Line #22 VideoGame/DieByTheSword


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
2
3	->"''You fight like a kobold!''"
4	-->-- '''Enric'''
5
6	A 1998 hack-and-slash game made by Treyarch, notable for its unique "VSIM" control scheme that allows players to position their swords at one-to-one correspondence with your computer mouse movement in a full 360 degree range. To slash enemies, you simply move the sword from one side to the other; to block, you swing your weapon into the path of the enemy's swing and the weapons will bounce off each other. You can also hold the left mouse button to bend your arm 90 degrees, which makes it easier to block or use shorter-ranged attacks.
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8	Damage is calculated based on the momentum-physics of character movement speed plus your mouse speed and where on the opponent you hit. Due to the lack of sequels, the gameplay is completely unique even today. By comparison, ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade''/''War of the Roses'' and the later ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Knight]]'' games' hack-and-slash mechanics are downright simplistic.
9
10	Though simple in concept, the controls take some practice, and even on easier settings the 3-hour single player "Quest" mode is almost cruel without the godmode cheat code. The Arena and Tournament modes were more fun, especially in online or LAN multiplayer.
11
12	An expansion, "Limb from Limb" added a second, shorter Quest, more characters
13	and arenas, and the 2 vs. 2 "Ogre Hockey" arena that used the VSIM control system to turn Die by the Sword into a [[SportsGame sports game]].
14
15	The game was a financial failure at the time of release (due largely to heavy competition from the first VideoGame/TombRaiderI) but was rereleased on Website/GOGDotCom [[http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/die_by_the_sword_expansion here]].
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17	Not to be confused with the 1991 film about fencing and revenge, ''Film/ByTheSword''.
18
19	----
20	!!This game provides examples of:
21
22	* BoisterousBruiser: Our hero, Enric.
23	* CameraPerspectiveSwitch: Ordinarily the view is behind your character, but when you approach an enemy, it will automatically become a fighting-game style CameraLockOn that keeps the two of you in frame, though you still move in full 3D. This becomes a problem when you face 2 or more opponents at a time, since the enemies the camera doesn't focus on will still attack you.
24	* CriticalExistenceFailure: Averted. [[OnlyAFleshWound Losing legs]] will make you [[BloodyHilarious hop and jump around]] a bit slower, losing your shield arm means you can't block as effectively, and losing your sword arm makes you [[ControllableHelplessness completely helpless]].
25	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: "A" and "D" turn, rather than strafe ("Q" and "E" strafe). This ends up being a much better choice for gameplay, since turning is more important to keep your sword pointed the right way, but initially it will throw you off.
26	* DevelopersForesight: If you try to pull out your weapon in the beginning of the tutorial, the narrator will stop you. Once you get to the combat training part, he says that you can finally pull out your sword. "I assume you already know how."
27	* DifficultButAwesome: Using the mouse VSIM one-to-one control, instead of the keyboard "arcade" control that performs a whole attack in just one button press.
28	%%* ExcusePlot
29	* GameMod:
30	** The user mod [[http://www.hazardx.com/details.php?file=86 "xTended"]] enhances the textures and resolution and the [[http://www.hazardx.com/details.php?file=40 Hazard Modpack]] adds more characters and arenas. (Windows 7 users should set the xLauncher.exe file to run in compatibility mode for Windows XP Service Pack 2).
31	** Other users have gotten Hamachi and similar programs to help streamline internet matches.
32	** Someone also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D8Jfr-sIpM got the Wiimote to connect via bluetooth to a computer and control Die by the Sword]].
33	* GodMode: Hold F1 and type [[spoiler:MUKOR]]. You're welcome.
34	* GrievousHarmWithABody: You can cut off enemy limbs, pick them up and then beat enemies to death with it. Especially useful if the enemy's limb was holding a weapon, as this greatly extends your range. You can also throw the limbs, but it takes inhuman levels of timing and accuracy to actually hit a moving opponent this way.
35	%%* HackAndSlash
36	* KnockBack: Successful hits will knock a character back, calculated by the strength of the swing and the sizes of the both characters. The giant Orcs, for example, tend to knock the tiny Kobolds across the entire arena with even minminal mouse movement. Useful when knocking opponents into environmental hazards like spinning blades, bottomless pits, or lava.
37	** Both character's weapons also get knocked back in a successful block, which directly affects their position for subsequent moves.
38	** The knockback is explicitly exploited in the "Ogre Hockey" arena of the expansion pack, where the whole point is to knock the "ball" character into the opposing team's goal.
39	* NintendoHard
40	* OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank: every successful cut causes a little explosion of blood. By the time you've died, your avatar has lost several times his/her own body weight.
41	* PigMan: The Orcs have boar heads.
42	* ShowsDamage: Polygons get retextured bloody when struck.
43	* SomeDexterityRequired: WASD and mouse movement doesn't sound too complicated, but keeping track of where your sword is pointed and how you have to turn your character or swing your sword to hit the (often jumping) opponent or block incoming strikes is fairly complex.
44	** Players have differing opinions about whether or not aerial flipping does enough damage to justify the difficulty of landing a hit that way.
45	* SoundOfNoDamage: The clinks made when you block.
46	%%* SubsystemDamage: See "Critical Existence Failure" above.
47	%%* AWinnerIsYou: The end cutscene is rather underwhelming.

Context VideoGame / DieByTheSword