TGS 2002: Hands-onKakuto Chojin

After showing off various nonplayable demos and trailers for quite some time, Microsoft has finally displayed a playable version of its upcoming 3D fighter.

The first thing you'll notice about the game formerly known as Project K-X is how shiny everything looks. From Roxy's leather pants to Reiji's presumably damp chest, a lot of the character models have an unnaturally high level of shine to them, giving the game a bit of an odd look. The characters are well-animated during the pre- and post-fight animations, but in-game, the punches and kicks look a bit strange. Hopefully Microsoft will have time to iron these issues out before the game is released.

The gameplay uses four attack buttons, a block, and a button that lets you run around the arena without being locked onto your opponent. Repeated taps on some buttons will create two- or three-hit combos. Special moves are performed similarly to the way they are performed in Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, with a few Street Fighter-like fireball motions and a few "forward, forward, button" moves that are closer to the Mortal Kombat games.

Not all of the game's fighters were revealed. Among the playable characters in this incomplete demo version of the game are Reiji, who is the Bruce Lee look-alike that has appeared in most of the media released for the game so far. Other playable characters include a leather-clad female named Roxy, a capoeira fighter named Rena, a large kung-fu fighter named Khan, and a masked ninja who goes by the name of Shadow. You'll be able to choose from light or dark versions of every fighter, and judging by the way the game calls each version of the character "normal," it's assumed that this, or some other user decision, will allow you to pick different versions of each fighter.

While the game has been in development for quite some time, the fighting system in place in the version shown at the Tokyo Game Show feels a little clunky and seems to be fairly friendly to button-mashers. Like with the graphical weirdness, hopefully Microsoft will have enough time to clean up the game's fighting system before it is released. We'll have more info on Kakuto Chojin as it becomes available.