| Blade | |
| Developer: | HammerHead (PlayStation) HAL Corporation (Game Boy Color) Avit Inc. (Game Boy Color) |
| Publisher: | Activision |
| Director: | Paul Hunter (PlayStation) Andy Ingram (PlayStation) Chris Stanforth (PlayStation) |
| Designer: | Raoul Barnett (PlayStation) Hiroyuki Sekimoto (Game Boy Color) |
| Platforms: | Game Boy Color, PlayStation |
| Genre: | Action |
| Modes: | Single-player |
Blade is an action game based on the 1998 film Blade. It was developed by HammerHead for the PlayStation in 2000, and by HAL Laboratory and Avit Inc. for the Game Boy Color. The game was published by Activision and serves as a prequel to the movie, following the adventure of Blade with help of his mentor and friend Abraham Whistler. Reviews were mixed, with criticism of the graphics, camera, controls, and voice acting.
The player takes control of Blade as he makes his way through various vampire-infested locations in order to defeat the head vampire menace. The player ventures through warehouses, sewers, museums, city streets, and nightclubs dispatching numerous types of enemies ranging from familiars (humans that do a vampire's bidding), vampires, zombies, monsters, killer dogs, and other creatures of the night. Blade has a small arsenal of weapons to arm himself with courtesy of Whistler. Blade has his sword but can use his fists as well as a variety of firearms including pistols, shotguns, and machine pistols. Each firearm has three different types of ammunition: standard, explosive, and silver, each with its own effect on different enemies. Blade is equipped with a "multi-launcher" that can shoot all sorts of things to kill vampires, like silver glaives and UV grenades.
The PlayStation version of Blade received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. David Smith of IGN called it "Much too little much too late. There might have been a good game here once, but not anymore." Samuel Bass of NextGen said, "With the actual film available on DVD for half the price, why waste your time with this inferior spin-off?" Michael "Major Mike" Weigand of GamePro said of the game, "Comic fans looking for a decent game adaptation should stick with Spider-Man. Blade is a kick-ass hero in the comics and movies, but take away the 'kick' and what you're left with adequately describes this game."[1]
The Game Boy Color version received more positive reviews. Marc Nix of IGN called it "Violent, visceral, bloody action on the Game Boy Color, just how you like it."