Berserk and the Band of the Hawk

1. SpookyScaryWuf

   Feb 22, 2017

   10

   A brutal experience for any fan of the Black Swordsman. A truly faithful adaptation to the manga and the animes (with actual scenes from theA brutal experience for any fan of the Black Swordsman. A truly faithful adaptation to the manga and the animes (with actual scenes from the Golden Age arc). If you've got a weak stomach, stay away from this game.… Expand

   • 7 of 14 users found this helpful
2. raineye

   Feb 22, 2017

   10

   It's no cut!
   
   and Berserk!! Better then Japan type. Good Graphics and good actions, good animation of character good weapons , goodIt's no cut!
   
   and Berserk!!
   
   Better then Japan type.
   
   Good Graphics and good actions, good animation of character
   good weapons , good voices,
   It's good game.… Expand

   • 5 of 12 users found this helpful
4. MKAU-Gaming

   Mar 17, 2017

   8

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Aww Anime, one minute you can be so cute and innocent, then the next minute if you don’t do your research you're in the world of the dark, violent and twisted, as though being given a lollipop and then turning around and being punched in the face. This is the latter. ‘Berserk: The Band of the Hawk’ developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo, is the classic one vs the thousands, hack and slash, and is very reminiscent of The Darksiders.
   
   ‘Berserk’ is based off the gory and blood-soaked manga and anime by Kentaro Miura. You initially begin your journey as the ever so flatteringly named Guts, a lone wolf pack-less mercenary with his huge sword (which is desperately over compensating for something) who just can’t escape his past as much as he tries. Eventually you meet the charismatic and uptight Griffith and his band of merry men (and women) infamously known as ‘The Band of the Hawk’, together you travel the lands often torn between moral and physical battles of good and evil. Now if you aren’t a connoisseur of manga and anime, don’t rush out to get a heads up on the plot, as this game covers the premise of the original story pretty closely. A really nifty feature is that loading screens also fill you in with tidbits of the backstory, so it is easy to piece it all together.
   
   Each cut scene, cell shady and dark, feels as if they have been lifted straight out of the show, to be honest they probably have been, Berserk is an old anime now. Some of these scenes in-between battles are quite long, and you’d be a fool to not expect subtitles from a Japanese anime based game, my only annoyance by this though was the lack of warning to buy some popcorn for all the drama.
   
   The game plays out like any other typical hack and slash thriller. You have a base attack, heavy attack and a dodge. What is a little different is the Frenzy gauge, which you fill with combos and kills, meaning once activated will deal bulk damage while losing no health. Fill this gauge with their souls and you can unlock a finishing brutal death blow move that is vital when a boss battle arrives.
   
   Omega Force were also the driving force behind another manga inspired game I have reviewed previously, Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom. The menus, leveling, items and gameplay are all very, very familiar, and like the aforementioned most chapters or ‘battles’ are lackluster fights in pretty linear environments. The real boss fights (not the casual buffed up minions with a bit of extra health) are where the real excitement lies.
   The game is sorted into 3 distinct modes. Story Mode is a series of battles with challenges and objectives that need to be complete before the boss arrives or the mission is accomplished. The time it takes, bonuses you pick up and challenges completed negate how much experience points you receive. Experience points are used to level up your character. Speaking of leveling, the game pretends to be stat driven with 4 rudimentary areas; vitality (health), Attack, Defense, and Technique (Specials). There is the RPG element of items used during the game to boost stats or to sell for stone cold cash, but my problem is it is a weak stab at customization. You could boost stats till the proverbial hordes of cows come home, but at the end of the day a level 20 Guts still is cumbersome and strong, and Griffith is still agile and fast, and they handle exactly the same as if they were level 1.
   
   Free Mode is as simple are replaying your favorite battles as other unlocked characters. The Endless Eclipse Mode was tedious, monotonous but oddly addictive. Essentially, it just has you picking a character you would like to fight wave after wave of the same type of enemies, with bosses sprinkled within each layer. At every 5 layers you get to return to base camp and replenish your supplies, so the motivation you may ask? Each base camp has ‘Desires’, in essence rewards. The things you do for in game resources and money huh. The big reward for that character is waiting at the end in the ‘Abyss’...the 100th layer. I fell for it hook line and sinker, and spent so much time in the Endless Eclipse Mode doing the same thing over and over, rather than advancing the story. I did have a pretty dope jacket for Guts though after all of it, just saying.
   Overall, Berserk is a surprisingly entertaining bloody romp. Gameplay can be a bit repetitive but sometimes you need a good simple hack em’ up game to clear the bad vibes and to let off some steam. Would I recommend buying it? Sure, it beats having to watch an anime series or read a collection of manga and you get the added bonus of being included in taking names and .. body parts.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
5. peck324

   Apr 8, 2017

   7

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Here's my review of Berserk and the Band of the Hawks (Spoilers):
   Story: The story is pretty long, but in a good way. Took me 13 hours to beat the game in which it included missions from the movie and in the manga later on. The story takes place where your introduced Guts as a mercenary to where you team up with Zodd to fight against the Thunder Demon (Forgot his name lol). I admit this was my first time seeing Berserk and I love it thanks to this game!
   Gameplay: Like most One Piece games its still categorized as a simple bet 'em up game. But this fits perfect for Berserk as Guts uses his Giant Cleaver (Dragon Slayer as its named) sword to slaughter so many demons (As told in the Manga, he literally slays more than a thousand demons just to get his revenge on Griffith.) and the combos are pretty intense on multiple enemies. As for character selection it depends how the story goes, but after completing the game, you are free to choose whoever you want beside Guts (My favorite is Judeau). The items/accessories that are shown in the game are useful in any difficulty. The Berserk armor is a BAMF, just wanted to put it out there lol!
   Mechanic: Again like any other beat 'em up game, executions are great and no lag inputs. Only problem is the camera function because I'm always thinking that pressing L3 would revert the camera behind Guts/The Character but for some reason it does not have that input.
   Conclusion: Story was intense, Combos are fun and easy to use, and the camera mechanics still needs some work. This game fits in the category for this anime. If you don't know or if your really interested in it. I recommend getting this for experience wise or search for the anime series and then get the game for again, experience purpose.
   Final Verdict:
   7.5/10 - Its a great game, but it gets repetitively boring from time to time.
   Buy or Not Buy:
   Buy - If you are a fan of this anime.
   Rent:
   No - If you want to pay the rent fee for it.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. djinvasion21

