Games

Best of 2008 | 07 | 06 | 05
Advanced Search

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider

EMAIL PRINTxbox360

7.1 User Score:

Generally unfavorable reviews

Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 20 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >

Game Info

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Secret Level

Genre(s): Action, Role-Playing Game

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: October 14, 2008

Summary

Golden Axe: Beast Rider delivers action-RPG thrills as a small band of Riders embark on an epic adventure to recruit allies, expose the enemy and prevent the annihilation of their breed. Delivering an intense and unique combat experience, players charge into battle on the backs of ferocious beasts or take their chances with the enemy while on foot. Fighting skill, wits and even magic are all called into action as players immerse themselves in the struggle to defeat an evil intent on enslaving the remains of civilization. [Sega]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website Predict this Metascore

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

AtomicGamer

Beast Rider is far from perfect, and it won’t overthrow Kratos' Greek empire anytime soon.

Read Full Review >

GameDaily

The graphics and sound are great, and the numerous challenges and arena modes offer some diversity. If you're up for a quick hack-and-slash game, rent it. If you want a game with depth, however, this Axe needs sharpening.

Read Full Review >

Team Xbox

Although Golden Axe: Beast Rider honors its roots and does a nice job of storytelling, it fails to deliver on the all-important technical side of things.

Read Full Review >

Game Informer

Eschewing the expected hack-n’-slash mindlessness, a timing-based evasion and blocking system is required to master the melee. It’s not enough to save an otherwise lackluster effort, but Secret Level was definitely on to something with the combat.

Read Full Review >

Game Revolution

Ditch the “Golden Axe” moniker and just call this baby “Beast Rider”. Like those old ‘80s barbarian fantasy flicks that also had their share of serious faults, Beast Rider is blunt, exploitative, and plenty of fun when no one else is watching.

Read Full Review >

3DJuegos

Golden Axe: Beast Rider confuses the tribute to retro with the flat and boring gameplay. The new game of SEGA is mediocre in every aspect, and comes as a failure in its attempt to recover a legendary name and turn it into a worthy product of Next-Gen platforms.

Read Full Review >

Jolt Online Gaming UK

While it’s kind of cool to see a new take on such an old game, the presence of a muddy palette and outdated game mechanics combined with the inexplicable absence of co-op makes Beast Rider forgettable and so much less than it could have been.

Read Full Review >

Destructoid

Not even the inclusion of co-op would have made this one any the better, no matter how angry you might be that it was excluded.

Read Full Review >

Meristation

This game is initially promising, stunning even. Graphics and animation are impressive, but looking beyond that, we find a game which lacks deepness. The main character doesn't have enough movements and feels limited, the camera management is poor and the graphical engine suffers and has imperfections that ruin the initial impressions of a game that could be way better.

Read Full Review >

GameSpot

This half-hearted revival attempt leaves Golden Axe lifeless and dull.

Read Full Review >

Official Xbox Magazine UK

Exactly like the original, and that's a bad thing. [Dec 2008, p.94]

Worth Playing

I don't believe that there's anything inherently wrong with Sega trying to do something different with the series, but by taking away a feature that many fans wanted and offering nothing compelling in exchange, Beast Rider will have a hard time appealing to both series fans and those who are just looking for a decent action game.

Read Full Review >

Xbox360Achievements

A repetitive and badly made game that makes me wonder if the series has any kind of future. This game feels extremely rushed and just can’t compare to games of a similar ilk.

Read Full Review >

Cheat Code Central

It's a hack-and-slash, so there isn't any compelling depth lurking under the surface. The extra modes – Challenge and Trials of Tyris – are just extended hack and slash sessions. Where's the two-player support?

Read Full Review >

Planet Xbox 360

Beast Rider deserves a place in the gaming hall of shame, easily one of the worst titles on 360 and with an obscene price-point to boot.

Read Full Review >

PTGamers

Lacking co-op and the rest of the cast, Beast Rider seems more like a market study than the complete Golden Axe experience we could expect.

Read Full Review >

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

Another 'classic' Sega franchise turns to bum gravy. Sonic, eat your heart out. [Jan 2009, p.67]

Xbox World Australia

Let's get serious; Beast Rider is a game to be avoided.

Read Full Review >

Games Master UK

Stamps on our fondness for the original until all of the squishy bits ooze out of the sides. [Christmas 2008, p.73]

VideoGamer

Golden Axe is the latest classic franchise to disappoint on new hardware, and we can't help but think it's a huge wasted opportunity. Beast Rider even fails to include multiplayer support, something that was core to the original game, confirming its fate as a sub-par hack 'n' slash.

