Publisher Says Golden Axe Doesn't Suck, You Do

Kris Erickson • Oct 21, 2008 • Comments (0)

It is never a good sign when a lone voice stands up to defend a highly-anticipated title against the rest of the gaming press. It happened with Lair, it happened with Too Human, and we all know how that worked out for the companies involved. While Sega has so far remained quiet, magazine publisher Dave Halverson has stepped into the harsh glare of the media spotlight to defend their most recent release, Golden Axe: Beast Rider. Most critics have not been particularly friendly to Sega's recent actioner, based on the arcade-era classic, Golden Axe. Reviewers have slammed the title for its befuddling control scheme and directionless gameplay (the game currently has a metacritic score of 44/100).

Retro remakes can be tricky. Bolstered by the belief that hardcore gamers will buy it no matter what, developers sometimes make unbelievably bad choices. Capcom has proven adept at remaking its old 2D sidescrollers (Mega Man and Ghosts 'n Goblins have both made triumphant returns on the PSP). They have been successful largely because they have taken great pains to ensure that core gameplay mechanics remain identical to the earlier source material. Sega took somewhat of a risk with Golden Axe Beast Rider, and it didn't necessarily pay off.

Here is what Halverson had to say to the gaming press after the game scored poorly at their merciless hands:

"Regarding many of the “reviews” on Sega’s Golden Axe: Beast Rider: Be wary. The majority of these people (can’t call them critics) either didn’t complete a fraction of the game, don’t understand game design, or just plain suck at games. The words “Hack ‘n’ Slash” are an instant red flag. Beast Rider is anything but. Mindlessly flailing in frustration because you can’t get the game's simple controls/timing down is no way to play the game."

The classic "you suck at games" defense has been used before, with limited success. When 80% of the gaming public doesn't "get" your control scheme well enough to make the game enjoyable, it might be time to take things back to the drawing board. It will be interesting to see how this lone appeal to real gamers plays out in the blogosphere, but we can't imagine it having much of an effect on software sales.