Dropping the game confidently in the middle of this year’s first busy game launch period, Ubisoft Montreal has crafted a game that builds on that gloriously silly concept (and really, the best games are built on such ideas right?) with a brute knowingness and fun melee combat.

Players will take part as one of the three factions above and battle it out to prove total dominance. The basic story that glues all of this alternate reality together isn’t particularly groundbreaking, but it works well enough to give the battles a sense of urgency and momentum.

These samurais, knights and vikings are trying to destroy each other as a result of what is described as “Cataclysm,” an event which has destroyed lands, humanity and most of its natural resources.

With the scraps of food and water still available, and the growing dissent between factions, the evil warlord lady Apollyon (with a name like that, what did her mother really expect) starts to pit the factions to battle it out against each other, ensuring only the strongest will survive the post-apocalyptic existence.

It really is a very basic story, but it adds some welcome narrative to both the single-player story mode and the co-op multiplayer mode.

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This second mode is where For Honor shines, and is clearly what the developer has pushed to be the game’s calling card.

Story mode finds players taking up the role that is either working for or fighting against the aforementioned baddie Apollyon. Whatever faction players chooses to use has its own storyline, making the game a very re-playable experience to see different perspectives of the war.

The combat narrative itself goes back to the old “beat ‘em up” stylings of classic brawling games, where players essentially try to battle his/ her way through legions of enemies before encountering the end level boss.

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Along the way, there are the usual bonus and power ups in the form of crates which players will naturally break to receive collectibles and special points. Some of these points gives players storyline snippets and other bonuses that they can utilize on the multiplayer option.

It’s all very simplistic and straightforward. Fortunately the combat is one of the best melee system in a long while. There’s a bit of a gambling luck-of-the-draw behind the logic of its basic system, with players locking onto enemies and then waiting for a stance indicator that lends an option to charge with right, left, or high stances.

Attacking with the same stance as an enemy will result in defending an attack (from the same direction), while attacking an enemy’s un-defended part will inflict damage on them. Players also have the option to thrown an attack in the middle of their opponent’s attack, while those facing a defensive enemy can break their defense with a guard-break throw.

It seems simple but it actually provides a lot of technical depth and quick reflexes to become a good fighter.

There are of course different skill sets between each faction, but they are fairly balanced and players will have a blast trying on each to see which they are most comfortable with. In multiplayers, many of the fighters are unlockable before players start playing through the story mode, but it isn’t a hassle and those wanting to dive straight with friends in a fight will need only a few run through to obtain most of these playable characters.

There are three multiplayer game modes: Duel, Deathmatch, and Dominion. Duels are direct one-on-one fights or two-on-two Brawls, while Death-matches are four-onfour team fights which is again split into two parts: Elimination, where players have one life to fight through a round for a best of five match, and Skirmish, where players fight until their side reaches a point goal. Dominion is basically a zone game in which players defend and attack a control point.

The game’s graphics provide a grim landscape that sets up a perfect mood for battling. The game isn’t as violent as one would expect — at least in context of modern games — but younger players might do best to stay away from it as yet.

For Honor is a welcome change from the usual gun-toting multiplayer system. It isn’t perfect, but for a game that is going through relatively-uncharted territory, it’s an actual blast visually and gameplay-wise.

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