Blood Wake

Maxim Online

George Clooney would crap A Perfect Storm if he had to endure the watery challenges in this stomach-churning thrill ride.

GamerWeb Xbox

With an amazingly good-looking package and an incredibly fun game in both the single and multiplayer modes, Blood Wake is a truly excellent Xbox game.

Armchair Empire

A game whose flaws are more obvious than its strong points but still manages to be exceptionally entertaining.

GameZone

Saying that Blood Wake is fun to play would be a huge understatement.

IGN

It might be a bit simplistic and a bit short-lived, but Blood Wake features some great shooting action and solid multiplayer features.

Gamezilla!

I enjoyed this title immensely...Easy to pick up, but hard to beat.

GamePen

Even in split screen with 4 players, the graphics and frame-rate are top notch and don’t seem to suffer with all the added chaos.

Team Xbox

The more I played the more addicted I became to the gameplay. This game really feels like you are on a boat and I was amazed at the physics that the developers were able to pull off.

GameShark

Quite impressive in the visuals department. Backgrounds, boats, weapons, explosions and characters are all quite detailed, and the little things like Kai turning to look back when you go in reverse are really neat.

Hot Games

It's fast pace and good graphics are impressive, but the game doesn't have the staying power to make it a classic.

Total Video Games

A fun and enjoyable game that is immediately accessible. Those who like vehicle combat games will love Blood Wake, it’s everything you’d want. However the game is quite short.

Electric Playground

In the end, the game felt forced like a classic episode of "Nightboat."

GameSpot

A very playable vehicular combat game, and its water gimmick, along with several other elements, works to differentiate it somewhat from the rest.

Cloudchaser

I have to mention and give two thumbs up to the excellent manual for this game.

GameSpy

Like an interesting tech demo with a sometimes tedious and frustrating game built around it.

Game Revolution

Without a doubt, the best part of Blood Wake is its graphics. From coastal towns to the many scattered islands, there's always something well-rendered to look at.

Xbox Exclusive

There are plenty of missions to go through (and they can get VERY difficult, even on the lowest difficulty), there's tons of things to unlock, and a very nice multi-player mode to keep you playing.

Official Xbox Magazine

Unfortunately, the game and story wrapped around this wondrous engine aren’t worthy of the visual splendor. [Mar 2002, p.72]

XenGamers

People with ADD will drop out first, followed by those looking for instant graphic gratification, then the casual gamers, and lastly the diehards.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Repetitive mission-based gameplay risks players preemptively abandoning ship. [Mar 2002, p.142]

Yahoo! Games

The single-player mode will probably bore most people with its repetitiveness and tough gameplay. Multiplayer is excellent.

G4 TV

Another problem...is its incredibly jumpy sense of physics...It's far too easy for your boat to get battered around in the waves.

Xbox Nation Magazine

Blood Wake versus donuts. Point goes to donuts. Duh. [Spring 2002, p.93]

Play Magazine

Things also tend to get a bit redundant, with the later levels feeling like larger or more populated versions of earlier missions. [Mar 2002, p.50]

Gaming Age

Unfortunately the controls take a turn for the worse when an enemy's missile, rocket, or whatever hits you. For some reason, no matter how heavy or light your boat may be, no matter how heavily equipped it may be with weaponry and armor, your boat will unrealistically catapult into the air.

TotalGames.net

Greater variety in terms of gameplay, the freedom to configure boats with weapons of your choice, deformable terrain and an improved damage system would have seen this as one of the top games on the Xbox, but as it is, it remains one of the also-rans.

Game Informer

I’m all for blowing things up, but after tooling around for a while, I was more interested in turning the guns on myself instead. [Feb 2002, p.91]

Computer and Video Games

Relies on good looks over gameplay to grab your attention, and that breaks one of the first rules of gaming.

All Game Guide

A majority of time is spent going slowly to eliminate the threats before they close in on you. Spread this out over a few hours and your fingers won’t be the only things numb from the experience.

GamePro

This is one of those “look at what we can do with water physics” games, and in that regard, it’s cool—but the standard mission-based gameplay isn’t nearly as deep as the ocean it takes place on.