But it turns out that this blatantly sexist, shallow anime rip-off game does a few things so well that I can almost overlook the sexism, the shallowness and even the plot.

Economy of motion – X-Blades is one of the smoothest gameplay experiences I’ve had all year (granted 2009 is only one week long). Never during combat did I find myself fiddling with controls, wondering which buttons to push or scrambling through a level at a loss for what to do. The controls – which carry over almost identical to the 360 version – are intuitive with L stick mapped for motion, R stick mapped for the camera and the face and shoulder controlling all the hacking, slashing and spell-casting. So a button-masher like me was completely able to pull off wild combos of airborne sword attacks and fireballs, racking up 150-some odd kills in one wave of enemies.

Easy leveling – All the upgrades and spell advances in X-Blades have to be bought. I’m totally down with this because it means I can pour efforts into one category without the game deciding what levels when based on how many things I kill. Sure, I might have to grind once in a while be replaying levels to earn enough cash for a max level gun or skill – but at least I won’t have to calculate XP earned per encounters to know when I’ll get that gun.

Hack-‘n’-slash glory – I don’t want my button-mashers to be complicated. If I’ve had a lousy day or I just want to zone out and watch pretty things happen on screen, I need a game like this to unwind with. Unlike Heavenly Sword – which people seem determined to compare the game to – X-Blades demands very little from gamers in the timing department and even less in terms of strategy. You will never have to guess which spell defeats which enemy, never have to fret about the preferred combo for defeating a boss and never, NEVER perform a quicktime event. For this, I can almost forgive the game for having the main character’s ass hanging out the whole game.

X-Blades has gotten most of its attention based on the main character, the Light and Dark magic paths (which lead to one of two endings), and the art style. But there’s more to this sexist, shallow anime rip-off than what you see in the screens. Come February 10, we’ll see how much more there is to this cross-platform title.

Hit the jump for the full list. And check out the new screens that dropped today.

Easy Walk
 - Complete game on Normal difficulty

Everyday Business - 
Complete game on Hard difficulty

Oops, are you OK? - 
Kill your first monster

Annoying Fly
 - Kill an airborne monster using blades

Take That!
 - Execute your first combo

Being Good is Easy
 - Complete game with the “good” ending on Normal difficulty

Finish Him
 - Defeat The Dark One at The Dark Temple

Dark Side
 - Execute the Dark form for the first time

Light Side
 - Execute the Light form for the first time

Let’s Go Shopping
 - Use every item at least once

Nice Silver Thingie - 
Collect 3 silver artifact parts

Nice Gold Thingie
 - Collect 3 gold artifact parts

Nice Ruby Thingie
 - Collect 3 ruby artifact parts

Shooting Master
 - Upgrade the Shooting ability to the max level

Melee Master
 - Upgrade the Melee ability to the max level

Airstrike Master
 - Upgrade the Airstrike ability to the max level

Unbelievable Metabolism
 - Upgrade the health regeneration ability to the max level

I’m So Special
 - Learn all Special Form upgrades

Monster Hunter - 
Kill 100 monsters

Monster Killer - 
Kill 1000 monsters

Soul Collector
 - Collect 5 000 souls

Great Soul Collector - 
Collect 50 000 souls

Tough Fight
 - Complete game on Pro difficulty

Can’t Touch Me
 - Complete a level without losing health

Magic Woman - 
Complete a level using only magic

Good Girl
 - Complete game with the “good” ending on Hard difficulty

Servant of the Dark - 
Learn all Dark spells

Light Adept
 - Learn all Light spells

Counter Impossible - 
Get IMPOSSIBLE hit counter

Lock and Load - 
Learn all Shooting improvements

Master of All Skills
 - Get maximum Shooting, Melee and Airstrike upgrade levels

Famous Monster Eliminator - 
Kill 10 000 monsters

Epic Soul Collector - 
Collect 5 000 000 souls

Can you EVER touch me?
 - Complete 6 levels without losing health

Flawless Victory - Beat a boss fight without losing health

It’s Hard to Be a Good Girl
 - Complete game with the “good” ending on Pro difficulty

The Best Soul Collector
 - Collect 50 000 000 souls

Platinum
 - Awarded for successfully collecting all trophies from X-Blades

Hit the jump and ogle away.

X-Blades is scheduled for a Feb. 10 release on PS3.