   Jul 13, 2017

   7

   Even after playing a few chapters of this game and of course knowing about the anime story behind it. I really wanted to see what Koei TecmoEven after playing a few chapters of this game and of course knowing about the anime story behind it. I really wanted to see what Koei Tecmo has done to the story line. I see a mixture of the story and cutscenes from the anime put your heart in the right place. Talking to Koei Tecmo they also developed the Dynasty Warriors franchise so you will definitely see some cross between the game play and mechanics with Berserk. I noticed it a lot more on Easy difficulty which allows you to play the story line easier and faster. What do I mean by faster meaning just like Dynasty Warriors I can walk up to a group of enemy shoulders and they probably wouldn't hit me for a few minutes.
   
   This is truly a hack and slash game. Not a lot of different "finishers" if you would like to call it that. Not very complex combo moves which can be a hit or miss to many who play. But I do like that you can have enhancements that are picked up to make your character whether its Guts or Griffith better at defeating enemies... OR help you pick up drops more effectively.
   
   Not a $60 game which is why I rented it instead but probably should fall short of that based on the playability. Would I play this again probably not once the story mode was completed. But they do offer a Free Mode (Free roaming) and other side-games that you can entertain yourself with.
   
   Also for any parents out there that are already letting your child play a mature game, they have a Gore option - you can turn it off, but you can't turn off the weird "hell" bizarre things that happen in this game towards the beginning and end.
   
   Take it how you see it, I like both Berserk and Dynasty Warriors and what a great way to vent after a crap day by playing a hack and slash that combines your favorite anime with a long time favorite series.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. SuperkenGaming

   Feb 24, 2017

   6

   Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
   Mindless Hack and Slash
   Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a Dynasty Warriors style hack and slash gameBerserk and the Band of the Hawk
   Mindless Hack and Slash
   Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a Dynasty Warriors style hack and slash game based on the Japanese manga Berserk..
   It tells the story of a lone mercenary named Guts as well as the leader of the Band of the Hawk Griffith who is promised a kingdom by an egg shaped necklace he obtains as a boy…
   The whole story is centered around this prophecy which leads to many unexpected twists and turns.
   This game is about 14 hours long and is spread across 46 main missions...
   Unfortunately this game is extremely repetitive saved only by its story…
   The game is told through a mixture of still dialog, a few animated 3d scenes, and my favorite of the mixture an anime style..
   There is unfortunately no English dub here, so if you don’t speak Japanese you do have to play the game with subtitles on…
   And as the game goes on it sadly ventures away from delivering the story with anime cut scenes… which is when all interest in the game and its characters disappear... you’re essentially left only with reading dialog…
   And it’s a shame because the gameplay here isn’t enough to keep the game interesting…
   From start to finish its all the same…
   Get thrown into a mission.. go to the points of interest on the map and kill your targets there until there’s a new point of interest, rinse and repeat…
   And the level design is so bland and uninteresting that it eventually starts feeling like a grind despite the quick pace of you being able to slice through most enemies like warm butter…
   You can play a few missions as other characters as well as unlock new character to play in free mode and endless eclipse mode, but everyone feels practically the same so it doesn’t matter…
   in combat you have a light and heavy attack… you also have ranged weapons, and consumable slots to temporarily boost stats..
   You slice through enemies to fill up a bar to then do more damage while you’re invulnerable for a few seconds to fill up another bar to unleash a power attack killing most enemies in the surrounding area…
   rinse and repeat...
   at the end of each mission you get your spoils of war to equip accessories on your characters as well as upgrade items and their stats by using stones or unwanted items…
   So you can slice through the spongier enemies a little easier…
   they’re also a few bosses thrown in here that are really well designed…
   but rarely feel anything more than normal enemies with larger health bars…
   These rare encounters are the only time you’ll find yourself dodging or blocking..
   Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is carried by its interesting story and characters that I genuinely loved…
   I just wish there was more to the game than the same mission copy and pasted 46 times for 14 hours with some story sandwiched in between them.
   I give Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
   a 6.5/10… Expand

   • 1 of 5 users found this helpful
8. shootingstars99

   Sep 5, 2019

   0

   What happens when you cross Dynasty Warriors with baby's first seinen manga series? Apparently a dumpster fire worse than the worst KingdomWhat happens when you cross Dynasty Warriors with baby's first seinen manga series? Apparently a dumpster fire worse than the worst Kingdom Hearts game...
   
   I guess if you are a Berserk fan, your mind can only handle hitting one button repeatedly while fighting the same enemies throughout the same three backgrounds. At least this game serves as a containment of sorts from keeping brain dead idiots from getting into anything of substance and keeps their grubby, Cheeto powdered hands off of actually good franchises... If you like your Tolkien knock offs with rape, rape and more rape, you haven't quite figured out games with two button combat, and you like your main characters that carry around 7 foot long swords because they are compensating for having a short sword where it counts, this might be your game of the year.… Expand

   • 0 of 6 users found this helpful

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