Between DmC: Devil May Cry, Anarchy Reigns and the forthcoming Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, it's beat 'em up central on Xbox 360 right now. The genre's sudden resurgence is worrying in some ways - midwinter isn't a good time to release games in general, and especially games that traditionally cater to a niche audience. But let's not strip the silver lining from that particular cloud. In celebration of men punching one another according to the whims of combo gauges, I hereby present six entertaining-to-spectacular, pleasantly cheap specimens of the genre on Xbox 360.
As in my blog, the definition "beat 'em up" here includes the hack and slash, a distinct subgenre that generally stands alone. Hey, I like a bit of bladesmanship with my fisticuffs. If you have any other suggestions - and you should, because the list is hardly exhaustive - go right ahead and comment.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
You know what? I think Mercury Steam's brooding, chiselled monolith of a spin-off might be my favourite hack-and-slash game this generation. That's despite all the borrowing from God of War, the clear superiority of Bayonetta's combat system, and the fact that the script makes my eyes roll right out of my head. Lords of Shadow is all about scale - huge, mournful environments awash with sorrowing spirits, huge bosses that clip themselves together from handfuls of masonry, and a mind-boggling (for the genre) playlength, stretching well past 20 hours. Few games are as derivative as this one, but even fewer are as generous.
£8.99 (Amazon)
Zeno Clash
OK, so it's a first-person combat sim rather than a beat 'em up or hack and slash per se, but he who spends too much time pondering the distinction is likely to get pounded repeatedly in the chops. Besides one of the most memorably weird fantasy landscapes ever to wear the label - think Lucian Freud meets, I don't know, Avatar -Zeno Clash boasts an unmissably exacting fisticuffs system, exceeding that of Condemned for physicality.
800 MP (XBLA)
7 comments so far...
fracturedrich on 18 Jan '13 said:
Ime really glad i read this article as i own castlevania and ng2 but never had time to play them.After battering dmc for the last week or so,, the muscles in my hands are now primed,and for one reason or another i missed devil may cry 4 and bayontta,and are thinking of buying them,does anyone no which one would be best to play first as i cant make my mind up.
xPearse on 18 Jan '13 said:
Dynasty warrior 6, god awful game and it's not worth your money. You can't put that on the best as if you want a good dynasty warriors game on next gen then go play warriors orochi. Also Dynasty warriors isn't a beat em up but a hack and slash and don't try to argue any different.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow also a hack and slash and others, stop getting it mixed up oxm.
Maverick_McCool on 18 Jan '13 said:
Um , why don't you try playing the two you already own? Particularly seeing as they are both better than the two you are debating buying.
Failing that you could probably pick both Bayonetta and DMC4 up for about a tenner for the pair. Or pick none of them and buy Spidey : Web of Shadows a fun little game that also fits the criteria of this list.
Breakingpoin91 on 18 Jan '13 said:
What, no Dante's Inferno? That game was amazing!
Drainwater on 19 Jan '13 said:
Zeno Clash was a fun trippy little brawler on the PC. Satisfying sound effects when you connect with hits and a great musical score all around. Can't say if the XBLA retains all of that, but I can't see why it wouldn't. Very strange story and very unique characters.
Lancer Armstrong on 19 Jan '13 said:
xPearse, try actually reading the article before moaning.
fracturedrich on 19 Jan '13 said:
Failing that you could probably pick both Bayonetta and DMC4 up for about a tenner for the pair. Or pick none of them and buy Spidey : Web of Shadows a fun little game that also fits the criteria of this list.
Ive actually started playing castlevania after reading this article,i like it ,it reminds me of the old prince of persia and they are one of my fav games of that generation.What it is i really enjoy dmc,so i was just thinking about getting number 4, and this website is always praising bayonetta.I was looking at web of shadows some time ago but somebody told me that it is very repetative,and a button masher and ime not that keen on that kind of thing.Thanks for the advice though