E3: Deadliest Warrior Preview

Pipeworks Software has found themselves in a very interesting position. Deadliest Warrior managed to find an excellent booth spot directly in the madness of the E3 South Hall entrance. Clearly, we’re supposed to care about this game based on marketing alone.

And maybe we should. A 2.5D fighting game, Deadliest Warrior throws legendary fighters from every era of human history against one another, in the fashion of the TV show of the same name.

The Deadliest Warrior won’t be the prettiest title available for download on either the PS3 or Xbox 360, but it is still impressive. Attack animations appear smooth and articulated, while character reactions to damage are haphazard and jarring. The animations being critiqued do not manage to remove you from the excitement, however, because the game prides itself on fast, furious, arcade-like action. In fact, it is mostly reminiscent of Bushido Blade in that regard. While not one hit kills, it isn’t impossible to land a 3 or 4 hit combo to finish off an opponent. Yeah. People die pretty easily in “realistic” situations.

Much like the TV show, players will find their fighters switching between weapons in the midst of combat. If your katana isn’t working against a blunderbuss, break out your long range shuriken and show that pirate what-for.

The combatants available for play are the the Apache, Knight, Ninja, Pirate, Samurai, Spartan and the Viking; all of which are warriors from season 1 of the show. Since season 2 has not fully aired, characters will be made available for download as they are revealed on television.

Look for the Deadliest Warrior to hit both Xbox Live and the PSN come the 4th quarter of 2010.