Hands-onTao Feng: Fist of the Lotus

We saw the latest build of Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus today at Microsoft's X02 event, and it seemed to be vastly improved compared with the version shown just a few months ago at E3 2002. We had a chance to play the game for a while and speak with Tao Feng's lead designer, John Tobias, who is best known as the cocreator of Mortal Kombat. Tao Feng has some things in common with the MK series, but it also spins off in some new directions.

To get you up to speed, Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus is a 3D fighting game with gameplay that's deeply rooted in 2D design. The finished game will feature 12 playable characters, a final boss, and lots of unlockable extras. Each character has a detailed storyline, a unique set of moves, and his or her own stage.

The story in Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus centers on two warring clans that originated hundreds of years ago in mainland China. One of the clans was wiped out at the turn of the last century, but the infant son of the leader survived and was brought to what is suggested to be America in the game's alternate-universe setting. Years later, the child is all grown up. He is then confronted by factions of his ancestors' enemies, which forces him to form a new clan filled with young, untested warriors--the characters of Tao Feng. As in many fighting games, it appears that there will be a few fairly balanced warriors, such as Fiery Phoenix; a few who are particularly fast, like Jade Dragon; and a few who are particularly strong.

The gameplay in Tao Feng is very similar to that of other 3D fighters that use 2D mechanics. You can press away from your opponent to block and diagonally to sidestep, and you can execute special moves using simple motions. The three major things that Tao Feng seems to have going for it are its truly impressive visuals, its combo system, and its interesting environmental interaction. Visually, the fighters and environments are all extremely detailed and even feature visual degradation--as fighters are attacked, you'll see cuts, scrapes, and bruises develop, as well as wear and tear on their costumes. Also, you can knock your opponent into objects in the 3D environments, causing damage both to the opponent and the object. For instance, one of the stages we fought in was an arcade with lots of traditional stand-up arcade machines lining the walls. Delivering a particularly hard kick sent our opponent reeling into a machine, causing the screen to blow out.

The combo system in its current state allows players to string simple combinations of punches and kicks together, but the style of the combinations requires that you pay attention to the rhythm of your fighter's animation to properly deliver the sequence. Most of the environmental interaction we saw in Tao Feng consisted of swinging around vertical objects like poles or running up nearby walls. Being aware of the surroundings and using them to evade or deliver attacks seems like a big part of what Tao Feng's gameplay is about.

Although the game still has a ways to go in its development cycle, it appears that all the basic elements of the game are in place. A number of characters still have to be added, and some play balancing is still in order, but the fighting system, controls, and visuals already seem to be very solid. We'll have to wait until we get to see a more complete version of the game before commenting further, but judging from today's showing, it looks like Tao Feng has a lot of promise.