Sunday, October 13, 2002

Review of Tekken 4 for PS2     Publisher: Namco     Developer: Namco     Genre: Fighting     # Of Players: 1-4     Namco’s venerable fighting series comes out with its latest installment in Tekken 4.  This one takes place twenty years after Heihachi threw his evil son Kazuya into a volcano pit (if you don’t know, don’t ask).  But somehow, Kazuya is back, stronger and badder than ever. New characters, elimination of the tag mode, and a redefined force mode are added to try and make this Tekken have a fresh new spin on it, but in the end, this is still the same uninspired, slow fighter that we’ve all played before. Graphics: While the character designs and animations, as well as the level designs are solid, they aren’t up there with PS2’s best-looking fighter, Virtua Fighter 4.  And the collision detection is a tad off.  But the biggest disappointment is in the cinemas, as while they still look good, they are quite a step down from the ones in Tekken Tag. Sound: The music is pretty good, as is the voice acting.  The sound effects are solid, but not fantastic (You don’t hear running, every blow sounds the same). Gameplay: While they have introduced some new characters, they are extremely bland and unoriginal.  A boxer and a hot girl as well that are completely derivative and just have no imagination put into them.  And this game still has my big problem with this series: it’s too damn slow!  Every fight is like fighting in molasses.  I guess it’s supposed to be graceful, but for me it’s just tedious.  And the force mode is exactly the same; it’s just dull. Features: Your usual standard stuff such as time attack, vs., survival, and so on.  The Force mode is somewhat unique (Tobal had a similar mode that was quite frankly better conceived, and that wasn’t a good game).  But there’s also just a ton of unlockable fighters so that’s a big plus. Funfactor: Again, if you like Tekken, you’ll most likely enjoy this, and there is a surprising lack of fighters out there on the PS2 right now, but I honestly can’t see any reason to get this over Tekken Tag which you can probably pick up for under $20.  And there’s also no reason to get this over VF4, which is a much deeper, more polished game. --Final Scores-- Graphics: 8.0-Very solid, but cinemas aren’t as high quality as the last game, and graphics just aren’t up there with VF4. Sound: 8.0-Solid music and voice acting, but effects are somewhat lacking. Gameplay: 5.0-Slow, slow and more slow.  Fighters need to be quick. Features: 9.0-As usual, loaded with extras (but how about online?) Funfactor: 6.0-Same old Tekken.  Same old slow, boring Tekken. 10:37:57 AM    comment []

Review of Mystic Heroes for Gamecube         Publisher: Koei         Developer: Koei         Genre: Action         # Of Players: 1-4         Take on the role of a hero of Chinese legend in Koei’s unofficial sequel to their Dynasty Warriors series.  If you are familiar with the Dynasty Warriors series, you know exactly what to expect with this game.  You fight, fight, and fight some more, just huge hordes of enemies coming at you seemingly forever.  It has tried to be the next thing in fighting games like the classic Streets of Rage series, but it has never succeeded, and Mystic Heroes exemplifies why. Graphics: Although a little cutesy, the graphics in this game are fairly impressive, as there is rarely any slowdown, even if you are surrounded by enemies.  The animation is smooth, and I like the designs of the enemies.  But the battle areas are extremely sparse and lack any real life or detail. Sound: The voice is done fine, and the music is appropriate, but not by any means great.  The one thing I always liked about the Dynasty Warriors series is that it really provided the sounds of an epic battle, making it sound like you are in the middle of a war.  Granted, Mystic Heroes is not the same because it’s just you and a couple of others as opposed to your own army, but you are still fighting a massive battle, but it never sounds like it. Gameplay: And herein lies the games flaw.  All of the characters fight roughly the same.  Enemies  & Bosses take little to no strategy; just keep plowing through and eventually you’ll most likely win.  But the biggest problem is the length of the battles.  They just never, ever, ever, ever, EEEEEEVVVEEEEERRRRR end.  You’ll be so bored twenty minutes into the first level you may not want to continue.  Action games like this are supposed to be fast and furious; the sheer length of each battle makes MH neither. Features: Well, there are tons of single and multi-player modes, but I’m not gonna give this game many points because all the modes still play out roughly the same as the main one. Funfactor: Ok, if you like the Dynasty Warriors series, you will most likely enjoy this.  But I personally will never understand why.  There is no real strategy, and the combat is at the height of tedium as you just do the exact same moves over, and over and over and over and over (and over) again, and there is no real variety in the enemies.  Congratulations Koei, you have continued successfully continued in making games that should by all rights be fun but turn out to be boring as hell. --Final Scores— Graphics: 7.5-I like the enemy designs, and massive amounts of action are handled very well, but the levels are lacking detail and life (animals, objects to duck behind or fight on top of, etc.) Sound: 6.0-Voices are decent, as is the music, but it just doesn’t sound like I’m in an epic fight. Gameplay: 4.0-No difference between characters, and fighting is just plain tedious and slow and levels go on forever. Features: 6.0-Tons of modes that are all the same damn game. Funfactor: 6.0- If you like the previous Dynasty Warriors games, you should probably pick this one up as well (especially for the 4-player), but I personally fail to see any difference between this game and the last two, which were both extremely boring in my opinion. 10:35:20 AM    comment []