The evil genius in Fighting Force 64 is Dr. Zeng and he's taken it upon himself to cause global destruction. perhaps he was a little disappointed when the millennium bug turned out to be little more than an old wive's tale, and nuclear armageddon was left for another few decades, at least. <br><br>Fighting Force 64 is a port of an elderly PlayStation game, the game style being a 3-D version of old side-scrolling fighters like Double Dragon and Streets Of Rage. Gameplay is simple one or two players enter an area, beat up a small army of evil cannon fodder using fists, feet and any blunt instruments they find lying around, before moving on to the next stage. Fighting is kept as simple as possible, although each character boasts a special move accessed by button/stick combos. <br><br>The storyline finds our dark champions of justice trying to stop the evil apocalypse plans of Dr. Zeng. It seems the good doctor was a bit miffed that the new millennium didn't bring with it the destruction of the world. So with an evil sneer on his face and a horde of minions at his disposal he decides that destroying the world is a tough job but somebody's got to do it. So with vigilante Hawk Manson, dashing P.I. Mace Daniels, strongman Ben "Smasher" Jackson and Zeng's illegitimate little girl Alana on your team, you set out to punch the mad scientist's head in. <br><br>Fighting Force 64 moves and operates just like the original, it just takes a little longer than we're used to. It seems chasing down and beating down bad guys just isn't as much a priority anymore because the heroes can take their time reaching their targets, overrun them when they try to get there quickly or sometimes turn their backs on them altogether in the middle of the fight. In all fairness, Fighting Force 64 requires the player to master movement in a 3D environment so that they may kick butt effectively. <br><br>Although most of the extra weapons that the heroes can use like baseball bats, knives and even the occasional gun are dropped by fallen foes, additional jawbreaking gear can be picked up by smashing the scenery. Not only does this often produce hidden weapons like rocket launchers and shotguns, but it also earns you a 'destruction bonus' at the end of each stage. Unlike most recent games, getting a high score is crucial, as certain routes through the game only open up when you reach a set score.<br><br>The levels are fairly standard for this kind of game, being mainly urban combat zones with some corporate skyscrapers and high-tech secret bases thrown in. The stages are well-detailed with quite a lot of interactive scenery. Most things can be smashed if you've got the time, so make the most of it! Picking up tires or trash cans and tossing them at evil henchmen is a video game standard at this point. We were impressed by smacking the soda machine for a few cans of carbonated health and then finishing off the exact change eating monster with a few roundhouse kicks. Then there's the destruction of the ATM so that you can use the freed monitor as a handy projectile to knock the bad guys' blocks off. <br><br>The same-screen two player cooperative mode is a welcome sight to have on the N64. However, after a few times of getting pummeled while being hidden behind a wall or truck, you may just opt for a solo adventure. Even though there can be a problem with the camera ending up in a bad place, with plenty of practice, you and a buddy should be serving up justice like some pros. Then there's the chance to settle an dispute between you and a mate by flinging tyres at each other. Trust me, it's the best way possible. <br><br>The fighters are controlled with the analogue stick, but since this is a direct translation of a PlayStation game no effort has been made to use the N64 controller to its fullest. In order to run which you'll want to, since the default walking pace is on a par with a a Sunday footballer after a good night's curry eating, you have to hold down the Z trigger. Your chosen fighter then takes off like a cheetah on steroids! More than once, we would hit a button to execute a move and the bad guys would beat us to the punch, literally. Special moves can be executed with a combination of A, B and the Z trigger. With Hawk, we sometimes had trouble with the safe flying kick or shoulder rush and the life force draining super spin kick. <br><br>We've already mentioned the sluggish controls but the characters themselves look pretty good. There's a little too much slowdown and PSX-style jagginess going on at times but that could be due to the overall dated look and design of the game. Remember, graphics in nearly all games have gotten better in the last few years. It can be hard to figure out exactly what items you're picking up as you advance through the levels. The pistol looks a little flat while it's on the ground and it can be hard to tell if you're using a lead pipe or a baseball bat on your opponent's skull. <br><br>The real failing of Fighting Force is that it's mindless, and not in a good way. The best action games compensate for their innate brainlessness by never giving you a moment to realise it, constantly piling on action. Fighting Force is just too little, too late. What's interesting is that Fighting Force was never an impressive title, even when it debuted for Sony's PlayStation close to two years ago. Brought down by repetitive level design and simplistic fighting mechanics, one wonders why Crave resurrected it from the grave.