Decent swordfighting games

[PBI]

I have recently been very much enjoying playing Jedi Knight II. It has a very nice system for lightsaber combat and is the most enjoyable game I've yet played in its portrayal of sword combat (sort of).

However, it is a bit short and not hugely challenging. Anyone know of any other FPS games which feature enjoyable sword combat which they would recommend, either for PC or for Wii (which seems to me to be a platform obviously suited to this type of game but I'm not aware of any games featuring it)?

[Ferret]

Mount&Blade

[Meneldil]

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, the only decent sword FPS using a fantasy setting IMHO.

[Veho Nex]

That new starwars game.... can't remember name

[Fragony]

Die by the Sword if you can find it, not first person but absolutily awesome. Very old, very much in need of a remake for the Wii.

[ICantSpellDawg]

Mount & Blade is seriously awesome

[Kekvit Irae]

While sadly not a FPS, I find Bushido for the PSX to be one of the most realistic swordfighting games I've seen. One or two hits kills!

[Raz]

Assassin's Creed had/has awesome swordplay, no button mashing invloved, just careful timing. Though I think it's only for PS3 and the 360 (I think), and the game itself was a touch short, but it was incredible none-the-less. The only thing it fails in is the length of the game, so if they do have a version for the wii, get hold of it.

[naut]

Nah there's also a PC version, came out in March.

[Whacker]

Oldie but goodie. Rune.

[Uriel]

Another mention for Assassin's Creed. Not that far in, and seems a wee bit easy, but I like the fighting mechanic so far.

[frogbeastegg]

Way of the Samurai on the PS2. It's an awesome little Samurai sandbox game with 5 alternate endings and many different plot progression paths, and it's home to a detailed sword fighting system. IIRC there are about 100 different swords, split between ~7 different combat styles, and all with unique stats and handling. Every sword you pick up can be customised at the blacksmiths, and can be put into a sword safe so you can use it when you replay the game. The more you fight with a sword the more moves you learn for it, and the completed move lists are very varied. On the easiest difficulty you can scrape by if you button mash. If you play on the hardest you'd better be a master.

Have you seen the classic Japanese film Seven Samurai? The best way to sum up Way of the Samurai is to say that it's Seven Samurai the game.

[Spino]

Severance: Blade of Darkness (or simply Blade of Darkness in the US). What an incredibly underrated game that was! I played BoD around the same time I played Rune and while the latter had a better story its combat had nothing on BoD. BoD had stellar gameplay and it was sooo pretty to look at. BoD's lighting effects and shadow rendering were waaay ahead of their time and they took a shockingly light toll on your system's performance. BoD also had great gore (dismemberment!) and a unique feature which enabled you to use simple objects (your enemies' limbs!) as deadly weapons or crude missiles (nothing like a good severed head toss to get things going). Last but not least BoD had a great, mood setting soundtrack.

BoD's most gnawing flaw was its movement system, it was a bit creaky and took some getting used to (just like the Gothic series). Strangely enough the developers thought that a simple strafe movement system that graces most 3rd person games and first person shooters wouldn't work for BoD and despite the cries of the fans they never addressed it in a patch. However much to the relief of the fans (and yours truly) modders discovered a workaround and released a small mod which addressed the issue.

Critics didn't fawn over BoD but it developed a rather devoted and passionate fan base...

http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...0of%20darkness

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/370441.asp

[Zenicetus]

I played the demo for Dark Messiah (PC) and the swordplay and physics (being able to kick opponents and throw objects) felt pretty good. I didn't buy the game though, because even at the end of the short demo it was starting to feel repetitive, and the enemy AI wasn't very good. Apparently the storyline isn't that great either... at least according to the reviews I've read. Still, you might want to at least try the demo and see what you think.

The swordfighting game I've enjoyed the most recently is "The Witcher" on the PC. It's much more a plot-driven RPG than an action fighting game, but the story is very good... much darker and more mature than most games in this genre.

The fighting isn't direct, realtime button mashing where you control every move. It's a little more tactical, where you click the mouse at the appropriate moment while your character is going through a series of actions. Timing is important, but it's not constant clicking. There are many tactical decisions in how to prep your weapon with potions, use different fighting styles, use potions on yourself, a little magic spell use on the side, etc. The fighting style might not appeal to everyone, but once I got used to the somewhat unusual mechanics, I enjoyed it.

If you do try the Witcher, you might want to wait a month or two. The developers are bringing out a new enhanced version of the game with better English dialog, more varied NPC models, faster area loads, and supposedly a better inventory system (the original one drives me nuts). The enhanced version will be a free download if you buy it now, but I don't think the enhanced version will work with current game saves.

[Sarathos]

Dark Messiah is a very good game. The Star Wars series are also very good, my favourite is Jedi Outcast, fantastic multiplayer.

[Justiciar]

Severence: Blade of Darkness was awesome on so many levels. Ahead of it's time I dare say, as it had elements other games developers have only just started introducing to their products. Definately worth looking into. Rune and Drakan were both pretty darn good too, and played in much the same way. All in all though, I'd suggest going for Mount & Blade. Just don't play it too much.. it can get boring VERY quickly.