The Deadliest Warrior games, based on the Spike TV show, are not among those. The first game was simply awful, and the second one, Legends, while a marginal improvement, was still simply not worth the time. Plagued with bad design decisions and poor production values, the games overall reeked of a rushed, desperate attempt to cash in on the show’s craze.

Unfortunately, all of those adjectives can be used to describe Ancient Combat, this compilation of the first two games released via retail, as well. Everything, from the way the two games are handled on the disc (as downloads, which then have to be installed, after first exiting from the game disc menu), to some shocking oversights (Achievements scores add up only to 510 points, for instance), to the intolerably long loading times, means that the disc feels like a literal copy and pasting of the digital games onto a disc- the laziest sort of rehashing imaginable.

As for the games themselves? The Deadliest Warrior games are based on the premise of having famous figures from history square off against each other. While the first game features generic fighters, the second game gets bold, and names specific figures of note, such as Alexander, Joanne of Arc, Gengis Khan, Atila the Hun, and so many more. The game’s combat system initially seems highly attractive and intricate, striving, as it claims to, for realism. Unfortunately, while there seem to be a few good ideas here, the combat system in these games can be said to be for realistic fighting game combat systems what Angry Birds is to puzzle games- apparently it’s complicated and governed by some concrete rules, but what these are, no one can know, since everything seems random, and seems to happen on the whim of the game engine.

Fights sometimes seem to drag on for what seems like forever, with every attack blocked, swords clanging on shields, your opponents providing deft dodges. It doesn’t make any sense, then, how a single misplaced blow, or a stray arrow, can suddenly kill them and end the fight. Then there’s the added issue of every character feeling the same- or well, mostly the same.

In Deadliest Warrior, every character fills a specific niche (of which there aren’t even all that many), and within that niche, all the characters feel identical. To the game’s credit, it tries to mix and match it up, by providing unlockable armor and weapons, but this mostly falls flat as a transparent attempt at fixing an issue that is much deeper than the mostly cosmetic changes that the armor and weapons generally provide.

It also tries to add some depth to its baffling combat by having for dismembered limbs and injuries, both of which provide disabilities that last through the battle and actively hinder your character’s fighting style. Unfortunately, this too, like everything else in the game, seems totally random, and therefore, any scope for added strategy that it might have had is lost.

Online play functions surprisingly well, with the netcode in this game being smooth, with no lags, no hiccups, no hangups. Of course, finding a game in the first place is problematic, given that the online community literally seems dead.

There is nothing redeeming about this pair of games. At least it can be said that the second game genuinely tries to fix everything wrong with the first- it adds a new mode, for instance, that tries to be a turn based strategy/fighter hybrid, but kind of fails, and it has specific characters, rather than just generic figures. But that’s about it, and even then, it fails to address all the important problems, such as the problematic combat system. When the best part of this compilation is not the games themselves, but the episodes of the TV show that are provided on the second disc, you know that you have a problem. A problem that you’d do best to avoid, by keeping as far away from Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat as you can bring yourself to.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

345 Games had announced ‘Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat’.  It will be for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 costing $39.99. Ancient Combat will combine the Xbox LIVE Arcade/PlayStation Network Games “Deadliest Warrior: Legend”s and “Deadliest Warrior: The Game” together on on disc with exclusive footage from the TV Show on Spike. For the first time the Deadliest Warrior games and all its DLC will be available on a retail disc.  It will hit shelves in North America this December.  Full Press Release below.

New York, NY –September 29, 2011– 345 Games announced today that “Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat” is coming to Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

Based on the successful multi-platform Spike TV series “Deadliest Warrior” that pits two of the most feared warriors civilization has ever known against each other, “Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat” is a disc-based game/TV show hybrid that combines the wildly popular downloadable console games, “Deadliest Warrior: The Game,” “DeadliestWarrior: Legends” including all downloadable content packs, new game features and exclusive TV show content. Fans of the show will be treated to never-before-released episodes from all three seasons.

Players are armed with all the characters and weapons from both “DW: The Game” and “DW: Legends”, along with a huge arsenal of additional weapons and features found only on disc. Additional game content that is exclusive to “DW: Ancient Combat” includes a ‘Graveyard’ playable arena and 30 new weapons for the “DW: Legends” warriors, including a ‘Lochaber Axe’ for William Wallace, a ‘Monk’s Spade’ for Sun Tzu and a ‘Tsonga Battle Axe’ for Shaka Zula. The game will be fully compatible for online play with all versions of the game.

Do you have what it takes to be the “Deadliest Warrior”? Rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB, “Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat” will launch in December 2011 and MSRP for $29.99 at North American retailers everywhere. For more information about “Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat” please visit www.deadliestwarrior.com or follow the game on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/deadliestwarrior.

ABOUT 345 GAMES

345 Games, the  video gaming arm of COMEDY CENTRAL and Spike TV, develops products based on the MTV Networks Entertainment Group’s franchises and brands. The first two titles to be released under this label included COMEDY CENTRAL’s hit animated show “Ugly Americans” and Spike TV’s successful multi-platform series “Deadliest Warrior.”

ABOUT DEADLIEST WARRIOR

Each week on Spike TV’s “Deadliest Warrior”, a new episode will pit two of the most feared warriors civilization has ever known against each other. Along with the use of 21st century science and the latest in CGI technology, each episode enlists warrior-specific world-class fighters and experts to provide insight into what makes these combatants tick, analyzing every facet of their unique skills of destruction, culminating in a head-to-head final fight between two legends of the battlefield that will produce the deadliest warrior. Other highly-anticipated showdowns this season include: Joan of Arc vs. William the Conqueror, Saddam Hussein vs. Pol Pot, Hannibal vs. Genghis Khan, US Army Rangers vs. North Korean Special Operations Force. Check out “Deadliest Warrior” on Facebook.

Spike Games today launched downloadable content for the warrior-based fighting game, “Deadliest Warrior: The Game” for Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. The downloadable content  is available for a retail price of $5 and adds three new warriors each with their own unique weapons and armor, a Skirmish Mode for competitive versus battle with up to four warriors, medium range taunts for all warriors in the game and online titles that allow players to show off their rankings in online play, among other features.

“We couldn’t be more excited to deliver additional content that will truly enhance the ‘Deadliest Warrior: The Game’ experience all around and offer value,” said Dan Yang, senior vice president, strategy and business development, MTV Networks Entertainment Group. “Our fan base has been very passionate about the game and we’re looking forward to giving them features that they’ve asked for while retaining the flavor of the franchise.”

Features of the DLC include three new warriors including the Rajput, Zande and Shaolin Monk – all of which were selected based on popular demand from fans on Spike.com. A new Skirmish Mode will allow players to pick up to four of their favorite warriors and fight consecutive versus battles with each until all warriors from each side are defeated in the game. Also included are titles for online mode, which will showcase each player’s rank for their warrior and based on their in-game performance. Lastly, each of the original eight warriors featured in the game will be given a new medium range taunt which can be performed if the character is in their medium weapon stance.

In addition to the game and DLC, both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players can enjoy a slew of in-game rewards and extras available for purchase, including avatars and themes. All content is available to gamers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.