Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage

by Eidos

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00004R9FI
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 16, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,626 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Editorial Review

Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage is an action game with phenomenally good graphics but overly simplistic gameplay. You fill the shoes of the main character, Guts, and spend most of your time smiting foes with his seven-foot monster of a sword, Dragon Slayer.

Some levels provide the best hack-and-slash gaming to be found anywhere, but usually Sword of the Berserk is more cheap than challenging. We certainly felt rage when boulders began falling on Guts's head at random during one level and the designers took great pains to populate most of the levels with dozens of tiny ankle-biting enemies that are nigh impossible to hit. Unfortunately the lack of combat moves, weapon upgrades, or anything else that could have spiced up gameplay makes Sword of the Berserk far more tedious than it should be for gamers.

What really distinguishes this game from other gore games is the eloquent integration of storyline-enhancing cut-scenes that are gorgeously rendered with the game engine. There is over an hour of noninteractive story line to sit through--so many scenes that this almost qualifies as an interactive movie. If mindless combat and a compelling story sound appealing, Sword of the Berserk is what you've been waiting for. Parents should note that this game is particularly violent, and may not be suited for young children. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Beautiful graphics
• Gory, visceral combat
• Outstanding production values

Cons:

• Repetitive gameplay
• Level design sometimes cheap

GameSpot Review

When you think of the most recent attempts at bringing Final Fight's 2D gameplay to the 3D realm, you probably think of games like Dynamite Cop, Zombie Revenge, and Fighting Force. You'd be forgiven if you think those games get really boring fast, because they do. Well, Eidos and developer Yuke's (Evil Zone, WWF SmackDown!, and Soukaigi) have joined forces and taken one of Japan's most popular mangas, Kentauro Miura's Berserk, and turned it into the bloodiest hack 'n' slasher yet. Renamed Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage for the US, Eidos, surprisingly has picked up the game for American distribution. Guts, the poorly-named main character, typically wields a massive sword nearly one and a half times his own body length, and as the game's title indicates, Guts has a tendency to go berserk once he has suffered enough damage during battle. At the moment he goes berserk, the screen turns blood red, and Guts' speed and power double. Guts is a one-eyed knight traveling through Europe during the Middle Ages. He is identifiable by his one working eye and a dark brand on his neck, which attracts the weird and varied creatures he continuously battles. When creatures are close at hand, the strange mark bleeds, giving Guts warning of impending danger. The game begins with a scenario, rendered by the game's impressive engine, where some of the game's main characters are introduced beside their broken caravan. They are suddenly attacked by highwaymen looking for trouble, and that's when Guts enters the scene. You'll figure out the controls in no time flat. Aside from swinging your giant sword, you can jump, block, and even sheath your sword in favor of a wrist-sized crossbow. You also have a limited supply of items that you can access by pressing the right trigger button and any of the corresponding four colored controller buttons. The items you can use are grenades, a small gun, health refills, and throwing knives. While these items are extremely limited, you can find them in the many boxes and barrels placed around the game environments. Once acclimated to the controls, you'll find that Sword of the Berserk is a straightforward hack 'n' slash action game where you rely on little more than your basest survival instincts. Chop the enemy to bits and try not to get chopped yourself. That's it. You are amidst an endless swarm of soldiers, monsters, and mutated thingamajigs, and your singular goal is to hack, hack, hack your way through the assembled masses. When you're not hacking these guys to bits, you're engaging in fisticuffs or blowing the attackers to tiny pieces with your grenades. Musket shots are best reserved for the bosses, since ammo is in limited supply. Unlike recent Final Fight-style games like Dynamite Cop, Zombie Revenge, and Fighting Force 2, Berserk doesn't ever get nearly as tedious. In Berserk, you'll run from level to level through a gamut of alleys, mountainsides, and villages. While some areas are wide open, others are restricted to tight spaces, which will cause your sword to clang off the walls. While you're in berserker mode, this doesn't affect you, but any other time this can be very difficult, especially with lots of enemies around you. When this happens, resorting to your fists is the best choice, as it's much easier to make contact this way. If you're cornered, a grenade will always clear everyone in the immediate area out like a smart bomb. You'll meet bosses in unique encounters, and each will require a different strategy. One boss, for example, is a huge, man-bull creature with one enormous horn protruding from his head. This is one of the hardest bosses to defeat in the game because his patterns aren't as predictable as some of the others, and he is possibly the most mobile. You'll need to use every attack you know to beat him on the harder difficulty levels. What also makes this game significantly more engrossing than Dynamite Cop or its ilk is the sound. This is one of the most impressive-sounding games ever made. From the first time you hear the sound of your sword cutting through the air, you'll be amazed. The meaty crunch of steel hitting flesh is made more realistic by the appropriate thud. The simple act of listening to Guts walk is rewarded with the crunch of dirt and sticks, and the jangle of his chains is also very impressive. Ambient sounds like footsteps and voices in dank stairwells resound with accurate reverb and echo. The voice-acting is filled with aural clarity, and the soundtrack is an amazing blend of ominous compositions. --James Mielke
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I THINK I'M GONNA HURL......, March 19, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage (Video Game)

