Bladestorm: Nightmare

A mix of Musou, strategy, and pure insanity, Bladestorm ends up missing the mark with all three.

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.

It's a half-hearted attempt at bringing the series into the current generation, and is only barely recommended for the absolute die-hard fans of the original. This is a real shame and even if you can get past the bare-bones approach to remastering that Omega Force have taken, you probably won't get past all the bugs.

While sometimes stale, there's plenty of fun to be had here for strategy game fans.

Bladestorm: Nightmare can appeal to both Warriors fans and those who don't even get into Tecmo Koei's flagship series. Its brilliance exists in those moments of storming enormous strongholds with an army of 100-strong at your back, ready to slice and dice through wave after wave of enemies.

How do you make a game with unbalanced combat, repetitive missions, and a too-long campaign more fun? The answer is easy: add dragons. Lots and lots of dragons.

A solid game that has aged over time with exploits which take the challenge out of combat but makes it up with a more engaging expansion.

Bladestorm: Nightmare is thoroughly enjoyable throughout. From its awful voices to its crazy fantasy mode about fighting dragons, or its more down to earth medieval tale, the game really tries to make up for any shortcomings the original release had. The updated visuals are very good, even with its downfalls, and the gameplay, once it's been deciphered, is fun. All in all, it's a great title for fans of the Warriors franchises, but be prepared for the differences and enjoy the new experience. Here is hoping for a sequel!

More than anything else, from a technical standpoint Bladestorm: Nightmare is a disappointingly subpar port of what is effectively a last-gen console game. With the tremendous amount of grunt available to them, the developer should have produced the definitive version of the game, instead of the poorest which really, is a position that no PC gamer should ever find themselves in.

One that only hardcore fans will enjoy