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Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance Review
Chris Leyton
30/09/2005
Capcom returns to the beat-em-up genre with a mixture of good and bad ideas...
Once king of the consoles, the beat-em-up genre, or more specifically the evolution of the side-scrolling kind, hasnāt fared too well in recent years with memories of Final Fight, Double Dragon and Streets of Rage exactly that, a distant memory.
Still one publisher remains committed to the cause, given itās heritage itās perhaps unsurprising to find that Capcom are still attempting to bring back some of the popularity with the return of Final Fight in 2006, but first a look at Caviaās Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance for the Playstation2 and Xbox.
Promising open-ended gameplay, multiple characters and a variety of game modes, on initial impressions Beatdown: Streets of Vengeance appears to offer everything a fan would wantā¦ but after a short period the gameās many shortcomings become increasingly apparent.
The choice of five different characters from the start each with varying plotlines is a good start; Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance takes place in the seedy underbelly of Las Sombras, ruled by a criminal underworld of power, greed and corruption. In a twisted tale of betrayal, warring cartels and hard-hitting battles, players must use their wits and their fists to seek vengeance on their enemies.
After an introductory sequence to highlight the nature of the game and a handful of tutorial missions, players find themselves at a rundown bar that serves as a HUB presenting new missions, the ability to save the game, purchase basic items and chat with the down ānā outs.
Double crossed by their own gang and wanted by the police, wandering the streets of Las Sombras is a risky affair and governed by two indicators depicted as percentages that represent your suspicion amongst the two factions; wander too close to a gang member or police officer and the counter will quickly spiral to 100% and a fight will ensue. To combat this, players can purchase a huge selection of items of clothing to wear or take a visit to the hospital for some plastic surgery, masking their appearance temporarily and highlighting the developerās ambition to bring a touch of customisation to the experience. Ultimately however it just doesnāt feel quite right, thereās a little too much emphasis placed on it, if youāre on the run would you really have time to worry if a brown or blue shirt goes best with your corduroys ā“ more to the point, why do you want to avoid fights if youāve brought a beat-em-up???
The streets of Las Sombras are filled with characters to interact with and Beatdown provides a number of options to the player, ranging from interrogating for information, mugging them for cash, recruiting them to your cause or viciously beating them down. Players are free to add a wide range of characters to their team although only two of these can hook up with you at any one time, the rest simply hang out until you call them on the mobile. Thereās a good sense of variety between the various fighting styles of the characters that you can enlist to your cause, with heavy brawlers, quick fisted fighters and plain weedy characters that serve very little purpose.
Despite the promise of an open city to walk around this essentially boils down to seven small areas divided by short but nonetheless intrusive loading times, completely destroying the illusion and sense of immersion and resulting in a game that feels somewhat antiquated.
The actual core fighting gameplay isnāt too bad compared to the other issues that thwart the game, although one that is largely devoid of any real skill. Fights can take place with multiple opponents along with team-attack moves or in a one-on-one encounters closer to Tekken or Virtua Fighter; a variety of punch, kick and grab manoeuvres open up a variety of combo, counter and disarm techniques. Weapons also play a significant role within the game, ranging from pistols to lumbering steel girders.
To add an element of depth the game features an RPG experience system of sorts allowing you to upgrade the characters performance in three different areas, whilst a rating system also dictates your results in each chapter. Coupled with the customisation aspects this becomes an interesting diversion, if a little unsuited for a beat-em-up.
Visually thereās a good selection of diverse characters throughout Breakdown that feature an impressive level of detail and animation, sporting bruises and cuts whenever theyāve been into a particularly nasty scrap ā“ and this certainly happens on numerous occasions. The environments are generally satisfactory in their gritty, dark designs, although come across as a series of movie sets lacking in substance and certainly nothing to stick in your mind.
Sadly the same canāt be said about the music which features a strange selection of typical videogame electronic tracks, think old-school Final Fight or Streets of Rage and youāll know what to expect. The voice acting with its abundance of āshiteāsā and other such profanities also comes across as humorous rather then edgy, whilst the sheer repetition of the same phrases grates after a very short time; perhaps something happened in the translation, perhaps itās a homage to the titles listed above and the genre as a whole, one thingās for certain is that gamers demand much more in this area nowadays.
