Fluid fighting system, with depth and flair, not to mention all of those jaw dropping women...
Gorgeous girls kicking ass… the graphics albeit over hyped are amazing for early x-box, and something that most overlook, fluidity… because the environments are small and controlled “rings” the graphics are smooth, the animations fluid… in fact the look and feel of the game gets better as your skill rises… the animation and fighting system is done so well that your limitations become apparent, and I can now say (after two years of block “fight nights”) that any choppiness or slowdown in action is strictly due to the inexperience of the people fighting…
Don’t get me wrong this game has more then one “sweet spot” in fact this game has an infinite sweet spot, the only challenge is to find someone with similar skill as you and fight them constantly. For me I first played the game with my father and the two guys who lived across the street… we all moved along at the same rate in skill, someone figuring out how to counter, the rest following suit. In an ever-evolving fighting situation the true depth of this game comes into play…
Over the two years that I have played this I have become aware of new techniques and skills that were unfathomable when I started… (a sample of my fighting guide [work in process])…
From timing counters to adjusting your stance, there are constant laws in this game that when you are aware of them allow you to do… for instance the hardest trick in the game… at each exchange one of the two characters will get initiative, whom ever gets this initiative will most often come out on top. Initiative is also important because large combos can then be set up to deal out mass damage. In order to assure this initiative you need to attack the weak side of your opponent (opposite lead hand). There are multiple ways to target the weak side of your enemy, including backwards roundhouses (Kasumi, backwards + RT) and aerial attacks (Kasumi, up/updiagonalforward + punch). Although you will need to use the more advanced moves, you can’t use them all the time because they are slow and will put you in awkward positions, more effective but harder to pull off is adjusting your stance to the opposite of your enemy. This is most easily pulled of by double tapping forward, your character will hop and switch stance… while opposite your opponent even basic attacks will give you initiative against larger attacks from your opposite… again this must be used in moderation because your weak side is also more variable …
… The obvious ambiguous nature of the previous passage shows that even someone who has played the game to death has a hard time explaining the tricks… I’ll keep working on it…
Past the depth and graphics and the turning on of things… the control is excellent, it is one of the few games that I can play with the original large X-box controller… the sound track could use some work as you will be spending a great deal of time fighting if you find someone to fight with. With new outfits and hairstyles to unlock the single player campaign has its rewards, despite the “quick on easily levels and frustrating on the hard ones” approach to single player. Notable is the training mode, and the survival mode… survival mode allows you to perfect your fluidity, which in turn reduces the amount of damage you take.
Over all this is a must have for skill based gamers looking for a deep fighting sim… I call this a fighting sim because of the depth of things that you can do. No more are you limited to pre programmed button combinations… Every person on any character can create their own personal fighting style, and with time and constant engagement, they will refine that style and grow as better fighters….
Casual gamers should rent, serious gamers with some serious gamer friends… buy.
RW