What's the game about? Following on the heels of developer Treasure's DS fighter based on the popular Bleach, Bleach Versus Crusade takes fast-paced battles to the Wii. But where Treasure's DS game has easily understandable controls masking a surprising amount of depth, Versus Crusade is easily one of the most chaotic and complex fighters we've seen on Wii so far.
SCREENS: Click the image above to check out all Bleach Versus Crusade screens.
What's new for TGS? We played through the game's combat tutorial and then participated in one duel at Sega's booth. The battle lesson was pretty extensive, showing us how to block, slash, and dash around using the Classic Controller. The basic controls are simple enough -- use the right analog stick for a normal slash and a button for the dash and a secondary slash. The right shoulder button acts as a timed deflect. But then things get more difficult when you need to use multiple button combinations (A and X, R and A, etc.) in order to make stronger attacks. You can even switch to secondary characters to help fight. These other characters can do an attack on autopilot, or you can take control of them with a button press. The characters move very fast, darting around the large battlefield, and enemies charge at you with hard-to-block sword flourishes.
What's our take? Hardcore fans will probably enjoy the game's challenge, but some of the more casual players coming over from the DS title may be in for a shock. The speediness of the action and controls make Versus Crusade a bit difficult to pick up and play -- the learning curve seems quite severe -- but once mastered, we expect this will be a game for the Bleach or fighter-fan library
