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---------\ Game Info

Date Released:
Ocotber 5 1998

Publisher:
Electronic Arts

Developer:
Universal

MSRP:
$39.99

Genre:
Action

Difficulty:
Hard

Analog Support:
Dual Shock

# Of Players
1

ESRB Rating
T

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Xena: Warrior Princess

reviewed by shroom
g a m e p l a y 23
Before I ever popped in Xena I had this idea that it would be another in the long line of Lara Croft inspired Tomb Raider clones. Wow was I wrong. Xena is much more in the action vein along the lines of a hack n slash like Golden Axe. In fact in many ways Xena reminded me of the classic arcade hit. Another thing that immediately caught my attention as the dedication to Xena fans. Though I rarely watch the show, I was entertained by the well written story and cutscenes that ensued. EA and Universal have caught the atmosphere of the show.

As mentioned Xena is more of a hack n slash than adventure. This is no dumb game though as EA has several innovative mini tasks that break up the constant stream of enemies. Bosses are imaginative with one that sticks out in my mind. I met up with a huge cyclops that was hurling rocks at me. These rocks were too big for even Xena so I had to escape the small island area I was placed. I was blocked by two paths so what did I do? I moved so that the cyclops hurled his boulders at the object impeding my pathway up towards him. After reaching the top I used Xena's special weapon, the Chakram, to hit the cyclops in that one huge eye causing him to momentarily cover his eye with the rock throwing hand. Oh did I mention his other hands was clinching tightly on the rock ledge? Well, while he was busy attending to his eye I moved in and attacked those fingers causing him to fall to his end. Now that is imaginative!

If you watch the show then no doubt you have seen the magical Chakram that Xena carries. It is implemented well in Xena and when you throw it you move into a first person follow cam that follows the Chakram as you control it until its return. This is key in the game and EA will have you using it to get Xena out of sticky situations. Xena also has her trusty sword as well as a variety of kicks and punches. Xena can even pull off a Liu Kang and do a bicycle kick that is pretty nifty.

One of things that is somewhat of a pain is the ensuing flow of returning enemies. Just as with most Hack n Slash games EA has a limitless amount of enemies that will continually regenerate. I've never been a fan of this and still don't care for it in Xena. It makes the game difficult. Speaking of difficult the game is of a fairly normal amount of difficulty until one area. Folks the lava area is simply frustrating. Thankfully it is more than halfway through the game but it almost ended any fun that I had up until the point. Before this level Xena never really has to worry about jumping but the world of Hades is all about timing and jumping and coupled with regenerating enemies you'll likely go batty. Up until this point the game had been fresh and full of ideas but this area is simply nothing more than timing.

Other than Hades the game is full of great ideas and level design along with plenty of action. You'll see a horde of familiar faces including Gabrielle whom gets into too much trouble as usual. The game is littered with powerups, special magical spells and health regeneration potions. It's true to the hack n slash formula but goes to extent to keep the gameplay fresh with nice ideas.

I've never really been a fan of Xena but I am a fan of old greek mythology and Xena seems pretty interesting. this game has opened me up to the world of Xena and I will probably try to catch a few episodes. The new season starts alongside the release of this game by the way. After 989 and Universal parted ways with this title I wondered if it was a bad game. It's not but it does have enough quirks to keep it from being a great game. if you're a Xena fan this is highly recommended as well as anyone who craves some old school Golden Axe style gameplay. Hopefully EA will treat us to a sequel as a few fixed issues could really make this game top of the line.

c o n t r o l 18
The control offers two solutions. Xena by default walks very slowly with a button assigned to make her run. You can reverse this process and have her run instead of walk. I did this very thing in the very first stage and it worked well. By the time I entered Hades and started to have to time jumps I had forgotten I had switched the default. I became very dismayed at the control in this section. With Xena running she controls very erratic. When I would jump and be standing on the edge I would press down thinking she would back up but instead she moved forward a little causing her to fall onto the burning lava below. While running she moves in a circular fashion rather than stepping backwards, which really is a bad thing. After almost giving up I remembered the default setting and guess what. She would not only back up properly but she could walk to the edge without fear of falling off! This was way better and how I eventually got through the insanely tough world of Hades. So basically Xena controls very well while walking BUT very slowly making the game feel slow. when she runs the game seems more lifelike but she controls awfully. It's a real mixed bag earning an average score in control.

g r a p h i c s 22
While not in the same league as some of the other more recent third person titles, Xena features quite nice graphics. The character herself looks quite like Lucy Lawless's portrayal of the character. Her face does look somewhat odd but you won't be seeing much of it. The framerate stays at a nice constant stream with minimal slowdown. The environments are pretty detailed though some areas look better than others. The colors are nice and the cameras do a pretty nice job of staying in on the action. Xena is quite adequate for the PlayStation at this point.

s o u n d 25
Great sounds that are both amusing and entertaining. Just wait until you hear Xena scream as she pulls off a special move. The voices during the story cutscenes are all well down. We are reaching a point in the industry where companies are realizing the potential of a good soundtrack along with professional voice actors. It doesn't say in the manual if it's Lucy Lawless doing the voice of Xena but it sure is convincing to us. Nice job overall.

o v e r a l l 88%
Xena could have been an A quality game but a few quirks ultimately keep it from greatness. It's still a nice game that is recommended especially for Xena fans. EA has managed most successfully to stay true to the Xena name without ruining another TV/Movie to game conversion.

Brian Gray

click on image to enlarge

The lava is hard


There's that nasty cyclops


Is he friend or foe?


Feel my Chakram!


Wonder how tough his fingers are?


Yep he was weak fingered!

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