Okay, honesty time. Most of the preparation for my GDC appointment to check out Pipework Foundation's TV-to-game adaptation Deadliest Warrior was spent thinking up jokes about the game's cast of anachronistic characters. "So, what are we looking at," I would snidely remark, "Templars? Cavemen? Wizards? Robots? Robot Cavemen? Grizzly bears?" To which Pipework would politely laugh, as I would insist, "No, seriously. What's the grizzly bear situation?"

I was prepared to be underwhelmed by the game, so I'd attempt to cajole an entire preview out of this line of questioning. Fortunately, this precaution wasn't necessary, as Deadliest Warrior looks to be a surprisingly competent, enjoyable fighting game, and a welcome addition to the Xbox Live Arcade lineup. Here's the takeaway: Think Bushido Blade; but instead of being stuck with controlling boring ol' samurai, there are ninjas, Spartans, Apache, knights and four other yet-to-be-announced warriors (Including, hopefully, wizards).