Village Chief and elder Brave spends his days telling stories to the young members of his tribe, passing down wisdom from his ancestors and teaching the children lessons through his tales. His latest yarn tells how he, as a younger Brave, defeated the evil spirit Wendigo. His tale is so vivid that the children can almost see it happening right in front of them. Join young Brave in this 3-D action platform jumping adventure based on Native American folklore and mythology.

Brave: A Warrior’s Tale for the 360 and Wii (360 version reviewed here) plays like a cross between Zelda’s tool-based puzzles and combat mixed with Mario’s platform jumping antics. Brave can do all the things you’d expect a 3-D game hero to do, run, double jump, swim, attack, etc. Brave moves quickly and play control is smooth and easy to learn.

At first, Brave must find sticks to fend off aggressive animals and evil spirits (also handy for lighting torches), but later on he’ll earn a tomahawk for close range combat as well as a bow and arrows for long distance attacks. On his adventures, Brave will row a canoe through rough river rapids, hunt wolves in wooded forests, try spear fishing in shallow waters, and soar across cloud-covered canyons. Learn new skills and goals by finding and reading cave paintings, and mimic animals sounds to lure creatures out in the open. Use Brave’s tracking skills to uncover footprints leading to secret totems that unlock goodies in the game. Brave can even summon animal spirits to help him overcome obstacles. Fly over canyons with the Eagle Spirit or defeat waves of undead warriors at the burial grounds as the powerful Bear Spirit.

There are only two problems with Brave: A Warrior’s Tale: one minor, and one major. The minor problem is that the graphics on the Xbox 360 version look a little dated, like they belong on the PS2. But this really doesn’t hinder the game at all. But the major problem is the horrific camera angles that really do mess up the gameplay from time to time. You’ll just have to get used to wrestling with the camera in places. But other than that, Brave: A Warrior’s Tale is a surprisingly fun little 3-D adventure that the whole family can enjoy.

Kid Factor:
Brave: A Warrior’s Tale is rated E-10 for Everyone 10 and up with ESRB descriptors of Animated Blood and Cartoon Violence. So far, I haven’t seen any blood in the game, though. But plenty of squishy beetle guts. When you defeat enemies, they either disappear in a puff of sparklies, or they just run away. Some very young children might get a little frightened at some of the scenes involving the undead, but most of the game is safe for players of all ages. If a kid gets stuck, the game provides plenty of hints to help out, but reading skill is needed for all the text. Young players and less experienced gamers may still need help getting past some of the trickier obstacles, though (like the canoe ride). Luckily the game saves your progress often and gives you unlimited tries so you don’t have to start over too far back. Brave: A Warrior’s Tale is an unexpectedly fun 3-D romp that kids can really get into.

Tags: Game Reviews