SouthPeak Games is taking on the rather ambitious task of freshening up 3rd person hack-and-slash games with their newly announced X-Blades by putting you in control of a blond little anime-styled hottie named Ayumi, a heroine who is both “stunningly seductive” and “tenacious”. The player will have to make his/her way through a number of locations and bad guys using pistol blades, magic spells, acrobatic abilities and “a healthy dose of cinematic flair.”

X-Blades features a special combination of cinematic style, beautiful animation and relentless high-speed gameplay. With full anime-style cut scenes, the story unfolds revealing demonic hordes and spectacular landscapes, all ripe for exploration and frenetic supernatural battling.

SouthPeak CEO Melanie Mroz said the “3rd-person ‘hack-em-up’ genre needs a fresh perspective and X-Blades is poised to deliver it,” and that the “unique anime-style backdrop combined with high-octane, multi-discipline combat gameplay really pushes X-Blades into brand new territory.”

The game is being developed for PC and “next-gen” consoles, which we can assume means PS3 and 360, and will be released late this year.

[See also: X-Blades gallery]