Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (Xbox 360, 2007)

Bladestorm is a unique strategy game that relies heavily on Koei's signature DW style of gameplay. You play a mercenary who is caught up in a war between the French and the English. You learn to command multiple styles of units (such as sword, spear, horse, elephant) and plenty of substyles (such as sword and shield, sword horsement, dual knives) each. You fight for fame and money which, in turn, makes you a more prominent figure in the war. You use the money to outfit yourself and your various armies as well as purchase units to take with you onto the battlefield.

The game is solid and quite a bit of fun, though the voice acting is absolutely terrible. The game is unique and has a ton of potential for a sequel, but the lack of initial sales will probably prevent that. If you like real time strategy games, the DW series and some RPG-style progression, this is your game.

YOU CONTROL MEDEVIL BATTLES, ARCHERS , HORSEMEN, SUPERB GRAPHICS, YOU COMMAND THE FORCES TO BATTLES, TAKEOVER CASTLES AND MOVE AND CONQUER YOUR OBJECTIVES. YOU ARE A MERCENARY FORCE, TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER OR FOR BRITAIN OR FRANCE, IF ALLEGIANCE LIES WITH ONE OVER THE OTHER. SIMPLY STUPENDOUS- I AM SURE WILL RANK IN THE TOP 5 GAMES THIS YEAR! THATS A TALL ORDER - SO IF ITS #6, ID BE SURPRIZED!! WELL WORTH THE MONEY SLASH BATTLE, PLAN , COMMAND, REACH OBJECTIVES, AND PROFIT ON EACH WIN. MONEY EARNED IS USED TO BUY UPGRADES AND ITEMS TO SUCCEED!

The game is Koei's take on the Hundred Years' War. However, it is nothing like the Shin Sangoku and Sengoku counterparts. There is no hitting buttons to hack and slash. You only get to run up to a troop, hit a button, then run up to the enemy, and hold down a button!!

The maps are huge and there are a lot of units on screen but this game seems to be par for the regular Xbox and not the 360.

The story is not bad(as it is based off of history) and the inventory/leveling/renown system is compelling but everything else seems so lame. You must play as a mercenary and cannot play as any of the hero's from the era.

This game is like Joan of Arc:

It seemed like a great calling and did a lot for Koei to bring about a change to a new setting, but its own betrayed it and burned at the stake.

I downloaded the demo from x-box live. Found the two campaings really fun, everytime I looked for the game it seemed that no store carried it, eventually I found it on eBay and realized that it was an old game but still kept its price. It is a real entertaining game. Will probably be able to be play it for a long time.

Excellent period based game, educational and long-playing.On a scale of one to ten, a TEN!
It's a great way to continue to introduce the love of history to my family and go xboxlive with the rest of the world on line...
This may not be a new release, but it has and will continue to stand the test of time.