With two swords – or as luck would have it, two Pistol Blades – in hand, Ayumi storms between the pillars of what appears to be an old coliseum. Eye-catching with deep stone textures and the occasional sign of life (trees and other foliage), the area certainly has its charm.

But it, like so many areas Ayumi (X-Blades’ leading heroine) will visit, is abnormally claustrophobic. She’s a fierce warrior, capable of taking on an army by herself, or at the very least a gigantic fire-breathing beast whose welcome wore out the minute he arrived. Her Pistol Blades provide the Dante-style weaponry she needs to survive: part gunfire, part hack-n-slash device, these weapons are essential to her way of life.

Because unlike the Prince of Persia, who has a lovely companion to make every battle worth fighting, or Dante, who gets to be a star, a teacher and a hero to anyone but devils, Ayumi doesn’t get to take a time out. She doesn’t have a save room that is miraculously out of enemy range or friends to speak with about how tough the last battle was or how grim the future may appear. Her life is ruled by combat; her reward is another day on the battlefield.

As the player, you join her in this journey of button-mashing and bloodshed. Equipped with magical powers that go beyond her Pistol Blades (and are unlocked, as you’ll predict, by cashing in souls you’ve collected from slaughtering enemies), Ayumi is very acrobatic. She can jump 10 feet without breaking a sweat, whip her blades around as if she had been doing it since birth, and unleash odd spells that appear to be a mix of RPG inspiration and Devil May Cry cloning.

The camera is typical but disappointingly unpredictable. Most every action game uses a third-person view that can be manipulated using the right analog stick. That’s suitable for Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 gaming, it seems. But when the enemies come out to play (which is immediately after the start of nearly every stage), the camera looks as though it has been lost in the wind. You can tilt it around and try your best to follow the action, but without holding down the targeting button (which centers the camera on one specific enemy), the camera is very difficult to manage.

Targeting, while helpful in some circumstances, does not solve the problem. This action is more random than specific since the enemy you target is based on how Ayumi is positioned in battle. If three enemies are lined up, one in front of the other, good luck trying to pinpoint the monster you wish to target. The only bright side to this is that Ayumi’s attacks aren’t restricted to the enemy she’s targeting, allowing the player to button-mash through the crowd regardless of the camera’s focus.

Excluding the camera, Ayumi’s controls are quite good. She’s very fast – a pro at evasive maneuvers if there ever was one. Combo moves are of the traditional collection, allowing any knucklehead to mash their thumbs onto the controller and produce a spectacle of anime colors and polygonal blood. It’s far from exquisite but the excitement level should not be questioned – X-Blades may not have lived up to its potential but is surely a game that will keep players on their toes.

Unfortunately, that is not all it will do. In addition to short levels and cramped environments (which make the camera problems twice as frustrating), X-Blades is a game that wants to see how much the player can take. Monster droves are nothing new – we’ve been experiencing an onslaught of enemies since the days of Asteroids. But in this game, you’ll be faced with one primary goal and several distractions, which come in the form of one too many monsters. Crawling, low-to-the-ground monsters that can’t be attacked with ease; flying monsters that can only be reached with projectiles or a well-timed jump; boss monsters that are protected by dozens of minions that will reduce your health and the time spent battling your main target.

In most cases, the best way to deal with a large-scale threat is to unleash one of Ayumi’s magical powers. Single-shot fire blasts are good but wide-ranging dark spells are much more effective. In keeping with the theme of seeing how much the player can take, magic is a fleeting power. Referred to as “rage” power, magic is accumulated by collecting red crystals, which are held within enemies and some of the environments. Once the rage scale is full, you might be tempted to save it for the right moment. Big mistake. Rage power is lost whenever it’s not being used, forcing the player to constantly fight against a plethora of enemies (some of which are very cheap) and a magic system that automatically depletes.

Furthermore, monsters will re-spawn until the current level goal is met (until a boss or a certain number of enemies are defeated), typically in a more dangerous form than the previous.

X-Blades is a game that’s filled furious battles that are seriously flawed. It’s action-packed and packed with frustration. It’s repetitive and occasionally addictive. But to the gamer who knows this kind of gameplay (anyone that’s played through Onimusha, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden and their many clones), X-Blades will not be much more than a two-day rental to get them through this bitter gaming season. However, those who have stayed away from the action genre for the past eight years may very well find themselves impressed with X-Blades, even though it isn’t half the game it could have been.

Gameplay: 6.9
Gamers may cry if they were expecting this Devil May Cry knock-off to knock Dante off his pedestal. It's an exciting game but don't go in blindly; count on being frustrated throughout most every stage.

Graphics: 7.0
X-Blades has some beautiful cel-shaded visuals ...in the cut scenes. The game itself has some charming moments but usually mirrors the look of its competitors, albeit with less of an eye-popping effect.

Sound: 7.5
The sound effects are typical, the music is generally worth listening to, and the voice work is better than most (even though the story isn't).

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Take an easy action game, overburden the player with too many enemies, throw in a dash of cheapness, and you've got X-Blades' difficulty.

Concept: 5.0
Everything in X-Blades – every single element – has been taken from another game, including some that are nearly as old as PlayStation 2.

Overall: 6.9
The camera problems and unavoidable monster grind prevent X-Blades from reaching its full potential. But if you're willing to endure its problems, X-Blades is worth a try.