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18-392: Blade Master is a scrolling hack and slash arcade game released by Irem in 1991. Two selectable heroes, Roy and Arnold, try to save their land from hordes of monsters. There are items to break and power-ups to collect, typical of this genre in the 1990s. In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their August 15, 1991 issue as being the fifteenth most-successful table arcade unit of

36-521: A Dragon article by Jean Wells and Kim Mohan which includes the following statement: "There is great potential for more than hacking and slashing in D&;D or AD&D ; there is the possibility of intrigue, mystery and romance involving both sexes, to the benefit of all characters in a campaign." Hack and slash made the transition from the tabletop to role-playing video games , usually starting in D&D -like worlds. This form of gameplay influenced

54-517: A half years earlier but that product demand had fluctuated the past year. They chose to begin sales of video games due to its stronger market at the time and for being "a natural extension of selling video tape", even claiming Video Take-Out to be one of the original outlets for Atari . Video Take-Out sent the first issue of its newsletter, originally titled The Video Game Update , to customers in January 1982 as an information guide for its customers. Dolan

72-411: A staff reviewer. An extensive game release schedule was provided each month. The staff would contact game publishers directly to obtain and report accurate information and dates would be regularly updated to reflect cancelations and changes. Dolan served on the award selection committee alongside other video game journalists for The First Video Games Conference, which was co-sponsored by Billboard and

90-454: A sub-genre of beat 'em ups . Traditional 2D side-scrolling examples include Taito 's The Legend of Kage (1985) and Rastan (1987), Sega 's arcade video game series Shinobi (1987 debut) and Golden Axe (1989 debut), Data East 's arcade game Captain Silver (1987), Tecmo 's early Ninja Gaiden ( Shadow Warriors ) 2D games (1988 debut), Capcom 's Strider (1989),

108-553: A wide range of action role-playing games , including games such as Xanadu and Diablo . Computer Entertainer Computer Entertainer was a newsletter for a mail order retailer called Video Take-Out, which was located in North Hollywood, Los Angeles and started as a supplier of blank and pre-recorded VHS tapes. The store's general manager, Celeste Dolan, told Billboard in August 1982 they had begun business two and

126-483: Is a sub-genre of beat 'em up games, which focuses on melee combat, usually with swords. Third-person hack and slash games are also sometimes known as character action games and spectacle fighters . The term "hack and slash" was originally used to describe a play style in tabletop role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs , massively multiplayer online role-playing games , and role-playing video games . In arcade and console style action video games,

144-642: Is sometimes known as "character action" games, and represent a modern evolution of traditional arcade action games. This subgenre of games was largely defined by Hideki Kamiya , creator of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta . In turn, Devil May Cry (2001) was influenced by earlier hack-and-slash games, including Onimusha: Warlords (2001) and Strider . The term "hack and slash" itself has roots in " pen and paper " role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), denoting campaigns of violence with no other plot elements or significant goal. The term itself dates at least as far back as 1980, as shown in

162-703: The Video Marketing Game Letter and held in San Francisco in April 1983. The periodical was permanently renamed Computer Entertainer in April 1984. It was announced in the February 1985 issue that Video Take-Out had partnered with Sydney Software to exclusively distribute Best of B.C. , a compilation of the Coleco Adam games  B.C.'s Quest for Tires  and  B.C. II: Grog's Revenge . Just prior to

180-602: The October 1991 issue of Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine , the game was ranked on the number fourteen spot in popularity. This beat 'em up video game article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hack and slash Hack and slash , also known as hack and slay ( H&S or HnS ) or slash 'em up , refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee -based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as guns) as secondary weapons. It

198-499: The Sega Master System game Danan: The Jungle Fighter (1990), Taito's Saint Sword (1991), Vivid Image 's home computer game First Samurai (1991), and Vanillaware 's Dragon's Crown (2013). The term "hack-and-slash" in reference to action-adventure games dates back to 1987, when Computer Entertainer reviewed The Legend of Zelda and said it had "more to offer than the typical hack-and-slash" epics. In

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216-475: The annual Consumer Electronics Show , interviews with developers, and release dates. Game evaluations could be found in the Critically Speaking sections in every issue. Titles were rated based on gameplay and graphics except text adventure which were not given graphical scores. While Dolan was the designated review editor, Computer Entertainer later introduced writer and game designer Jeffrey Stanton as

234-562: The early 21st century, journalists covering the video game industry often use the term "hack and slash" to refer to a distinct genre of 3D , third-person , weapon-based, melee action games. Examples include Capcom's Devil May Cry , Onimusha , and Sengoku Basara franchises, Koei Tecmo 's Dynasty Warriors and 3D Ninja Gaiden games, Sony 's Genji: Dawn of the Samurai and God of War , as well as Bayonetta , Darksiders , Dante's Inferno , and No More Heroes . The genre

252-460: The month, outperforming titles such as Vimana and King of the Monsters . British gaming magazine The One for Amiga Games reviewed Blade Master in August 1991, calling it a "masterpiece", stating that "Irem has certainly pulled out all the stops here - beautifully crafted animated sprites, lovely backgrounds, excellent gameplay, sampled sound", and furthermore calls the combat "satisfying". In

270-407: The newsletter reached up to around 10,000 copies by as early as 1987. According to the April 1987 issue the publisher moved its office to Van Nuys . The business moved again around January 1990 and Computer Entertainer continued publication until abruptly ending that July with a total of 100 issues, one special edition, and one index. A 2014 documentary series featured Computer Entertainer in

288-436: The release in April, Computer Entertainer stated that the companies had halted all future collaborations due to the threat of piracy by Adam users and its potentially negative financial impact. Video Takeout launched its own bulletin board system for southern California called The Hotline in early 1986, which included an online version of Computer Entertainer and weekly columns by Dan Gutman . Print circulation for

306-437: The term has an entirely different usage, specifically referring to action games with a focus on real-time combat with hand-to-hand weapons as opposed to guns or fists. The two types of hack-and-slash games are largely unrelated, though action role-playing games may combine elements of both. In the context of action video games , the terms "hack and slash" or "slash 'em up" refer to melee weapon-based action games that are

324-415: Was its chief editor alongside Marylou Badeaux, who was also credited as its publisher. The monthly newsletter most prominently featured news and reviews of computer and home console software. It survived the video game crash of 1983 and covered the rise of industry juggernauts Nintendo and Sega as well as the introduction of CD-ROM technology. Other features included sales charts, reports of

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