This game rocks. It's simple and addictive. It's not like those other Final Fight clones, (a.k.a. Dynamite Cop, Zombie Revenge, Fighting Force, etc.)where you lose intrest fast. This game is longer then the others and is much deeper in play. The gameplay is purely hard-core... just perfectly addictive. It's the type of game where you forget about the story and just want to hack and slash your way through. On the other hand... The story is so beautiful. It makes me want to forget the gameplay. Not only are the gameplay and story good but the sound is too. It drives me nuts. The voice acting, swords swinging, and blood squirting makes it sound sweet. Now some of you might have douts about this game because of the recent Final Fight clones.... Well forget them... This game rocks this world! The only drawback is that about half of the gameplay makes me want to hurl. There is just toooooooooooooooooooooooooo much blood and gore. So if your a guy who likes a good story, great gameplay, excellent sound, and a whole ocean of blood.... THEN BUY THIS GAME NOW!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome and addicting game!, March 12, 2004

By 

Christine M. Chapin "musashikojiroai" (Cleveland, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage (Video Game)

If you've seen the show and read the manga, or even if you haven't, this game is one you have to play!! Its like another episode of the anime. And its so fun to watch the characters in 3-D, and to play as Gattsu!! This story is during the Millenium Soldier series of the manga, and happens after the Great Eclipse in the anime series. The game is really satisfying to play as you hack and slash up monsters, at least I think it is. Hee hee it gives me a feeling of POWER!! Lol. Plus the story is just so awesome, the cut scenes are cool and make the game like a movie, and the music is so great, ! Its by the same music producer for the anime, Hirasawa, and the opening and ending songs are incredible!! Can you tell that I am completely obsessed with Berserk? If you haven't seen the anime, then get it and if you haven't read the manga well then get that too. :P Gattsu is my most favorite anime character of all, his character is just so deep!! And he looks so cool in 3-D!! Just buy the game, anime, and manga, I promise you'll love it!!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bloody But Very Uniqe!, March 23, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage (Video Game)

Sword of the Berserk is a gory game. It is filled with all kinds of violence and is recommended for more mature gamers. With all that aside, it is a really good game. The graphics are some of the best on the Dreamcast. The sound puts the gamer right in the middle of the action. The game is loaded with cinamatic movie sequences, that keep the gamer interested. There is a little too much of it at times. One of the major flaws of the game is the control. It is sometimes hard to judge where you are in relationship to the enemy. It can be very frustrating, because multiple enemies will surround you at a fast rate. Another problem is the huge sword that you carry around. The sword is bigger than the character itself. It is sometimes easier to hit the walls than the enemies standing in front of you. This will cause some cheap deaths because of the multiple enemies surrounding you and your unableness to hit anything but the wall. Other than these small problems, Berserk is definately a must have for all action fans. There is nothing like it out there on the gaming market. One thing is for sure, it is better than any other Dreamcaset game of the same genre, like Zombie Revenge!