Originally Published: November 6, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Examiner.com

Fairytales. We all know them and all grew up with various incarnations of them. Capitalizing on this ingrained popularity, the folks at Playlogic have created a twisted, sadistic, bloody vision incorporating some of our favorite characters for their new game, Fairytale Fights.

Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, The Naked Emperor (from the Emperor’s New Clothes), and Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk) have teamed up after a mysterious stranger has come to steal their fame away from them. And in their fairytale world, fame is everything. Without fame, their stories will be lost forever, and their purpose will then cease to exist.

It is an interesting concept for a story. And the universal recognition of these characters will probably sell push a few units, especially when you consider the sadistic amount of violence in this game. To see these cute, cuddly, little creatures chopping each other up in one of the most blatantly bloody games (even if it’s very cartoony blood) to have come out in a long while was a very unexpected surprise.

Little Red Riding Hood chopping up lumberjacks with axes, Jack impaling gingerbread men with swords, and Snow White bashing toy soldiers with frying pans are just some of the examples of the carnage that can be inflicted during your adventures through fairytale land as you try to reclaim your fame in the most violent ways possible.

Unfortunately, this great concept falls flat in its execution. The cartoony graphics and effects give it a feel as if the game is torn between being an E-rated game and a M-rated game instead of just going full-tilt in one direction of the other. The senseless violence is great, but the goofy faces of the cartoon characters and the loose execution of the plot really take away from the overall theme of the game.

Add in that the controls are absolutely abysmal in that you attack with the second control stick instead of just assigning the attack mechanism to a button, there’s no way to lock onto enemies, and an impossible to kill number of enemies that are thrown at you over ridiculously long levels really makes this game a bore that no amount of blood and guts splashed on the screen could save.

I loved these characters while growing up. The Abbot and Costello version of Jack and the Beanstalk is still the defining version of the story in my mind. I think part of my dislike for this game might be its perversion of these classic characters. However, even when I put my personal biases aside, the execution of the game is still abysmal. The game is a glitchy button masher with little to no variety over the course of its 13 levels. Even the four playable fairytale characters have no variety besides their looks. Snow White has no different abilities from the Naked Emperor. Jack is no different from Little Red Riding Hood. Why have four different characters if they all play exactly the same?

This game is a perfect example of wasted potential, a solid premise that falls flat on its face due to cut corners and poor execution. The blood and guts might appeal to a few players out there, but I would recommend that if you are tempted to even look at this game, rent it before looking to buy it, especially for the listed $59.99.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 7.0: The graphics are cartoony and goofy as to be expected with a game based on fairy tales. Still, the look of this game is a perfect example of corners that were cut as the characters look a little too blocky for a modern console game.

Audio: 6.0: No voice acting in the game automatically docks the game points. The SFX are repetitive and bland. The only saving grace is that the background music actually sounds like something that would be fitting for a fairytale.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.5: A solid plot concept that falls flat on its face due to poor execution. This is a great example of where this game did not know if it wanted to be a mature game or a kids game because the plot was too simple and too simply explained to be geared towards a more mature audience.

Gameplay: 3.0: Lots of glitches over the course of the game made an already horribly handling game come off as even worse. The attack mechanism should have been assigned to a button and not the second control stick, each character should have had their own individual powers or abilities, and the levels were easily twice as long as they needed to be and got repetitive much too quickly.

Replay Value: 7.0: The game does have a co-op feature, which could make it better since misery loves company, and playing this game might make you miserable. Add in a simple arena vs. mode and the game has decent replay value.

Overall (not an average): 4.0: If you are thinking about getting this game, rent it first. The game disappointed me because it was such a wonderful concept but had absolutely no polish to it whatsoever. The glitches were too numerous to count and the game lost itself about halfway through.

I would not recommend this game, but if you’re curious it is out now for Xbox 360 and PS3.

-Ray Carsillo