SouthPeak announces anime slasher X-Blades

by Dustin Burg { Feb 29th 2008 at 2:30PM }

Earlier this morning, SouthPeak Games announced that it's bringing X-Blades, a third person anime hack and slash, to the Xbox 360 later this year. And from the press release (viewable after the break) it sounds like X-Blades is some sort of anime gone wild, death and destruction fest of magical enchanted'ness. That's the best way we can describe it. Analyze the press release and analyze the "blade-swinging bombshell" Ayumi in the three screenshots below. Anyone feeling the X-Blades?

Gallery: X-Blades

SOUTHPEAK GAMES TO REDEFINE HACK-AND-SLASH ACTION GAMEPLAY WITH "X-BLADES"

Blade-Swinging Blonde Bombshell Battles Evil In Anime-Inspired Adventure

Grapevine, Texas – February 29, 2008 - SouthPeak Games today announced that it will release X-Blades, a third-person hack-and-slash action title for next-gen consoles and PC, in late 2008. In the game, players control an enchanting anime-style heroine that destroys anything in her path using guns, blades, magic, and a healthy dose of cinematic flair.

"The unique anime backdrop combined with the high-octane gameplay really takes X-Blades into brand new territory," said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. "This genre needs a fresh take and this game delivers."

X-Blades features a special combination of cinematic style, beautiful animation, and relentless, high speed gameplay. Players assume the role of Ayumi, a stunningly seductive yet tenacious heroine who battles enemies with her pistol blades, acrobatic ability, and magic spells. With full anime cut scenes, the story unfolds revealing demonic powers and spectacular landscapes, all ripe for exploration and battles.

"We are big fans of anime and that was really our inspiration for X-Blades," said James Seaman, Managing Director at TopWare Interactive. "Our goal was to create stylistic characters and artwork, and mix that with lightning fast action. The result is a killer title that gamers and animation fans won't be able to put down."

More information on X-Blades will be coming soon.

In January, SouthPeak Interactive, LLC and Global Services Partners Acquisition Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: GSPA, GSPAB, GSPAW, GSPAZ) jointly announced that they have agreed to a business combination resulting in a new publicly held entity that will be called SouthPeak Interactive Corporation. The transaction will allow SouthPeak to access the public markets to accelerate its growth strategy and take advantage of strong industry growth trends.

About SouthPeak Games
SouthPeak Interactive, LLC develops and publishes interactive entertainment software for all current hardware platforms including: PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox360™ video game and entertainment system, Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PC. SouthPeak's games cover all major genres including action/adventure, role- playing, racing, puzzle/strategy, fighting and combat. SouthPeak's products are sold in retail outlets in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. SouthPeak is headquartered in Midlothian, Virginia, and has offices in Grapevine, Texas and London, England. http://www.southpeakgames.com

About TopWare
TopWare Interactive is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company publishes interactive consumer software products in North America and is establishing a vast portfolio from budget to console.

Tags: southpeak, southpeak-games, x-blades

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Kato @ Feb 29th 2008 2:50PM

Am I the only one that read that headline as "SouthPark Games"?

Neuromancer @ Feb 29th 2008 2:51PM

A new game by the maker of Two Worlds and Monster Madness? Where do I sign up???

Drewtlo @ Feb 29th 2008 2:53PM

Oh boy if the ads say "In the tradition of Two Worlds"... then I'm definitely there. There as in at the counter at GameStop paying for something other then another subpar release from SouthPeak.

Drewtlo @ Feb 29th 2008 2:55PM

I just saw the bit about redifining Hack n Slash games! If this redefines Hack n Slash the same way Two Worlds redefined RPGs then all it will do will make me want to play a better game! When I played Two Worlds I was reminded how great Oblivion is, so when I play this can I expect to be reminded how much fun Devil May Cry 4 is?

Tony @ Feb 29th 2008 3:04PM

In their defense, they didn't actually publish Monster Madness lol. I wish that turned out though, the world needs a modernized Zombies Ate My Neighbors. I wish LucasArts would just put that up on Live.

This looks pretty uninteresting, either way. It's like a poorer looking version of DMC4 with an anime character stuffed in.

Tony @ Feb 29th 2008 3:05PM

Sorry, I meant to say "develop". They did publish it, obviously.

Neuromancer @ Feb 29th 2008 3:11PM

Tony I'm with you, Zombies Ate My Neighbors was a classic and I was hoping Monster Madness was going to be a spiritual sequel. All it was was terrible, however.

ccc @ Feb 29th 2008 3:22PM

I will keep myself optimistic about this project despite the failures of Two Worlds. Gotta remember that TW was like thier first project, who knows maybe they got better maybe they didn't.
But seriously, can anyone believe IGNorince.com rated two worlds 2 points higher than Dark Messiah?
I am done with that site.

Neuromancer @ Feb 29th 2008 4:16PM

Man I haven't looked at IGNominy.com (never actually called it that before but it sound funny) in years. All opinions are valid I guess but I just don't like their overall reviewing philosophy. Hard to believe good sites like TeamXbox and Rotten Tomatoes have gotten sucked into the IGN network.

Kabapu @ Feb 29th 2008 9:51PM

At first I was gonna say, "What? Another Japanese game coming to the 360 and not the PS3?"

Then I realized it said "next-gen systems" ...

Then I realized it's not Japanese ... just some American game inspired by Japanese anime.

Either way, the screen-shots don't really "wow" me. Besides the fact that she's way too tan and way too blonde (and wearing Sonic the Hedgehog's shoes) ... the environment seems rather flat.

SABCA @ Mar 1st 2008 12:38AM

Eh... those are some poorly directed screenshots. If the game is so cinematic, why are the screenshots lacking good direction and setup?

The word "Anime" came off as a planted buzzword in that press release. They sounded like they where trying WAY too hard.

However, this looks like it could be roughly interesting if it is well developed, and anything that doesn't look like a generic American FPS on the 360 is a welcome idea.

I wonder if the "Anime" cutscenes will be japanese-created cel-work, or 3d CG/in-engine....