach the opponent. Jumping can be performed in a similar way by pushing up on the gamepad so that characters can jump toward or away from the enemy. Last but not least, there are different attacks (both light, heavy, and kick) and by combining numerous commands and movements your characters can unleash special moves. Although there are 10 different playable characters, each has his or her own set of special moves that are achieved by using the same buttons, commands, and movements. The special moves do have different appearances from one character to the next, but there is no real balance to them and there is an obvious lack of strategy. In essence, there is an absence of counter attacks or moves that will perform a guard break. In fact, a player can actually win a match rather easily by mashing down the attack buttons. The tide of battle, however, can change quickly. Every character in the game has a devine power attack which can literally pummel the opposition draining a large amount of health from the opponent it is used against. These moves are also performed using special commands but in this case they are all the exact same set of commands from one character to the next even though their appearance does vary. It's really too bad there wasn't more variety between character moves and special abilities, as well as in the overall gameplay department. Mythic Blades desperately needs it and the indie game community desperately needs good fighting games.
Mythic Blades is one of the best examples of style over substance. If the game had only 2 playable characters I could easily give it the same negative review only it would have made more sense because it feels like an unfinished product or like a tech demo rather than a complete game. The graphics are very impressive but the gameplay dissapoints. Once you get over the "wow" factor of the graphics there is very little left to enjoy. A good fighting game is a fun fighting game with a fluid and intuitive control scheme. If the gameplay was as strong as the visual presentation this would probably be the best all-around fighting game to hit the indie gaming scene to date.
Presentation
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B
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Gameplay
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F
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Graphics
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A+
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Sound
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C
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Innovation
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D
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Overall Score: D
August 27, 2007
