Aricles Annex - Xena: Warrior Princess Magazine Articles

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Playstation (U.S. Official) Magazine


September 1999
Vol. 2, #12; pg. 56

Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena: Warrior Princess
Administer an old-school feminist beatdown, Xena-Style

"Xena," boasts the press document included with our previewable copy of the game," is the No. 1 syndicated action-hour among teens, aged 12-17." That's not surprising; teenaged guys are to leather lingerie and big bosoms what teenaged girls are to weak-chinned feeme-boys and wailing ballads of eternal love. It's no big shocker, either, that Universal Studios decided to commission a game based on the popular medieval riot grrl and her eponymous series; the big surprise is that it's a well-designed game.

In Xena: Warrior Princess, you'll get the opportunity to play as the sword-slinging, chakram-chucking uberwoman as she searches for her kidnapped companion, Gabrielle, over 20 detailed levels. As you progress, you'll do battle with more than mere mortals - many monsters, including golems, dragons and medusae will attempt to impede the busty swordsmistress on her path to rescue her friend and lay low the plans of the evil King Valarian.

What will captrue the attention of game players is the solid fighting techniques, which feel like a more fleshed-out version of the battle engine seen in the classic N64 title Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Multiple combat maneuvers and combinations are readily available, and a behind-the-chakram camera adds the B-movie cinematic touch to ranged attacks, as well as making aiming easier. While very linear, the game incorporates some devious puzzle solving along with the full-course helping of swordplay. Fans of the series will obviously delight in the slickly produced re-creation of Xena's fighting style, and appreciate the many cameos and in-jokes taken directly from the show itself. So far, it looks like Universal Studios has learned a thing or two about licensed games. Xena: Warrior Princess appears to be a fairly original action game that just happens to have a popular license affixed to it, rather than vice-versa. Sharpen our swords, Xena fans, and get ready for a game, as well as a heroine, of mythic proportions.

Sidebar 1: There's 20 (plus a few secret) levels filled with enemies for our favorite medieval feminist Icon to gratuitously unman with a well-timed knee to the jewels.

The REAL Ambiguously Gay Duo You KNOW there's something funny going on when a TV show has an entire USENET newsgroup devoted to the possibly homoerotic subtext quivering beneath the surface of its campy veneer. Yet the debate rages: is Xena a bonafide lesbian or is it just a fantasy conjured up by testosterone-crazed teenboys? Are Xena's meaningfully spiritual discussions and bathtime escapades with long-time sidekick and possible paramour Gabrielle the behavior of close female friends or is there something more than Freudian at work behind the scenes? One thing's for sure: This game isn't gonna make it any clearer. And if it does, we aren't going to tell YOU the codes, perv boy!