Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire (Wii)

Game: Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire
Genre: Action
Platform: Wii

It’s been awhile since I swung a Wii-mote around like a fool, but my time has come again with the release of D3’s Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire. Finally, someone is attempting to do something different that actually utilizes the Wii’s motion-sensitive controls. A straightforward action game (think Zelda meets God of War… with lots of fire), Dragon Blade won’t win any Game of the Year awards, but it may give Wii owners something to do until Super Mario Galaxy comes out.

The controls are pretty easy to pick up, especially if you’ve played Twilight Princess; the remote acts as a sword (the “Dragon Blade” of the title, to be exact), and as you swing the remote up, down, left, or right, the blade matches your movements to annihilate bad guys. You get more weapons as the game goes on, but the basic fighting strategy stays the same. Different movement combinations lead to stronger attacks, but more often than not I would just swing left and right and hope for the best, as trying to time specific combos can be more frustrating than anything else.

The story is not the most compelling, but sets up what you need to do to get through each level. Unfortunately, there are far too many dull cut-scenes and dialogue exchanges in the game, which I could have done without. Come on, it’s an action game, not an RPG—I just want to slash stuff with my fiery sword!

Oh yeah, and about that slashing? It’s really not the most accurate. Sword swings will often be delayed or go in a different direction than you intended. Even locking onto a target doesn’t do much to help, as you’ll still find yourself completely missing your enemies and cutting through nothing but air.

Another big problem with the game is the camera, which works against you far more often than it does with you. You have only minimal control over it, and it will just change angles randomly from time to time, leaving you backed in a corner hacking away at a wall when a second earlier you were facing your enemies.

I’m glad to see a publisher trying to make something original for the Wii, and it’s certainly not the worst thing we’ve seen on the system. Although the cinematic cut-scenes and music score make it seem like it’s trying to be an epic adventure, it’s really not very deep. It is a decent action game, and if you’re not expecting anything more, you might get some fun out of it. However, the redundant sword-fighting, wonky camera angles, and overly dramatic story don’t really warrant a $40 purchase.