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How Metascores Are Calculated
76
Age of Booty
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
Golden Axe: Beast Rider 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. [Sega]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 72
AtomicGamer
Beast Rider is far from perfect, and it won’t overthrow Kratos' Greek empire anytime soon.
 70
GameDaily
The graphics and sound are great, and the numerous challenges and arena modes offer some diversity. If you're up for a quick hack-and-slash game, rent it. If you want a game with depth, however, this Axe needs sharpening.
68
Team Xbox
Although Golden Axe: Beast Rider honors its roots and does a nice job of storytelling, it fails to deliver on the all-important technical side of things.
60
Game Informer
Eschewing the expected hack-n’-slash mindlessness, a timing-based evasion and blocking system is required to master the melee. It’s not enough to save an otherwise lackluster effort, but Secret Level was definitely on to something with the combat.
58
Game Revolution
Ditch the “Golden Axe” moniker and just call this baby “Beast Rider”. Like those old ‘80s barbarian fantasy flicks that also had their share of serious faults, Beast Rider is blunt, exploitative, and plenty of fun when no one else is watching.
58
3DJuegos
Golden Axe: Beast Rider confuses the tribute to retro with the flat and boring gameplay. The new game of SEGA is mediocre in every aspect, and comes as a failure in its attempt to recover a legendary name and turn it into a worthy product of Next-Gen platforms.
55
Jolt Online Gaming UK
While it’s kind of cool to see a new take on such an old game, the presence of a muddy palette and outdated game mechanics combined with the inexplicable absence of co-op makes Beast Rider forgettable and so much less than it could have been.
50
Destructoid
Not even the inclusion of co-op would have made this one any the better, no matter how angry you might be that it was excluded.
50
Meristation
This game is initially promising, stunning even. Graphics and animation are impressive, but looking beyond that, we find a game which lacks deepness. The main character doesn't have enough movements and feels limited, the camera management is poor and the graphical engine suffers and has imperfections that ruin the initial impressions of a game that could be way better.
50
GameSpot
This half-hearted revival attempt leaves Golden Axe lifeless and dull.
50
Official Xbox Magazine UK
Exactly like the original, and that's a bad thing. [Dec 2008, p.94]
50
Worth Playing
I don't believe that there's anything inherently wrong with Sega trying to do something different with the series, but by taking away a feature that many fans wanted and offering nothing compelling in exchange, Beast Rider will have a hard time appealing to both series fans and those who are just looking for a decent action game.
48
Xbox360Achievements
A repetitive and badly made game that makes me wonder if the series has any kind of future. This game feels extremely rushed and just can’t compare to games of a similar ilk.
48
Cheat Code Central
It's a hack-and-slash, so there isn't any compelling depth lurking under the surface. The extra modes – Challenge and Trials of Tyris – are just extended hack and slash sessions. Where's the two-player support?
46
Planet Xbox 360
Beast Rider deserves a place in the gaming hall of shame, easily one of the worst titles on 360 and with an obscene price-point to boot.
45
PTGamers
Lacking co-op and the rest of the cast, Beast Rider seems more like a market study than the complete Golden Axe experience we could expect.
44
Xbox World Australia
Let's get serious; Beast Rider is a game to be avoided.
42
Games Master UK
Stamps on our fondness for the original until all of the squishy bits ooze out of the sides. [Christmas 2008, p.73]
40
VideoGamer
Golden Axe is the latest classic franchise to disappoint on new hardware, and we can't help but think it's a huge wasted opportunity. Beast Rider even fails to include multiplayer support, something that was core to the original game, confirming its fate as a sub-par hack 'n' slash.
40
G4 TV
While the counter-attacks and the beasts add something to the lacklustre gameplay, everything else from cameras to enemies makes it a chore to slog through one end of a level to another.
40
Thunderbolt
The combat can be fun, but ultimately it’s rather boring and uninspired, the beasts are sluggish and unresponsive, and the defence is just plain annoying.
40
X360 Magazine UK
While you may enjoy the combat and beasts, the whole game is just far too tedious and it’s missing everything that made the original great.
40
GameZone
Poorly conceived and quite dull in nearly every way, Golden Axe: Beast Rider is one of those missed opportunities that could have brought the series to a new generation of gamers. Instead it takes a linear route that makes this a game even Golden Axe fans will certainly want to avoid.
40
GamePro
Fans hoping for a worthwhile update to one of gaming's most revered hack-and-slash franchises will be sorely disappointed by this poorly designed and utterly mediocre title.
40
Official Xbox Magazine
We expect a few things from a modern arcade-style brawler: reasonably placed checkpoints, more than one playable character, varied enemies, and multiplayer. Golden Axe: Beast Rider, Sega’s reinvention of the arcade classic, delivers none of them. Perhaps the worst oversight of the bunch is the lack of multiplayer options.
35
GameFocus
Beast Rider makes all the right attempts to become relevant again (3-D, bloody combat) but stumbles so badly on the fundamentals that you wished the game was axed from development to begin with.
32
IGN
This is a game worth avoiding like the plague, even if the classic remains deep and warm within your heart.
30
EuroGamer
SEGA might as well have released this as The Adventures of Fiery Boob Lady, and left their mothballed franchise with at least modicum of dignity.
30
Gamer.nl
If you ever plan to design a hack & slash-game, you should definitely play Golden Axe: Beast Rider. It's the perfect example of what not to do.
30
Gamestyle
If you need a Golden Axe fix you can get the original game with co-op on XBLA for 400 points, and we guarantee it’ll be a more enjoyable experience than Beast Rider, which has only served to put another nail in the coffin of one of Sega’s biggest hits.
29
WonderwallWeb
Even writing about Golden Axe: Beast Rider is depressing me, the sooner I get this game out of my head the better, and all I can say to those nostalgic fans out there who want a taste of the new Golden Axe is, keep those good memories of yesteryears game in your head and avoid this game at all costs.
25
1UP
With the exclusion of co-op -- what people really want to play -- and the constant hint that a sequel's already on the way, Beast Rider feels like a difficult, drawn-out, $60 tutorial. Why bother?
Nick B gave it an8: RaelXX gave it an8: |
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