Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey Preview

The Italian film director Sergio Leone was known internationally for his spaghetti westerns, the movies that catapulted Clint Eastwood to stardom while giving a take on the American West that, while not accurate by any means, was still entertaining. Part of the problem with Leone’s interpretation of the setting was that he seemed to confuse most of the Old West with Old Mexico.

Why is this appropriate in discussing a video game? Because Swashbucklers: Blue and Grey – a PC title from Akella, IC and published by Atari – it seems that Leone’s settings have been taken as the model for the conflict between the states, otherwise known as the Civil War. Visit Tampa and you will see adobe buildings, western sheriffs and cactus.

And the hero, Abraham, looks like a Clint Eastwood wannabe as he strolls around town, complete with jingling spurs and poncho. He can even use a six gun or his sword when it comes to fighting the various ruffians he will encounter. 

The game, ostensibly, takes place during the Civil War is supposed to work off the privateering that took place. The battle between the North (the Blue) and the South (Grey) has given way to combat on the high seas. The South, desperate to keep supply lines open, has turned to privateers to accomplish what its naval forces could not. Smuggling is embraced, seemingly from both sides. Into this dynamic is tossed Abraham, a mercenary who can run missions, it would seem, for either side.

The game moves from 3D to side-scroller for duels

Abraham talks to himself. Well, at least throughout the beginning phases of the game. His conscience shows up and guides him through the nuances of the game’s mechanics. This is a bit of an RPG (role-playing game) in that Abraham will fight, gain experience and then be able to level up character stats in one of three areas (shooting, fencing and defense) as well as gain perks appropriate to the level. Early perks would include the ability to dodge attacks, or to gain more loot after a sea battle, or even give his steam-driven engine a boost.

As for the sea battles, and all the battles for that matter, you follow a familiar thread. You can engage a ship at sea or sail away from it. If you engage, you run up your sails and then play a game of chase in which you try to get broadside to fire your cannons and then turn quickly to avoid incoming cannon shots. The physics that might pertain to moving a ship at sea, such as turn times, wind problems, swells and so forth, have been removed, making for a bit of an arcade experience. After you have disabled the ship, you can move in and board the vessel. This also follows a familiar pattern. You take on a couple of waves of sailors, and then fight the ship’s captain. In the former fight, you can use either your sword or your pistol. The latter is not that effective and you just waste bullets. You can drop 10 shots or more into an enemy and they will stagger and then either melee back with a sword or use their rifle to shoot you.

The battle with the captain is a bit different. This is a sword duel and you swing either high or low using the left and right mouse buttons. You can only do this so long and then you have to regenerate your power and go into a defensive mode – in actuality, this all plays out like a matter of taking turns. You use the space bar (which is the action hot key) in conjunction with the W and S keys to block high or low. After a health bar is depleted (either yours or your enemy’s), the fight is over.

If you are successful, you have several ensuing options. You can burn the ship, auction it off, or replace your own ship.

Venturing into a town means the opportunity to pick up missions. You can only carry one mission at a time.

Though this game is still in rough preview build, the game is not as far along as its upcoming release date would suggest. The dialogue consisted mostly of “bleh, bleh, bleh, bleh” (and that would be the approximate sound with text underscoring it to tell you what was really being said), and the music was annoying after about 10 minutes. The graphics were not at full speed, suggesting a frame rate issue, and the controls are clunky.

Swashbuckler is a game that seems to be trying to capture a setting and is missing the mark. This is a game that may appeal to those who do not have a lot of experience in PC gaming, but for those who expect more up-to-date graphics and sound, and a bit deeper gameplay, this title might be lacking those requirements.