Based on the medieval war between the English and French, Bladestorm recaptures the roles behind the events that unfolded during the period of 1337-1453 in this strategy game.

Bladestorm: THYW focuses around your character, your mercenary's achievements, in order to make a name for the glory of the mercenary title and how important they can be in shaping the wars favour.

Gameplay: 8/10
You start by using only a limited customized CAW system in order for you to begin your mission as a mercenary. Allowing the events during the time to rekindle and come alive, you instantly choose a force to fight for in your first few missions. Choosing the force will not have an effect on whether you can change your objective and decide to fight for the opposite side at anytime, though. Which means you are able to spontaneously switch between England and France throughout the game, either playing in the important battles whenever they appear, or by just continuing on with some friendly skirmish contracts. After each contract fulfillment, it'll be up to you to pick what side and what to do next, figuratively allowing unlimited back-to-back battles, since what you conquer with England will then take away from France, and vice versa. However, in order to progress towards the end of the game, getting more fame, you will need to take part in four historical battles, such as the Battle of Orleans and the Battle of Agincourt.

Moving on to the actual style of play, you will see that the system basically mimics that of the Empires series - You lead your fellow forces from base to base in order to link them all up and take the main opposing base, ultimately ending that specific skirmish or historical event contract. And since the units you use have strengths and as well weaknesses, like they do in strategy games, you will need to use these to your advantage in order to defeat and capture the scattered units and bases. Further on, after the battle and when the contract has met its end, you'll find yourself at the place you started; the tavern. Where the barkeeper will either address you with new contracts or hint towards anything that leads you further into the game or of that plays a role in the character interactions. From after speaking to him you can choose to buy and equip new clothing and weapons to improve your chance for victory on the battlefield. Not only can you do this but you can also spend your skill points to enhance different abilities and moves just by looking into the corresponding books. After all, there are a large amount of weapons and other features to keep you occupied and away from the game combat itself. For the average gamer you will be finding yourself playing at least a couple hundred battles, effectively unlocking secrets and allowing new boundries and side-quests to open.

Graphics: 8/10
Impressive, but not to that can be compared to the likes of the PS3's or XBOX360's fullest capabilities; it could be better. Plus, a good thing to point out is that there are countless of cutscenes you can witness and enjoy.

The opening introduction of this game is spectacular.

Difficulty: 8/10
Average enjoyment coming from the difficulty until you reach the battle just before 4-star fame. That's when the game takes its toll and becomes very exciting. Other than that, this aspect comes from the fact that you choose how to make it difficult by varying your units activities. The maps are large and you'll find yourself wanting to use horses too often, leading to them dominating the difficulty and to which unit is the best and strongest use. But only up to the point that when you get to the post-game roughly, that you will start to let your guard down more and enjoy the other units. In the difficulties defence however, you can find fun and an easy learning curve for the younger generations.

Sound: 7/10
Not the greatest to my personal taste, but it's still above par; most noticeably towards the England and France tune and as well Joan of Arc's and Edward's own theme songs. There are a few in the game that take parts from each other in order to create new music. Having said that, the medieval feel is without a doubt present. Though, I personally can't state this as a fact of course.

There are 39 songs in total.

The voice acting could be much better. Some of the characters accents and other mishaps are undeniably clear, and at times, not pleasing to hear. Perhaps you could even say that this is a good point, judging from what could of happened if your character was to be able to speak. Touche.

Summary:
It was indeed a pleasant diversion away from the Warriors series for me. The game has a powerful story, much gameplay value with that being around 100 hours and not including the side-quests. Perfectionists will be the only players who will be still entertained with the goal of unlocking everything in the game, but the average gamer will most likely get bored during the very later stages of the game. Thankfully though, there are always character interactions and people to talk to in the tavern in exchange for gossip, etc. I'd also like to mention now that most of the game is revolved around the two unique figures; Edward, the Black Prince and Joan of Arc.

The sound is awe-inspiring within a few songs, but could also use with some help in a bundle of them, and perhaps more diverse changes in the future hopes of another game in the expected and upcoming series. However, it's overall a very satisfying music selection to experience.

The story background and historical accuracy was indeed accurate enough, even the events that unfolded and character relationships were noted in the games diary feature. It was nice to learn some more about what actually happened, though knowing that the character personalities, knowing it was Koei; were more than likely characterized and exaggerated to an extent. And lastly, the actual story played its major role in the four battles and only other than that, in the characters reflections of what was really happening at the time. Otherwise, it would be correct to say that the skirmish contracts kept me busy most of the time.

Rent or Buy?
Well, since this game will take time getting use to and won't be as exciting at the start, you'll probably be better off buying this game. Not only because of the above reason, but because it wouldn't be the right choice to abandon a new platform title from Koei, for those PS3 owners, and it would be hard to rate it so early. The true potential comes from the later sections of the game after all.

I'd like to lastly thank Koei for making this an educational and enjoyable experience. Good job!

Overall Score: 8/10