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The four races and "discovery."
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A role-playing game just isn't a role-playing game if you don't have a say in what kind of character you use, and you can expect Blade to stick with that philosophy. You have the choice of playing as a dwarf, a barbarian, a knight, or an amazon. I think the barbarians sound like the race I would want to use, because it's always fun to charge into a battle with no armor, and instead rely on speed and strength to lop off limbs and take pleasure in a blood soaked battlefield. There are also brave knights who like to use that 'armor' stuff so as not to have their skin scratched or cut, but it remains to be seen whether or not their fighting skills in tournaments held amongst themselves will be powerful enough to face the perils that lie ahead. The only available female character to play as is an amazon, and she wields a bow and arrow because nothing says "ouch!" like firing a sharpened arrow into the eye of a disgusting orc. Lastly, you may choose to play as a dwarf, a race that is nearly immune to magic or poison, and can endure great hardships. They also brandish giant axes to rip enemies to shreds, and that's always a plus when you're out to save the world.
One "theme" you might find in Blade is that of discovery. Not the sort of discovery that involves walking into your parent's bedroom to see if they're ok after all of the screaming you heard, but rather the type that lets you toy with new weapons and items to find out how they work. According to Blade's Project Manager, Xavier Carrillo Costa, each character will have their own set of weapons of different types, like: normal, special, extra crispy, and magic. Each weapon will have it's own attributes, and you would be well off to figure them out early in use. It's never fun to discover your newly found axe really shouldn't be used to block enemy attacks when it breaks on you earlier than it should have. If you know a weapon is prone to breaking if used to block enemy attacks, your leg is always a good shield for an orc's sword swing. I mean, who needs to walk around anyway? Oh, right… Well, I'd like to talk more about weapons, but according to Costa, "The weapons are one of the most secret things we have." Stupid conspiracies and secrets.
Curious as to what types of items would heal the characters, I went ahead and asked Costa. Apparently, there won't be any med kits in the midst of dwarven mines, but you can use foods such as bread or cheese to heal yourself, as well as potions. One thing I've never understood about RPGs is best explained through this log I made up… erm… I mean found, of a discussion between my friend and I:
Me: Oh my God! My chest was punctured with a large sword! I'm bleeding to death! My character can't die now! Not now! Nooo!
Friend: Dude, chill out, give him some bread.
Me: Bread? What are you nuts! Since when does bread seal up gaping wounds and keep people from bleeding!?
Friend: Haven't you played an RPG before? Eat the damn bread.
And with that I had my character consume the bread, and instantly he felt rejuvenated and whole again, and the bleeding stopped. I often wish to find such magic bread in real life, but alas, it only seems to exist in mythical worlds and games.
As fascinating as bread is, I think it's time to move on and discuss how wounds are induced in the first place, namely by angry villains following a strong central figure bad guy. There will be over 25 different races of enemies (and variations within the race), including a lot of traditional enemies such as trolls, orcs, spiders, really mean goats, and even dragons. Also, there is a lot of work being put into the enemy AI so you won't experience the kind of gameplay that's as entertaining as beating a log with a tennis shoe. Each enemy race will have it's own fighting style, and the different races will also act in different ways. For example, the dumber orcs may quarrel amongst themselves or simply try and kill you individually instead of organizing an attack, but smarter enemies would band together and circle your character, making bad puns about his or her clothing and then moving in for the attack. Speaking of clothing, you can't dress up a dwarf in a dress or put an amazon in a string bikini, but with all of the other cool features this game will have, honestly, who cares?
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