Latest Reviews
Buzz! Quiz TVSpace Invaders ExtremeEchochromeGuitar Hero: AerosmithNinja Gaiden Dragon SwordUser Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for Fighting Force 2Write your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
Fighting Force 2 Review
Noel Brady
00/12/0000
If you grew up on Final Fight and others of that ilk you may enjoy this.
While we're all waiting on Core to get their act together and get Tomb Raider 4 released on the Dreamcast, they've decided to release a different third-person action adventure title for the console. What should really get Dreamcast owners going is that Fighting Force was a large success on the Playstation, selling over a million copies. By rights, Fighting Force 2 should be fantastic. Unfortunately, it's not.
Fighting Force 2 isn't at all like it's predecessor. The original was a side-scrolling two player beat-'em-up, along the lines of Double Dragon, whereas Fighting Force 2 is a third-person action adventure with no multiplayer mode. It's a bit like Tomb Raider, in fact, except skewed more towards the beat-'em-up elements rather than puzzles and traps. You play Hawk Mason, a rugged member of SI-COPS, a 21-st century pan-Continental police force that was set up to wage war on international corporate crime. Your mission is to delve into the heart of the sinister Nakamichi Corporation, which is illegally seeking to produce deadly cloned soldiers. Why? To take over the world, of course-- what else do sinister international corporations do? As Hawk, it's down to you to stop them.
As far as gameplay goes, Fighting Force 2 is easy to get into. You scoot around the levels using the analogue pad, eliminating any Nakamichi employees that dare to stand in your way. You can either fight with your bare hands or with one of the many weapons you pick up-- guns, knives, iron bars and so on. When you get hold of the various guns, you can stroll around blasting foes away, or switch to a Goldeneye-esque sniper mode. The screen zooms in, and you direct your aim to pinpoint the bad guys. It's an advantage, but this isn't a game where you get unlimited ammo-- concentrate on shooting, and you'll run out.
However, fighting hand-to-hand builds up your 'rage meter', which makes your attacks more powerful. It's not just a case of trademark punches and kicks either-- it's simple to execute spin kicks, overhead punches and forward rolls. With all the guns having limited ammo, you'll often find the need to be a bit handy with your fists to progress. The problem is that Fighting Force 2 is just plain dull, being as much fun to play as watching paint dry. With the puzzle-solving elements kept to a minimum, it really is just a case of wandering around the levels wasting enemies, collecting weapons and occasionally finding keys to get through locked doors. Okay, so that's pretty much the definition of an average action adventure game, but there's just not enough variety to keep you interested.
Then there are the enemies. They're supposed o be more intelligent than your average bad guy. In fact, according to publicity, as you paly they're supposed to follow you around, take cover and change their fighting style according to yours. That's what they're supposed to do. The reality is somewhat different. Often, even when you've just shot a couple of bad guys and blown down a door, the enemies in the next room will stroll around ignoring you. It's only when you get too close that they actually react. Often, it's possible to just hang around the doorway and pick them off with the sniper mode. It's true that enemies do sometimes try to hide, but only in the most comical way-- there's always a humorous limb or two left sticking out, no matter how large the object.
There are so many uninspiring aspects of Fighting Force 2, I don't know where to begin. I suppose I could start with the main character, Hawk Manson. Apparently borrowing his look from Duke Nukem, Hawk fits the part of vigilante pretty well. Unfortunately, his ability set consists all of 3 moves. That's right, you can jump, punch, and kick and do nothing else. Of course you can pick up various weapons throughout the game (axes, guns, and the like), but for the most part they are no more effective than his fists. Talk about disappointing. Also disappointing are the enemies. Pretty much the same couple of guys in different colored clothes, you run into the same idiotic goons throughout the adventure.
There are good points-- like the way you can destroy pretty much ever piece of furniture in the levels. Rampaging around deserted offices smashing computer screens and totalling photocopiers is certainly a good laugh, and it helps you earn money to pay for extra continues too. That said, this is let down by the fact that when you use a continue, you start right back at the beginning of the stage. Looks-wise, Fighting Force 2 is pretty okay. It does look better than the Playstation version, but it still looks like a Playstation game. The graphics are nice and sharp, but even though the levels are pretty varied, none of the screens are going to have your jaw hitting the ground. Technically, it;s not terrible by any means, but it's definitely no showstopper.
It's hard to justify playing the game all the way through the first level, let alone the entire disc. Punching and kicking a tidal wave of palette-swaps is not my idea of fun, and who ever heard of a table exploding when you punch it? This game is a real disappointment, particularly given Core's high success rate in the genre. Fighting Force 2 doesn't push the Dreamcast's power and, worse still, just isn't fun to play.
