Two minutes into this game and you'll realize how bad it actually is.
User Rating: 2.8 | Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory PSP
You may have seen some impressive screenshots online, or perhaps the back of the game case, but don't be fooled. Rengoku suffers from poor design on all fronts, and it adds up to a less-than-average action game that nobody should waste money on. The one thing I like about Rengoku is the character design, which uses a futuristic style reminiscent of the Ninja from the Metal Gear Series. The game starts off with an opening cinematic where you get to see these character designs, but unfortunately they just stand there, and it becomes boring due to the lack of any dynamic presentation. When you get to the game, you start out naked, meaning you don't have any armor or weapons equipped. The graphics at this point, look jagged and unimpressive, which doesn't really get any better with the added detail of armor. The d-pad moves you around, and the analog nub swings the camera from side to side. The camera is about as poor as it gets, and doesn't let you get complete a full circle around your character, and also gets caught on walls or objects. When it comes to combat, Rengoku absolutely fails to deliver any sort of excitement, or satisfaction from taking out your enemies. You will run akwardly through square rooms until you find an enemy. Then you lock on and either shoot your enemy with a projectile weapon, or beat him with a melee attack. The enemy dies, and so does the excitement for this game. The level design of Rengoku sufferes from randomized levels, which basically means a series of square rooms, and nothing to really add variety to the gameplay. You will take out the enemies, which becomes tedious after a couple kills, and move on to the next room. Eventually you will have to fight a boss, and after you kill it, you simply move on to the next wave of enemies and randomized square rooms. The design is worse than early PS1 titles. I rented Rengoku, and I'm glad I didn't buy it. The screenshots I saw online, coupled with the screenshots on the back of the actual box, were enough to peak my interest of this game. They did a good job of making it look like an interesting sci-fi action game, with impressive visuals. Be warned however, the actual game leaves a lot to be desired, and wouldn't be worth a purchase at the lowest of discounts.
