Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War

The game takes place during the Hundred Years War between France and England . The protagonist of the game acts as a mercenary soldier , who is free to choose the faction before each battle.

The reason for the start of the Hundred Years War was the claims of the English kings to the crown of France. After the death of the French king Charles IV, the last of the sons of the king of France Philip VI, his closest relative was the son of his only sister, the king of England Edward III. But the French peers rejected his candidacy, since according to “Salic truth” the woman has no right to inherit the king. Philip VI Count Valois, Philip IV's nephew, was elected new king. After that, the situation between the kingdoms escalated and developed into a war.

As the game progresses, various stories are told, vivid historical figures appear (such as Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Arc ). Between important missions, videos are shown and the plot is revealed related to the hero and events of that time.

The player is preparing for the battle in the tavern . There, he can meet with a merchant to buy items, talk to visitors and find out the latest news or interesting facts (these facts can then be found in a notebook), hire recruits for a personal team, adjust a character or sign a new contract with one of the military parties. There, in the tavern, it is possible to save and adjust the game (saving during the battle is not allowed).

After signing the contract, the player enters the preparatory phase - he has the opportunity to evaluate the card and choose the place of his appearance. This information menu gives information about the contract, its completion date and conditions and can be called up during the battle (without the possibility of saving).

The main character appears on the battlefield and can take under his command one of the units. The detachment at the same time receives a lot of advantages associated with the level of the character and his skills (skills). To command a specific type of troops, you must first study the appropriate book for this type.

During the battle subordinate units can be released and choose others. Fighting alone is also possible, but it will be extremely difficult.

Each type of troops has its own pros and cons and special attacks, for example, cavalry can throw spears , infantrymen make a powerful attack with shields .

The main character can buy various weapons to improve their fighting qualities and the qualities of the squad. In addition to weapons, there are banners that allow you to cause various efficiencies, such as the treatment of troops or increased mobility.

The goals of the game are different: capturing a certain city or area (you need to get to this place and defeat the guard unit), hold a position, etc. Usually missions are limited to several days and have different levels of difficulty (and corresponding rewards).

During the battle, the player finds various things on the battlefield, increases the level of his squad, gains fame points and enhances experience. If the standard of living reaches zero, the battle ends, the player loses glory points and continues to play in the tavern.

Books allow you to learn the management of new types of units.

A detailed description of the game can be found in the booklet attached to the game.

At the beginning of the game, it is possible to choose the figure of the main character - a man or a woman, about ten face variants and several types of voices. The differences are only cosmetic.

The main character communicates with the owner of the tavern, shows up from the third person (in the tavern from the first and the third), does not speak.

English Kingdom

• Edward, the Black Prince
• Sir John Chandos
• Hal (Heinrich), the future king ( Henry V (King of England) / Henry V of England)
• Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, ( en: Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick )
• John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
• Sir John Fastolf
• Sir Henry Percy
• Edward III , King of England (Edward III)
• Iamarl (Iamarl) (fictional character)
• Margaret / Branwyn (Margaret / Branwyn), a fictional character
• Philippa, a fictional character (probably got her name because of the wife of Edward III - Philippa Hainault)

Kingdom of France

• Joan of Arc ( Joan of Arc )
• La Gire , also Etienne de Vignolles (Fr. La Hire, also Étienne de Vignolles)
• Gilles de Rais (fr. Gilles de Rais)
• Philip III the Good , Herzog of Burgundy (Phillippe Le Bon, Duke of Burgundy)
• Marie (Marie) (fictional character)
• Arthur de Rishmon , Duke of Brittany (Arthur De Richemont Duke of Brittany)
• You Ji, fictional character
• Bertrand du Guesclin
• Jean (Jean), a fictional character
• Christine de Pizan
• King of France Philip (Philip VI of France)

Mercenaries

• Magnus, a friendly and respected mercenary (Magnus)
• Mark, wears the name "Iron" Wall (Marc, "Iron Wall").
• Joge, nicknamed "Sudden Death", Mark's brother (Georges "Sudden Death").
• Karen (Karen).
• Diana, the cursed mercenary, constantly communicates with Karen (Diane).
• Naran, a Mongol who often communicates with George (Naran)
• Yoshimas, a loyal and honest mercenary from the far east (Yoshimasa).
• Shakti (Shakti).
• William, the cowardly mercenary (William).
• John Hawkwood , legendary mercenary (John Hawkwood).
• Branwyn, a young Welshman, seeking to find recognition for her archer’s abilities, despite her young age and gender (Branwyn).

In the game you can find various types of items. Usually they appear after the capture of a strategic point or the victory over a strong warrior (squad leader). It can be money, weapons or cultural property (for example, expensive paintings or vases) that can be sold to a vendor in a tavern.

Banners play a big role in the game, with their help it is possible to temporarily improve the qualities of a squad or degrade the abilities of the enemy.

Arms and banners can be purchased from the seller. Total declared more than 400 types of weapons and objects (see the cover of the game).

A large variety of units is presented - from foot soldiers to cavalrymen and cannonmen. The detachments are not mixed, homogeneous. The hero can take control over the squad or later give up for the sake of another. In the tavern, you can hire recruits to summon them a certain number of times in battle.

Archers, crossbowmen and gunners allow targeted fire. Guns at the same time allow to shoot at a far distance.

Due to the high power of modern consoles it is possible to simultaneously display a large number of military units on the screen. The game has weather conditions (rain, fog) and a change of day and night (the battle stops at night), with a gradual change between morning, afternoon and evening.

The music for the game was written by composer Jamie Christopherson (Jamie Christopherson), who also worked on soundtracks for such games as Stranglehold, Lost Planet, Lord Of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth and The Golden Compass.

Choral singing in the game was actually done with the help of synthesizers and computers, since the budget did not allow to hire real musicians. The composer had previously studied the Latin pronunciation, in order to then use the computer to recreate the sound of a real choir. ^[one]

• The demo version of the game is available for download from the PSN Store. It presents the beginning of the game and one mission.
• Sixaxis features are not supported in the game.
• The game largely follows the mechanics of such games as Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors and Kessen III.
• The game does not support multiplayer games.
• To reduce download time, you can install the main game files on the hard disk. To do this, select the appropriate item in the game settings.

• Official site in Japan (jap.)
• Official website in the USA (eng.)
• Official site in UK
• Official website in france
• Official MySpace Profile
• KOEI Warriors - Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (not available link)
• Gametrailers.com game trailer
• Detailed explanations of the developers to the game (English)
• Fan site dedicated to the game