Read Full Review >

G4 TV

While the counter-attacks and the beasts add something to the lacklustre gameplay, everything else from cameras to enemies makes it a chore to slog through one end of a level to another.

Read Full Review >

Thunderbolt

The combat can be fun, but ultimately it’s rather boring and uninspired, the beasts are sluggish and unresponsive, and the defence is just plain annoying.

Read Full Review >

X360 Magazine UK

While you may enjoy the combat and beasts, the whole game is just far too tedious and it’s missing everything that made the original great.

Read Full Review >

GameZone

Poorly conceived and quite dull in nearly every way, Golden Axe: Beast Rider is one of those missed opportunities that could have brought the series to a new generation of gamers. Instead it takes a linear route that makes this a game even Golden Axe fans will certainly want to avoid.

Read Full Review >

GamePro

Fans hoping for a worthwhile update to one of gaming's most revered hack-and-slash franchises will be sorely disappointed by this poorly designed and utterly mediocre title.

Read Full Review >

Official Xbox Magazine

We expect a few things from a modern arcade-style brawler: reasonably placed checkpoints, more than one playable character, varied enemies, and multiplayer. Golden Axe: Beast Rider, Sega’s reinvention of the arcade classic, delivers none of them. Perhaps the worst oversight of the bunch is the lack of multiplayer options.

Read Full Review >

GameFocus

Beast Rider makes all the right attempts to become relevant again (3-D, bloody combat) but stumbles so badly on the fundamentals that you wished the game was axed from development to begin with.

Read Full Review >

IGN

This is a game worth avoiding like the plague, even if the classic remains deep and warm within your heart.

Read Full Review >

Eurogamer

SEGA might as well have released this as The Adventures of Fiery Boob Lady, and left their mothballed franchise with at least modicum of dignity.

Read Full Review >

Gamer.nl

If you ever plan to design a hack & slash-game, you should definitely play Golden Axe: Beast Rider. It's the perfect example of what not to do.

Read Full Review >

Gamestyle

If you need a Golden Axe fix you can get the original game with co-op on XBLA for 400 points, and we guarantee it’ll be a more enjoyable experience than Beast Rider, which has only served to put another nail in the coffin of one of Sega’s biggest hits.

Read Full Review >

WonderwallWeb

Even writing about Golden Axe: Beast Rider is depressing me, the sooner I get this game out of my head the better, and all I can say to those nostalgic fans out there who want a taste of the new Golden Axe is, keep those good memories of yesteryears game in your head and avoid this game at all costs.

Read Full Review >

1UP

With the exclusion of co-op -- what people really want to play -- and the constant hint that a sequel's already on the way, Beast Rider feels like a difficult, drawn-out, $60 tutorial. Why bother?

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 20 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

John S. gave it a10:
This game is so amazing, I'd go as far to say it is the best game to ever grace the Xbox, this makes master chef seem like a turd. If you don't buy this game you're doing yourself a disservice, not to mention your duty to the good of this world. If they could manage to put this on the Wii it could be even better cause Fox could play with you and your Mii. PS:those reviewers are completely biased.

Dr. S. gave it a10:
allow me to begin by stating that my hands and fingers are gigantic and i cant help but strike 8 keys with every stroke. i am so filled with furious anger by the 19 lbs pile of suck called golden axe, that i typed this with my nose. id rather spend six months rolling around naked in a dumpster filled with dead hobos and razor blades in the middle of july than play another minute of this hot sweaty pile of jiggling phlegm. but it had a really good camera system.

Nick B gave it an8:
A great brawler with a little action rpg fun thrown in, and a fun continuation of the franchise. The main downside is lack of multiplayer co-op; if the game had that it would have been perfect. The modelling is well done, the controls are smooth enough that even a guy like me who played the very first Golden Axe as a teenager can figure it out, and the beast mastery is a lot of fun, although some of the beasts seem to be made of tissue paper. Much better than the critics suggest, and makes me wonder if some of them even bothered to play more than a few minutes of it. For the type of game it is (action rpg brawler) this is pretty good.

RaelXX gave it an8:
I'm actually surprised by this game. The combat system is enjoyable with its somewhat different defense system. Tyris sword hits hard and painful and that's good enough. The mount system is only a little difficult to use because of the creatures' movement, though it's very rewarding if well used. Tyris is also a fashion amazon as it seems she enjoys using different clothes on different occasions, like our friend Starkiller.

Games

Sony

Microsoft

Nintendo

Other Platforms

Upcoming &Recent Releases

Golden Axe: Beast Rider

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

Upcoming &
Recent Releases