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E3 2011: Blades of Time ticking down to early 2012

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Konami and X-Blades developer Gaijin Entertainment bringing new hack-and-slash to 360, PS3 next year.

LOS ANGELES--Konami opted to avoid the mad rush of E3 week by holding a pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing last week. However, that event, which was headlined by the Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders HD collections, isn't all that the publisher has up its sleeve.

A more grown-up Ayumi returns in Blades of Time.

A more grown-up Ayumi returns in Blades of Time.

Today, Konami announced Blades of Time, a new hack-and-slash title from X-Blades studio Gaijin Entertainment. In development for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Blades of Time will be available during the first three months of 2012.

Though Blades of Time shares a protagonist with X-Blades, which received a lukewarm reception, it appears to have a less cartoony aesthetic. The game stars nubile heroine Ayumi, a gunsword-wielding treasure hunter out for bounty on an exotic and dangerous island. The hack-and-slash action adventure offers more than 40 sets of melee skills and tactics, in addition to an assortment of magical skills.

Beyond the single-player storyline, Blades of Time includes both cooperative and competitive multiplayer options. The co-op element lets players run through the game's storyline together, while competitive play features deathmatch scenarios.

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.

4 Comments

  • jlsgamespot

    Posted Jan 25, 2012 12:10 am GMT

    It looks like the same game "X-BLADE, " but with a new paint job and title. Female protagonist, still two blades, same jump ability, still using sexuality to sale the game, environments still look similar to the previous ones. Hardly any imagination whatsoever. I viewed the game demo. Irregardless of the players lack of skill, the game play seems the same. Technically it looks like nothing has really changed. This game development tactic reminds me of the recycled "Dragon Ball Z games." Most Game Developers do this when they just want to make a quick buck. It's sad when creativity and innovation takes the backseat without considering what the gamers want in regards to good game play. I'll see what the reviews say about this one. Hopefully I will be proven wrong, although I don't think I will be. Here's hoping.

  • urayanya

    Posted Sep 20, 2011 7:29 pm GMT

    @Evil_Saluki
    I think this game seems to still be just like X-BLADE the plot is still the same (do you think?), it is still on a Island, hunting a treasure just like the previous one....just like X-blade the player will sure be going back and forth the areas. lets just hope the gameplay will be better

  • Evil_Saluki

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 2:09 pm GMT

    When I saw a screenshot of this on the gamespot homepage I was instantly reminded of X-Blades, which turned out to be a rather bad game. Production values backed up by poor gameplay ideas, the worst combination. I hope they learned a lesson, I like a bit of raunch in my games but it still needs to be a decent game. They need to deliver.

  • soulless4now

    Posted Jun 7, 2011 2:48 pm GMT

    I hope it turns out better than its predecessor.