March 27, 2008

Brave on the Wii

Brave: A Warrior’s Tale announced for Nintendo WiiBeing developed and published by Southpeak Interactive, Brave: A Warrior’s Tale is an action-adventure title played from a third-person perspective. Gamers are placed in the dusty shoes of a young Native American, and gameplay is said to be placed on the mythology of the continent’s original settlers.

Little other information has been divulged as yet, although we do know that the game’s protagonist will be armed with a tomahawk, as well as a long distance bow and arrow.

Rumour has it that the game is a port of the Sony PlayStation 2 title, Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer (screenshots above), a game with the following storyline:

Brave is the sole escapee of an attack by the vicious Wendigo spirit. His tribe enslaved, their only hope is that Brave can find Spirit Dancer, the greatest shaman to ever live. Only Spirit Dancer has the power to defeat the Wendigo and release them. So starts Brave’s epic journey… Brave takes you on a journey through beautifully rich and interactive scenery. Hunt wolves in the depths of the forest, face stampedes of buffalo and canoe down crashing rapids in the search for Spirit Dancer. Master a range of talents from combat with a tomahawk and bow, to animal tracking and mimicry. Your hunting skills are surpassed only by initiation into the ways of the shaman. Overcome bizarre creatures and terrifying foes, learning to work alongside and possess animal spirits as you progress. Take on the shape of the smallest rabbit to escape down burrows or the form of a mighty bear spirit to battle your foes.
Comment:  Brave is based on the stereotypes of many Indian tribes, not on mythology. These are jumbled together to create one homogenized, pan-Indian storyline. The stereotypical elements include the Wendigo, shamans, bows and arrows, tomahawks, wolves, buffaloes, bears, animal spirits, hunting and tracking skills, and so forth.

For more on the subject, see Video Games Featuring Indians.

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