Xena: Warrior Princess
(Electronic Arts for PlayStation)
by Eric Johnson
Millions of Americans who think they’re too good for Professional Wrestling have a dark secret of their own in the form of an attractive, raven-haired, six-foot tall Australian actress who stomps through a world of bastardized ancient mythology fighting the forces of evil. Lucy Lawless stars in Xena: Warrior Princess, a juggernaut of a syndicated television program now available to play at home in a three-dimensional action/adventure game. Although similar in style to dozens of titles, including the previously reviewed Nightmare Creatures, Xena adds some original features to the exploratory hack’n’slash template, resulting in a fairly solid and entertaining title. One which’ll please the show’s fan base, even if it won’t seduce new viewers.
The storyline works much like an extended, two-part episode: Xena must investigate the kidnapping of her sidekick and lesbian-innuendo-magnet, Gabrielle, who’s been abducted as a sacrifice to free Kalibrax, a long-imprisoned evil sorceress who’ll inevitably destroy the world. In order to save her friend and the universe, confrontations with a good percentage of the Greek pantheon will take place and a “greatest hits” list of titans and monsters will have to be defeated. When confronting a vast horde of mythological terrors, never underestimate the power of a good, swift kick in the nuts. Xena has several signature moves, and although they seem overwhelming at first, the game controls are actually quite simple and provide for a great variety of attacks.
By far the coolest feature of the game is the Chakram, which is basically a remote-controlled circular boomerang that, once released, can be guided to a target and is almost as useful as the trusty sword carried by the warrior princess herself. Once thrown, the point of view is switched to directly behind the Chakram and can be guided at specific targets. It’s interesting to note that the executive producer of Xena is none other than Sam Rami, the director of the Evil Dead films. Rami’s trademark, behind-the-projectile camerawork, can be seen in a number of his films, and its inclusion in the game is a nice touch.
The majority of the twenty-one levels of the game are fairly short, but are well-designed, each presenting a unique set of challenges, from hostage rescue to landscape manipulation. Thankfully, the game doesn’t dissolve into precarious and tedious jumping exercises. The challenge of the game is derived from the fact that enemies have a tendency to gang up on you, from in-close and afar – two may confront you with the sword while two others shower you with arrows and knives. Like most action games, it’s best to take your time, experiment with what you can throw the Chakram at, and take the enemies out as they come.
Dialogue and plot are faithful to the show, which requires setting aside the brain’s higher functions in exchange for simple entertainment. To its credit, taking themselves seriously is not something the show or game try to do. Dabbling in the ridiculous pays off in the game with little details that add humor, without interfering with the action. Take, for example, the high-pitched squeal of a soldier receiving the tender caress of Xena’s boot to his groin. Overall, the game is a bit easier than it probably should be, and the most difficult settings are recommended to preserve entertainment longevity. The graphics could use a ten-finger boost, and speaking of which, this’d be an excellent title for translation to Nintendo 64, which could render the graphics more efficiently and handle the volume of dialogue found in the game. Although I’m not one of those legions of Xena fans, I consider the show and game to be solidly entertaining. Fun, but not incredibly innovative, Xena: Warrior Princess is recommended for fans, but may not have enough going for it to win over the unenthusiastic. As for Lawless herself: God bless the tough girls. I’d pay cash money to see Xena spatter the brains of about ninety percent of syndicated television, especially Pamela Anderson and the cast of her godforsaken private investigator program.
