I mean, even the purple chicken things are brown.

That's not to say Golden Axe: Beast Rider is a bad game, from our hands on time with it. Just a bit uninspired, lacking in some tangible oomph, in the graphics department and the swordplay.

Beast Rider star Tyris Flare looks fantastic though. Whomever is responsible for her model and those perfectly modeled lower back dimples deserves a raise. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game does have its moments, visually. Hopping on a ridable beast that can camouflage itself with a Predator like effect looks pretty snazzy too.

The hand-to-hand action though, feels like a sludgier take on Heavenly Sword's combat system. Prior to attacks, Death Adder's minions will glow blue or orange, indicating whether you should parry or evade. If they glow green, it's ladies' choice. Respond accordingly and your next attack will be of the flaming sword variety.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider definitely gets some things right. The inclusion of throwback elements like the green and blue gnomes that drop refreshing meat ad magic potions return, as do the multi-tiered magic spells.

But many of the series' main draws — bright environments, co-op multiplayer and dazzling, increasingly ridiculous spells, metal bikinis — have been overlooked. And Flare's magic abilities just ooze boring. Where are the giant, fire puking dragon heads, guys? It's a game that appears to be full of good intentions — middling, road to Hell paving stuff.

We're not quite writing it off yet. Golden Axe: Beast Rider may have been only a semi-enjoyable slog, but we can see ourselves playing through a good portion of it, if only wanting for a thrill. Who knows if we'll leave the experience disappointed, because the game showed at least promise, even if it was a bit bland around the edges.

Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be a look into the world minus the trio of characters that made the game so great. Instead, gamers will be forced to play as amazon warrior Tyris Flare. Neither the barbarian nor the dwarf will be playable in the single-player only game, though both will appear as non-playable characters as the story unfolds.

It looks like the development team went to great pains to try and turn the once side-scrolling, button-masher into a 3D action title without losing the feel of the original title. A lot of the same creatures, bad guys and feel of the game seems to be present. The art style is a bit generic, but no more so than the original Golden Axe was.

The game's combat system is, like the original, all about magic and melee, with the ability to ride creatures to deliver attacks. This time around, though, the beasts are much more plentiful in the game and of course, it's much more satisfying to use them in a non-side-scrolling environment.

What we were shown of the game, included quite a bit of cinematic kills triggered by attacks. Almost every time Flare attacked someone she removed a body part. In one case, a flourish of sword-play left the enemy missing both arms and his head, while his body stumbled about the screen for a few seconds, spouting blood.

When Flare mounted her first creature in the demo, a large, fleshy-looking gorilla, the ground-pounding smacks it delivered also tended to tear people into bits. The creatures in the game are also used to solve some simple puzzles and get past certain bottlenecks of combat.

The game also uses a parry system and an evade system, allowing you to dodge or block attacks based on timed button pushes and enemies, we were told, will feature full armor sets that have to be broken off before they start to take damage.

The team declined to say how much of the game was going to be about riding these beasts, but did say they can be advantageous.

Beast Rider will have a half-dozen or so mini-bosses and will even include those gnomes from the original title, though in 3D they look disturbingly creepy.

After showing off some of the mountable creatures, the developers showed us a second level set in the snow, pointing out that Flare's skimpy costume changes automatically to match the environment she is in.

The game will have unlockable costumes, including Flare's original swimsuit-like costume, which you can earn by gaining tribute through high kill counts and speedy level completion.

A few other little tidbits of game play were shown off in the short demo including a beast spawner which you can use to grab mounts in the game, and gates that need to be opened by impaling bad guys on them.

While this game doesn't feature co-op, the team said that the next one in the franchise will be all co-op.

Blogger SegaDawg didn't get any looks at the gameplay, but does write:

I did see a demo of Tyris riding one particular beast that will deal some severe swipe damage with its claws. There are several types of beast mounts in the game, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and my bet is that there will be points in the game where you have to ride a specific beast in order to accomplish certain goals — but that's just a hunch.

Because of the latest issue of PSM3, now we know. And correct me if I'm wrong, but it's sounding a lot like Lair:

1. You can now only play the female character, Tyris Flar, a single protagonist as opposed to choosing the dwarf etc.
2. Free-roaming environments promote flying around on various beasts.
3. You can go on land to do some standard hack 'n slashing.

Honestly, the pitch lost me at "you can only be one character." Hopefully I'm being prematurely negative for unfounded reasons. We'll see.

Golden Axe PS3: First details [cvg]

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

October 22, 2007

Autumn leaves aren't the only reason your October is about to get a lot more colorful. The latest additions to the Wii Shop Channel deliver a brisk, eye-pleasing mix of classic gameplay for fall. Dive into this pile of vibrant titles for a timeless dose of fun and fantasy.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

Lunar Pool® (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Lunar Pool takes the historical game of billiards and reinvents it with a unique and futuristic flair. The rules are simple: All you need to do is use your cue stick to hit the white cue ball, causing it to hit the other numbered balls and make them go into the pockets. You can enjoy nearly unlimited game play with 30 tables, two different ball arrangements, and the ability to change the degree of friction on the table. You can play against a computer or another human player, so try challenging someone once you've got the hang of the game.

