Thunderbolt: Bleach: Dark Souls Review

Thunderbol writes: "Bleach. You've heard of it, right? Not the stuff you use for the laundry, though. I'm talking about the show that's taken the American anime scene by storm. The exploits of Ichigo Kurosaki and his pals have become common knowledge of all those manga fans and Adult Swim viewers. But for the rest of you DS owners that don't care about anime (you're missing out, by the way) here's a simple explanation of series that this game is based upon: combat in the afterlife. It follows the saga of the Soul Reapers (which are essentially Grim Reapers except with skin, weapons and cool magical abilities) and their struggles against evil and corruption in heaven. That's open to interpretation, of course; heaven is represented as an alternate dimension that resembles a giant city from Japan's feudal era. But in case you don't feel like learning about all the cool characters and the awesome battles in which they participate, the series boils down to three things: blood, souls, and swordfighting."

Pros:

* Tons of characters with their signature moves from the series.
* While many of the characters have been altered, the basic gameplay mechanics have remained unchanged from the last game.
* Plenty of gameplay modes, unlockables, and multiplayer options to keep you busy.
* Language barrier is thin.

Cons:

* The graphics are decent at best.
* The online multiplayer is terribly laggy.