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[Big_Al]

So after playing/completing Yaiba (which was ok, got more disappointing as the game went along IMO) I wanted some more hack and slash/god of war style action and I noticed this in my library on Steam.

You know what ? What a damn great surprise, I ended up playing the thing over 2 sittings last night/today and loved the hell out of it. It's a very competent God Of War style game and one of those B/C tier games I love and miss. A bit low budget but the combats superb and it's constantly trying to mix things up - different locations, introducing new monsters, weapons etc. It just does its very best to entertain the hell out of the player. It's a very lean 6 hours or so and it works really well in its favour. There's no real bloat/filler at all. It also has James Hong/Lo Pan voice acting the bad guy. I nearly gave it 10/10 on the spot just for that. He's great even as a videogame bad guy It doesn't really even attempt to tell a big story and it's very 80s and cheesy. It reminded me of a Cannon film in a way - get to the point and no messing about. Marlow's a likeable enough character too and his interactions with the Mask are pretty amusing at times.

So if you have it sitting in your library or see it dirt cheap then give it a shot sometime. It's a pity I didn't see this earlier as it was part of a bundle for $1 a few weeks ago but I'm sure it'll go super cheap again sometime. The biggest problem I had is that I couldn't get VSynch enabled no matter what I tried so I had to put with tearing which was really annoying. Probably my only real black mark on the game.

 

[Monado Blade]

James Hong

Never heard of this game before but I'm sold. I'll be checking it out. Thanks OP

 

[ArjanN]

Having just beaten Yaiba (and this game a while ago) I have to say it might also be a perception/expectation thing, where most people who gave this a try seemed to like it because they had basically zero expectatons where Yaiba gets a lot of shit for not living up the series name.

Because personally I think these games are about on par.

Of course it probably helped that this was priced a lot more reasonably.

 

[Big_Al]

Having just beaten Yaiba (and this game a while ago) I have to say it might also be a perception/expectation thing, where most people who gave this a try seemed to like it because they had basically zero expectatons where Yaiba gets a lot of shit for not living up the series name.

Because personally I think these games are about on par.

Of course it probably helped that this was priced a lot more reasonably.

That's a fair point you've got but no honestly I think Marlow Briggs is just a much better game with poorer production values/budget compared to Yaiba. That's the benefit of also playing them so close together. It's much more responsive controls wise and the dodge is much better in this game IMO. I mean with a bigger budget you'd expect the controls to be pitch perfect in Yaiba but they aren't. Plus I like that the platforming is based on the abilities you have and requires actual player involvement and skill. That and I enjoyed the combat more tbh plus it's camera is better too. Also, Marlow Briggs constantly changes its locations, where you going and just tries to have a lot more fun. It's constantly trying to entertain the player, much more so than Yaiba does. I'd consider a much better game.

 

[Lijik]

Still need to finish this game but it was an absolute surprise when i first played it when it came out. Its very much a b/c tier title but its pacing helps keeps things fun throughout. I havent played Yaiba yet but last year i wound up comparing this to deadpool which felt bloated and would have been better just trimming the fat between the big joke sections.

I think i got halfway through but got distracted by bigger releases

 

[ArjanN]

That's a fair point you've got but no honestly I think Marlow Briggs is just a much better game with poorer production values/budget compared to Yaiba. That's the benefit of also playing them so close together. It's much more responsive controls wise and the dodge is much better in this game IMO. I mean with a bigger budget you'd expect the controls to be pitch perfect in Yaiba but they aren't. Plus I like that the platforming is based on the abilities you have and requires actual player involvement and skill. That and I enjoyed the combat more tbh. Also, Marlow Briggs constantly changes its locations, where you going and just tries to have a lot more fun. It's constantly trying to entertain the player, much more so than Yaiba does. I'd consider a much better game.

I think they were probably pretty close budget wise.

The dodge is more reliable here but I think I enjoyed the combat in Yaiba more. This is much closer to the God of War template. Marlow Briggs smartly does do a good job keeping the pace really high, by changing locations and throwing in one-off distractions like sliding down a cliff or turret sections, which keeps you from noticing a lot of the flaws too much. The last hour or so I do felt it was wearing a bit thin though, as most of the enemies are just punching bags and there's a no true depth to the combat..

IMO the platforming is kind of whatever in both games, it's basically only there as a visually interesting way to get you to the next combat arena and forgiving enough that it never gets in the way.

 

[Tizoc]

2 best friends liked this game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwZTgX4Pzxw

 

[Big_Al]

I think they were probably pretty close budget wise.

The dodge is more reliable here but I think I enjoyed the combat in Yaiba more. This is much closer to the God of War template. Marlow Briggs smartly does do a good job keeping the pace really high, by changing locations and throwing in one-off distractions like sliding down a cliff or turret sections, which keeps you from noticing a lot of the flaws too much. The last hour or so I do felt it was wearing a bit thin though, as most of the enemies are just punching bags and there's a no true depth to the combat..

IMO the platforming is kind of whatever in both games, it's basically only there as a visually interesting way to get you to the next combat arena and forgiving enough that it never gets in the way.

Well in Marlow Briggs I felt like the platforming was at least requiring some semblance of skill rather than pure button presses. You're right in that MB combat goes for more God Of War style combat, the whole thing is more or less that type of game. However MB knows what its doing and does it pretty well IMO. With Yaiba, they try to be more precise on the higher difficulties but don't really succeed due to the controls not being up to it and the encounter design incredibly unfair. It's best as a button masher on easy.

So yeah they both have their flaws but I just found MB to a much more thoroughly entertaining game. I still liked Yaiba but MB stayed consistently good IMO, Yaiba quality declines quite a bit in the last few levels for me.

 

[manueldelalas]

Bump.

Bought this game in the Steam sale,with basically zero expectation.

Wow! This game was awesome. Roller-coaster from beginning to end.