Double Dragon Ex. E3 2005 Impressions

Double Dragon Ex. is a combination of the second coin-op game and Double Dragon Advance for the GBA. It's also a remake of the supremely mediocre mobile Dragon of last year. The game boasts three levels, the first of which was culled directly from the Double Dragon arcade game. The second two are amalgamates of levels found in Double Dragons for portable and home systems. New to mobile are aerial juggles, which allow for some devastatingly damaging combos.

For the uninitiated, Double Dragon is the story of Billy and Jimmy Lee, two brothers fighting over the love of a woman. Double Dragon Ex. seems to follow the storyline of Double Dragon II, however, in which Jimmy and Billy stop stressing over Marian and join forces.

In Double Dragon Ex., you can choose to play as either Billy or Jimmy, who obviously have trained in the same dojo. You'll be able to pull off jaw-shattering uppercuts, high-flying jumping kicks, and backbreaking throw moves without breaking a sweat. Even if you were to break a sweat, it wouldn't be visible, because we're talking about relatively low-pixel sprites. The game's sound is classic Double Dragon fare as well, but it was unfortunately very difficult to enjoy on the noisy show floor.

The game looks to be running much faster than its mobile predecessor, and that in itself is a triumph. Three levels seems like a paltry amount, however. We'll find out this summer if Ex. stands for "Extreme" or for "Excruciating."