TGS 2005: Rengoku 2 Hands-On

TGS 2005: One of the many PSP demos available for download at this year's Tokyo Game Show is for Hudson's Rengoku 2, a futuristic third-person action game. The deathmatch-only demo, which can be played by two to four players, features two arenas and three different gameplay modes--which just determine the types of weapons that become available to you. In the "normal" mode you'll be able to use an assortment of melee and ranged weapons, the "grapple" mode limits you to melee weapons, and the "crazy" mode arms you with what we suspect are some of the most powerful weapons from the single-player game.

At the start of each deathmatch, you'll see that your character is a rather plain-looking robot that looks a lot like a human being. You'll also notice that the arena you've chosen (we got to play on a fiery orange one and an icy blue one, both with destructible objects) is littered with power-up icons. All of the pickups look identical, so you're never sure what you're getting, but once the item is equipped you'll find that there's plenty of variety.

Every weapon or armor piece that you collect automatically attaches itself to (or in some cases replaces) a part of your body, giving your character an entirely different look. Your head, for example, might be replaced by a gun, a sword, or a huge drill. And your arms, which can each be completely different, can take the form of scythes, robotic arms with big claws, swords, machine guns, bazookas, and such. You get the idea.

All four of the PSP face buttons are used to perform different attacks, according to the items that you have equipped on your head, body, left arm, and right arm. You can use either the analog stick or the D pad to move around. The left shoulder button locks on to your enemy, and the right shoulder button is used to quickly turn 180 degrees and to strafe. In addition, double-tapping in any direction will perform a rapid slide, a tumble, or an evasive move depending on which item you have equipped on your legs. In short, your character is extremely agile, although the absence of a jump button felt a little strange.

Even when we played Rengoku 2 against only one other person, the action was fast-paced and often quite tactical. We never figured out if it's possible to discard weapons in the hope of getting something better from the next pickup, but since the weapons all have their strengths, it wasn't really a problem.

Rengoku 2's visuals, although lacking any real variety in the demo, were definitely easy on the eyes. The character models looked great and were superbly animated, the weapons invariably made the characters look even better, and the effects that accompanied each weapon's use were--with one or two exceptions--a real treat.

Rengoku 2 isn't currently confirmed for release in North America, but we'll bring you more information on the game as soon as it becomes available.