The Bouncer is noble attempt at revitalizing the beat-em-up genre that was dominant in the olden days - the days when Double Dragon and Final Fight were extremely popular. The Bouncer tries to extend itself by giving the player the ability to power up the character but herein lies the problem. The graphics (even with today's standards) are impressive. While the CGI is lacking it makes up for it in 5.1 surround. However, from a gameplay standpoint it doesn't live up to the look of the game. The player cannot upgrade or update more than one character. Although the game box mentions 1-4 players, the story mode or campaign is strictly one player - A huge mistake in Squaresoft's part. In addition, the game is fairly short and its replayability is only noticed when other characters are used. But what about the box? The box says 2-4 players but not from what you'd expect. The Bouncer features a head-to-head multiplayer feature that comes in the form of a free-for-all-royal-rumble-style mode. Players choose the arena and "sets" of characters - any unlocked characters or characters that YOU powered up within the story mode. These sets of characters are separated into classes to let you know that your friend could be using someone pretty cheesy. It can be annoying if you and a bunch of your friends play with characters from different power levels - especially when you know how to easily use those power moves. This presents a serious balance issue but if players are selecting an "A" class player to play an "A" class player, it can be fun but lacking if you want to play your favorite character against someone. Unlocking characters and continously powering up your own characters can be fun but because the game is short, you will find yourself beating the game repeatedly to acquire new characters or to power up your uber-character. In the single player experience, you can find that one power move that works with many enemies. You will most likely beat the game "hogging" and beating all of the enemies yourself without any of your computer controlled friends breaking a sweat. If The Bouncer had included two more players during a much longer (and more plausible) story mode, it could've possibly been more fun. It would be entertaining to have players cooperate and create combos where two players "combine" to create a super move among a group of enemies. For those that like these types of games, I highly recommend playing the River City Ransom games. Gameplay wise, River City Ransom is much better than this one. I hope SquareSoft/Square Enix will revisit this series and come out with a sequel. They could definitely address the issues of this first try.
if you are looking for another squaresoft masterpiece then this game is not right for you. its too short and only has the play time boosted up by constant interruptions of dialogue, although the cut scenes and cinimatics... Read Full Review
Out of all the possible Playstation 2 games available, it is sad to notice that The Bouncer is one of the more under-rated and forgotten titles. It is also sad to notice, that Bouncer was one of the last of its kind prod... Read Full Review
