Video Game Review: Xena Warrior Princess for PlayStation 1

Xena: Warrior Princess is an older Playstation game for the PS1 although you can play it on both your PS2 and PS3. The game came out in 1999 and is based on the television series Xena Warrior Princess starring Lucy Lawless that was canceled in 2001. I have read reviews about this particular game on Amazon and they were mostly negative but I love this game. I love the character of Xena Warrior Princess; she's a bold Amazon warrior who can either fight or strategize her way out of nearly any situation. I admire that type of female empowerment. And in this game, Xena Warrior Princess for PlayStation 1, Xena is no different than the television character.

Xena is on a quest to rescue her best friend Gabrielle who has been kidnapped first by a Minotaur, then again by wicked Amazons, and then eventually by an evil sorceress named Kalabrax who wants to take over the world. There are 21 levels to this game. Each level gets progressively harder until you get to the last three which are extremely hard. Xena goes through a lot of different terrain in those 21 levels.

The game starts out in a beautiful green countryside along the coast where pirates have killed villagers and taken others hostage. Xena must fight her way past the pirates and save hostages or she won't get the key to go through the gate to the next level.

Throughout the game, there are several puzzles that Xena must solve or she can't go any further. There's a one-eyed Cyclops that is invulnerable and Xena must use strategy to get past him. That particular level took me a while to pass. There's a castle gate where Xena has to break the drawbridge chains by throwing her chakram to get inside. Then there's a Minotaur and giant spiders [eek, very creepy!].

There is a secret office space on the level with the spiders and Minotaur. I discovered it by accident when I was playing. I had Xena running to pick up one last health potion before she went in to kill the Minotaur and she ran right through the wall! I was surprised because beyond that wall is an everyday sort of office space with posters of Xena and Gabrielle hanging on the wall, a Xena game bug list hanging on the wall, a computer on a desk and a large stack of cases of soda. I found that if you hit the soda cases, it makes the sound of a can opening and fizzing and then pouring. If you hit the computer, it makes the modem connecting sound. It's just fun and I like to visit it whenever I'm in the area!

Once Xena rescues Gabrielle from the Minotaur, she must fight through three different levels of Amazon territory where Gabrielle is once again kidnapped. After killing the Amazon Queen and her warriors, Xena is confronted by Kalabrax who wants Gabrielle as a sacrifice. When Xena objects, Kalabrax casts Xena into the Underworld. Once in the Underworld, Xena must fight a giant dragon, skeleton zombies, bats, a golem, ghosts and avoid falling into the hot lava that is everywhere. To get out of the Underworld, Xena has to find Hades and get his help to escape.

Once Xena returns to the surface world, there are more bad guys and a magic lyre that she must take from an evil wizard. Xena must solve a musical puzzle and there are giant ogre creatures that are hard to kill, giant snake head Medusa lady creatures that turn Xena to stone, and killer dryads.

At the end of the game, level 21, is the evil sorceress Kalabrax in human form in her stone temple where she has Gabrielle tied to a sacrifice table. It is here that Xena fights more of Kalabrax's men and then fights Kalabrax herself. But once Kalabrax's human form is destroyed, she changes into a giant bull form that can't be killed by Xena. The only way for the Kalabrax bull to be destroyed is to be crushed by the roof of the temple which Xena must make sure collapses on the Kalabrax bull but not on her and Gabrielle.

The different levels are a lot of fun. Here is a list of all 21 levels: 1.The Road to Oebalus 2.Trouble in Oebalus 3.The Pirate King, Pactolus 4.The Isle of Kronos 5. On the Trail of Gabrielle 6. Valerian's Castle 7. Valerian's Secret 8. Labyrinth 9. The Renegade Amazon Village 10. Rivers of Blood 11. Lost Temple of the Titans 12. Dyzan's Lair 13. Road to Hades 14. Traps of Charon 15. Hades Castle 16. Village of T'ier Na 17. Rescue the Seer, Fei 18. The Lyre of Orpheus 19. The Three Sisters 20. The Challenge 21 Temple of the Pinnacles.

Throughout the game, Xena has two weapons, her sword and her chakram. She also gets a wooden fighting staff during the levels with the Amazons which help her a lot. Her sword is too short and not quite powerful enough for fighting the Amazons. The staff is lying on the ground starting at level 9 thru 11. As Xena walks on it, she automatically picks it up and loses the use of the sword. The chakram is her circular flying disk weapon. You are able to aim and throw it and guide it so that you can kill enemies from a distance.

I like to play a game of Xena when I am feeling tense or maybe a little aggressive and I want to get rid of some of that. After killing lots and lots of bad guys, I generally feel a whole lot more cheerful. That's the power of the Xena game for me! Plus it's a lot of fun to play too.

I recommend the Xena Warrior Princess Playstation 1 game for anyone who likes Xena Warrior Princess and who likes a little recreational game playing and who likes sword and sorcery games. I don't think serious gamers would like the game because parts of it are very easy, perhaps too easy. I have two young grandsons (9 and 7 years old) and they like the game so it is perfect for our gaming needs.

The Xena game is rated TEEN for some animated blood and animated violence.

You can find a copy of the game Xena Warrior Princess for PlayStation 1 through online websites such as eBay.com or Amazon Marketplace.