X-Blades HD

a fun beat'em up game. It is a bit hard to begin with but it is easy to learn. Cute sexy protagonist is a bonus. I definetly recomend this game.

I have played the original version of X-Blades and this new "HD" version is not any different outside of higher quality FMVs. All of the lighting, shaders, textures, models, and audio are all exactly the same from the original version, not to mention the original version already has widescreen support, so this re-release's big selling points are straight up lying to you. As for the game itself, it's just as trash as the protagonist's fashion sense. X-Blades is a button-mashing snore-fest at best and a tedious, poorly-designed slog at worse. The best way to describe this game is Tomb Raider meets Devil May Cry 2; the game has awful controls, floaty physics, terrible and uninspired level design, monotonous and tedious combat, meaningless collectibles and upgrades, annoying enemies and lousy boss battles, and it's just not fun at all. The handful of spells you can learn sometimes costs an insane amount of points to unlock, and even then they are not worth the hassle when you can either mash the X button to win most of your battles or use the one elemental spell your opponent is vulnerable to. The same can be said about most of your unlockable gunblade moves which often have obtuse command inputs that are difficult to execute, making them ultimately worthless. Presentation isn't good either; the game's graphics are bland with repetitive locations, the HDR lighting and effects that are an eyesore, and the art direction clashes badly between realistic environments with animu-styled characters. The game's theme song is easily the most cringe-worthy Linkin Park cover I ever heard and the rest of the game's sound design isn't any better with forgettable music and dull sound effects. Story is non-existent, the characters are about as one-dimensional as the protagonist's thong, and the game's multiple endings sucks. I wanted to give this game the benefit of the doubt a few years ago, but X-Blades ultimately lives up to its reputation as soulless garbage. Avoid at all costs.