GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Games

Playstation Reviews
PS3 | PS2 | PS One | PSP

Xbox Reviews
Xbox 360 | Xbox

Nintendo Reviews
Wii | DS | GBA | Cube | N64


PC | N-Gage | Dreamcast

How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Games In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

xx Altered Beast
58 Arkanoid Live!
73 Banjo-Tooie
xx Battlefield 1943
76 Battlestations: Pacific
xx Bigs 2, The
70 Bionic Commando
xx Black College Football: The Xperience - The Doug Williams Edition
90 BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
57 Blazing Birds
xx Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island
77 Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
71 CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars
82 Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, The
xx Comix Zone
52 Crystal Defenders
37 Damnation
75 Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, The
xx Droplitz
59 Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires
49 Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
61 Fable II: See the Future
82 Fallout 3: Broken Steel
83 Fallout 3: Point Lookout
76 Fallout 3: The Pitt
66 FIFA Soccer 09: Ultimate Team
88 Fight Night Round 4
xx Final Fantasy XI: A Crystalline Prophecy
68 Flock!
65 Fuel
xx G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
xx Garou: Mark Of The Wolves
73 Gel: Set & Match
80 Ghostbusters: The Video Game
65 Godfather II, The
84 Guitar Hero: Metallica
76 Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
xx Gunstar Heroes
xx Hannah Montana: The Movie
69 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
73 Hasbro Family Game Night: Battleship
71 Hasbro Family Game Night: Boggle
74 Hasbro Family Game Night: Connect Four
78 Hasbro Family Game Night: Scrabble
71 Hasbro Family Game Night: Sorry!
xx Hasbro Family Game Night: Sorry! Sliders
78 Hasbro Family Game Night: Yahtzee
xx Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
xx Infernal: Hell's Vengeance
xx King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, The
xx King of Fighters XII, The
25 Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
76 Lode Runner
79 Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
xx Midnight Club: Los Angeles - South Central
63 Monsters vs. Aliens
74 NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition
xx NCAA Football 10
50 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
68 Ninja Blade
79 OutRun Online Arcade
74 Overlord II
89 Peggle
xx Phantasy Star II
xx PopCap Arcade Vol. 2
78 Prototype
76 Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
73 Raiden Fighters Aces
85 Red Faction: Guerrilla
85 Resident Evil 5
57 Resident Evil 5: Versus
70 Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock
82 Rocket Riot
72 Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
xx Saints Row 2: Corporate Warfare
51 Saints Row 2: Ultor Exposed
74 Sam & Max Save the World
70 SBK 09 Superbike World Championship
xx Shinobi
79 Sonic The Hedgehog 3
80 Space Invaders Extreme
53 Star Trek: D-A-C
48 Stormrise
64 Superstars V8 Racing
49 Terminator Salvation
65 Texas Cheat 'Em
82 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
66 Tomb Raider Underworld: Lara's Shadow
64 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
66 Trivial Pursuit
83 UFC 2009 Undisputed
77 Uno Rush
65 Up
56 Velvet Assassin
71 Virtua Tennis 2009
73 Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram
73 Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 1: Fright of the Bumblebees
62 Wanted: Weapons of Fate
64 Wheelman, The
59 Wolfenstein 3D
81 Worms 2: Armageddon
69 WSC Real 09: World Snooker Championship
71 WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
75 X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Uncaged Edition
64 Yosumin Live
49 Zombie Wranglers

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums
Golden Axe (XBLA) xbox360 Game Reviews
Golden Axe (XBLA)
Critic Score
Metascore: 68 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.3 out of 10
based on 10 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

[Xbox Live Arcade] Three mighty heroes have a score to settle with the evil Death Adder in this classic action game, now adapted for Xbox Live Arcade. As a powerful fighter, a female Amazon, or a mighty dwarf, fight through Adder's henchmen with weapon and magic attacks, or ride the fearsome, fire-breathing dragon in Golden Axe. Enhanced graphics and sound: Relive all those classic arcade moments with an adaptation of one of the most important arcade games released. Leaderboards: Two high score leaderboards are used, one for Normal, and one for Hardcore play. Multiplayer capability: Now you and a friend can join in on the action. Achievements: Twelve new achievements are included to master, ranging from the easy such as playing every character, to the difficult, such as winning the game without having to use a continue. [Microsoft]

PUBLISHER: Sega
DEVELOPER: Secret Level
GENRE(S): Action, Beat-'Em-Up
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2007

What The Critics Said

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...

80
Xboxic
For those who experienced the bliss of the original arcade title, Golden Axe for Xbox Live Arcade is an essential addition to a collection- regardless of its longevity.
Read Full Review
78
Team Xbox
If you’re a fan of the original Golden Axe, this is definitely worth a download, as it’s essentially the exact same game you played in the arcade. The combat is just as basic, the magic looks just as bad-ass, and the end boss is still frustratingly tough.
Read Full Review
75
IGN
Co-op play over Xbox Live greatly extends the game's lifeline, and its emphasis on using a degree of strategy and communication over much more frantic titles such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles provides a nice change of pace. Its charm will probably wear off after two or three times.
Read Full Review
75
Official Xbox Magazine
It's enjoyable enough for a few go-rounds, especially in co-op mode, and that makes it one of the more endearing retro ports to hit Live Arcade. [Oct 2007, p.78]
70
Games Radar
Much like a lot of the arcade games back then, Golden Axe is fairly short and doesn't have a lot of replayability, as every enemy will appear in the exact same spot every time you play, and there are no branching paths. But for 400 MS points, a classic brawler with functional online play is something that belongs in your Live Arcade library.
Read Full Review
70
Official Xbox Magazine UK
Short but still ass-kickingly sweet! [Sept 2007, p.110]
65
GameSpot
Between its unlimited continues and crusty looks, you're probably only going to be interested in this game if you liked it back in 1989.
Read Full Review
60
EuroGamer
Golden Axe, then. Big, brutish, three-button sprite-based fantasy brawler with bags of nostalgic moments and inexplicable co-op charm: Yours to buy for the 39th time for just 400 points.
Read Full Review
60
X360 Magazine UK
There's online co-op available too, but, unlike Sonic's outing, we feel it would be hard pushed to attract many beyond-nostalgia hunters. [Issue#24, p.100]
40
Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
Hold out for infinitely superior "Streets of Rage 2." [Oct 2007, p.96]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Miguel G. gave it a9:
Nostalgia at its best. Nothing more, nothing less than the original. The "end-cut scene" is glorious in all its kitsch mood, and "cute" too. Brilliant in a very special way. Too bad its historical value is lost for the lack of a "proper" box, and box-art.

Tyler G. gave it a10:
If u loved the arcade version then u will love this wayyy more. Its a great game that all should love.

Stéphane Josephy gave it a6:
Strong nostalgy value, for a very simplistic hack'n'slash game. It's kinda hard to believe that this was state-of-the-art in 1990... but at this price (400 points), it's very cheap anyway. Worth a look if you're over 30. Just don't abuse the 'continue' option, the game is short!

Discuss this game in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use