Ninja JaJaMaru-kun® (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): Take on the role of a ninja called JaJaMaru and rescue the captured Princess Sakura from the evil Namazu Dayuu in this action-packed game, previously unreleased outside of Japan. JaJaMaru must use his throwing stars to defeat the monsters lurking in each of Dayuu's many hideouts. JaJaMaru has to be careful though, as each monster has its own unique weapon and method of attacking. The only way for him to advance is to break the floor bricks above him and move up and down between the levels of each round, defeating monsters as he goes. To help him, broken bricks sometimes reveal items that JaJaMaru can use to his advantage, possibly leading to the ultimate power-up: a ride on Gamapakun, the giant frog. Throw in some bonus stages and you've got a game with a style all its own.

Golden Axe™ III (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): The once-peaceful kingdom so familiar to fans of the original Golden Axe is under threat once again. The Prince of Darkness has stolen the invaluable Golden Axe, taken over the kingdom and rendered its warriors harmless with an evil curse. One warrior breaks free from the curse and must defeat the prince and regain the Golden Axe to save the kingdom. In this one- or two-player action game, play as a giant, a panther or a sword-wielding human and fight your way to victory once again.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Sega confirms Golden Axe is still on track for PS3 [PSU]

We've contacted Secret Level to learn more about the game's PS3 status, but for those without access to a copy of Play, a single photographed screen shot is available at the link below.

Golden Axe : Beast Rider dévoilé [Xboxygen]

On the other hand, it's Sega. They could've have decided to divert resources to what would essentially be Golden Axe: The Ride at one of its SegaWorks arcade locations. We'll bug them and try to find out more.

Sega recently announced plans to release another Nordic themed property, licensing Marvel's Thor for a multi-year agreement and has also long talked of a Golden Axe game for the above mentioned consoles. Wondering if Viking: Battle of Asgard has something to do with either of those titles? Me, too.

Retail Radar: Sega's Viking, Rock Band release date? [Gamespot]

Sony just let Harmonix know that they are taking down Amplitude's online server on Monday, Feb. 26... permanently. Yep, after Monday you will no longer be able to go online to play the amazing music PS2 sequel to Frequency.

It's not clear why Sony is axing the game's online support other than it might be part of a routine culling of older games from their servers.

As word hit the unofficial Amp online community, panic ensued, to be quickly quieted by Harmonix's Sean who promised to try to put together some sort of "online reunion/send-off/Irish funeral for the game" on Sunday, the day before the game's online elements start pushing up daisies.

Sean is shooting to kick the game wake off about 7 p.m. EST and he hopes to have a bunch of the Harmonix folks on that night so they can have their collective asses handed to them by fans.

"I think it will be a cool way to see the old girl off."

If you own the game, or can get your hands on it, and have the PS2 online attachment, then make sure to hit up this one last hurrah for a fantastic and under-appreciated online title.

Who knows, maybe this is the first step toward seeing the game reappear on the PS3 through the store or a disc. Brian Crecente

I'm not sure how I feel about this video. On the one hand it's in-your-face in-game advertising for Axe. On the other hand, it's pretty damn funny and not really that intrusive. Brian Crecente

Sega just announced, and tons of your helpful readers just confirmed, that both Golden Axe and Ecco the Dolphin have popped up on the Wii Shop Channel.

Man, Golden Axe, I love that game. I can't want to get home and (re)play through that game. It was one of my favorite arcade games when it first hit. If you are lame to super lame and haven't heard of these games hit the jump for their descriptions and to be ridiculed. Brian Crecente

Golden Axe - Three mighty heroes have a score to settle with the evil Death Adder in this classic action game. As a powerful fighter, a female amazon or a mighty dwarf, you'll fight through Adder's henchman with weapons and magic attacks or ride the fearsome, fire-breathing beasts to your advantage. (1988/ SEGA)

Ecco the Dolphin - Help Ecco the Dolphin find his missing friends by exploring his vast ocean world. You must surface for air and keep an eye out for enemies as you search the depths. Ecco's unique sonar ability will give you helpful information from other sea creatures. (1992/ SEGA)

Golden Axe, one of the original side-scrolling-Conan ripoff games is coming to next generation consoles.

SEGA of America and Sega Europe today announced the long-anticipated return of Golden Axe, a fan favourite since its original release in 1989. Developed exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, Golden Axe marks the first project from the recent acquisition of San Francisco-based studio Secret Level. Golden Axe delivers action-RPG thrills as a small band of Riders embark on an epic adventure to recruit allies, expose the enemy and prevent the annihilation of their breed. Delivering an intense and unique combat experience, players charge into battle on the backs of ferocious beasts or take their chances with the enemy while on foot. Fighting skill, wits and even magic are all called into action as players immerse themselves in the struggle to defeat an evil intent on enslaving the remains of civilization. Golden Axe is slated for release in 2007.

Is the dwarf still gimpy? He better be!

"Golden Axe is one of our most treasured brands and is a complete re-imagining of the story that will take gamers on an unforgettable journey," said Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing at Sega of America. Golden Axe had a story? Steinberg continued: "The vision we have for the remake of Golden Axe is nothing short of remarkable and it can only be realized on the PS3 and Xbox 360." The Wii, apparently, can go suck it.

No other details right now, although we hope you still get to ride those purple chicken things, which Wikipedia informs us are called 'Bizarians'. There's apparently going to be a teaser trailer on the E3 showfloor today, so maybe one of the one-site Kotaku editors can shake off their delirium tremens long enough to get some shaky cam of it.

Golden Axe Coming to Next-Gen [1UP]