Brave: A Warrior's Tale is a charmingly atmospheric platformer. By that, I don't mean it takes place in the clouds, I mean that everything about the game is based on Native American themes and mythos. Much of the combat involved is of the light action variety, and takes place using appropriate Native American weaponry like tomahawks, bows/arrows, torches (for weapons with the element of fire), and ice picks (for ice/cold), and so forth. Generically, Brave will fight enemies until he identifies a source, at which point he can move in and wipe it out. The enemies are (of course) appropriate, with wendigo being the top level badguys, and lesser threats coming from aggressive wildlife, and things of that nature.
The original Brave, on the PS2, had 8 large levels which make a comeback in this version VIA flashback. Once you're done "remembering" those, you can move the plot forward through 4 new (large) levels, for a total of 12 included with the title. A female playable character is included if that's the way you roll, though it doesn't affect the game. This new version also includes redone rendering engines, that add tremendous depth of field, as well as improved environments and ambient effects. A feature of the game is a seamless world without loading screens, so your adventure platforming will never be interrupted by a progress bar loading up the next giant tree beneath a picture of a wendigo.
In addition to battling away with his weapon set, Brave will gain mystical powers through questing out and about in nature. These quest are themed on particular animals, and will reward Brave appropriately based on the animal in question. I mean, you're not going to get any fire-breathing powers by completing the wild salmon quest!!! The quest that I saw had Brave tracking the nimble squirrel through the forest. First, you have to FIND Mr. Squirrel in the forest, and once you spot him he takes off running with Brave in hot pursuit. Eventually, Brave chased the squirrel up a tree - but couldn't make his way up after it. No problem, a few bird calls later, we had an avian friend fly over to investigate, and land in the tree. This scared the squirrel enough to jump down, and Brave pounced - trapping the squirrel for a quest victory. The reward was a new power involving climbing, which should help in future ... squirrel tracking. As Brave gained power, his headdress became fancier. We're led to believe that finishing the whole thing is a significant part of advancing the plot, which is again a very theme-appropriate progression.
All in all, Brave looks like a light platformer with potential. Brave on PS2 had a lot of fans, so we'll see how it all comes together on the modern systems when it's finished up!
I'm a volleyball playing nomad who's been blowing up aliens, scoring touchdowns/goals, dogfighting, slaying dragons, mowing down hordes of enemy tanks, headshotting, and saving damsels in distress since my dad brought home the very first Atari system. My game-tastes are very diverse, as I enjoy street racers, sports games (especially "hyper" sports games like, say, NFL Street), shooters, RPGs, a good MMO here and there, and pretty much anything else that doesn't involve a Pokemon!
