Spike's hit Television show Deadliest Warrior took a bold gamble, yet, reasonable leap into the realm of video games this summer. For 1200 Microsoft points, you can purchase Deadliest Warrior: The Game from the Xbox Live Arcade. Of course, there is a trial version which told me all I really needed to know about the game.

If you haven't watched this highly entertaining show on Spike, I'll give you a quick synopsis. The show selects some of history's greatest warriors from all over the world and pits them against each other in simulations to see which warrior was the deadliest! The show takes into account, skill, weapons, and tactics.

Before I rip the game, let me give you a brief little overview of some of the things Pipeworks Software included in this gorey arcade game.

First off, the blood and gore is true to the show. Deep cuts show on the warriors mid-fight, and blood spills on the battlefield like a sprinkler. At one point my entire Ninja was covered in his own blood, however he was still able to continue the fight. Limbs can be cut off and arms can be broken, as far as this goes, the game got it right.

There are only eight warriors to choose from in the full game, only two of them in the demo (the Spartan and the Ninja, cool, right?). Based on trailers and photos it looks like the other warriors available are the Pirate, Roman Centurion, Knight, Samurai, Viking, Apache and the aforementioned Spartan and Ninja.

A pretty cool cast of warriors doesn't quite satisfy me at a 1200 Microsoft Point price. I should mention however that the warriors are customizable, meaning the weapons they use can be different every fight. I'm sure hardcore players can develop strategies and tactics by changing weapons and mixing the right weapons with the right warrior, but for the casual players these customizable weapons are nothing more than fireworks. Projectile weapons are about the only thing I truly found enjoyable about this game, nothing quite like tossing Ninja stars at a Spartan with a shield..

Through the game's Arcade Mode, you can unlock all of the weapons and special moves for each warrior, and then take them online where you can have eight second fights with hackers online.

There are only four different fighting stages, none of which seem to be any different from the last except for the scenary.

In all honesty, the only real deal-breaker with the game is the high cost of it. A seemingly tiny game for 1200 Microsoft Points? Explain that to me, when such legendary arcade games like the deep and challenging Splosion Man are only 800 Microsoft Points.

So my official VG Henchmen take on Deadliest Warrior: The Game is:

Buy Reduced Price, but only if you are that bored and want a gorey fighting game with Vikings and Ninjas.

I do not recommend buying full price, but the game isn't so bad that I will direct you completely away from it.

Thanks for reading my first, and brief, article!