PS3 Xbox 360

Golden Axe: Beast Rider

Hack and slash/Beat 'em up

Plays offline: Yes

Overview

Golden Axe: Beast Rider is a 2008 action-adventure video game developed by Secret Level and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the first 3D entry in the Golden Axe franchise. The game was released in North America on October 14, 2008, in Europe on October 17, and in Australia on October 23.

Beast Rider is the first Golden Axe game in 3D as opposed to side-scrolling hack and slash. While this is a major shift in game style from the previous games, Beast Rider maintains many of the elements from the originals, such as magic and riding beasts, as well as sending the player on a quest to defeat Death Adder.

The main protagonist is Tyris Flare, a great Amazon warrior defender of the Axirian Priestesses, a sect of dragon worshippers from the Isle of Axir, and the princess of Firewood Kingdom. Tyris' skills in combat and magic are almost unsurpassed, but there is a danger rising over Axir that even she must fear. Death Adder's armies are on the move. They are after the power of the ancient Dragon Titan. It is rumored that even Death Adder fears something about the Titans, though nobody really knows what power they possess over this dark lord.

The project's development began in mid 2005 as Secret Level simultaneously worked on a new game engine and toolset for the project. Most of the studio's directors were directly involved at this stage. The early progress was quick and impressive, leading Sega to move to acquire the studio on April 3, 2006. Secret Level was able to get in contact with series creator Makoto Uchida who praised the game production and gave his blessings to proceed with the project.