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Rise To Honour PS2 SCEA  'Rise
To Honour,' starring Chinese action hero Jet Li, is a new and wholly
revolutionary martial arts game. More like an interactive martial
arts movie than a computer game, 'Rise To Honour' is an epic story
of betrayal and honour. Despite this enormous scope the game still
conforms to the familiar level system of other examples in the action
game genre. There are sixty-three chapters of mayhem to unlock, each
with a promise of challenging entertainment. The story begins when you (Kit Yun) are employed by Boss Chiang to be his new bodyguard in the Hong Kong underworld. Chiang was Yun's father's best friend. Chiang is unaware that Yun is actually an undercover cop seeking to dismantle the hideous crime world that took the life of his father. It sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster but bear with it because the fighting system in this game is breathtaking. For any gamer this control system will seem new and scary but it is nothing short of revolutionary. Instead of the boring system of one-directional fighting characteristic of other martial arts action games this system is based around multi-directional combat. Some button use helps with Blocking, Counterattacks, Grappling and Adrenaline attacks but almost the entire system is based around the two analog sticks. The left stick is for movement and the right stick is for attacking. It is very important to attack in the exact direction of an opponent and to repeatedly slap the stick in that direction. In most fighting games it is logical to focus your attention on one enemy and take them out before turning for another opponent; that is not the case with this game. As soon as another attacker steps up to fight you have to slap the right stick in their direction. Trust me; if you don't deal with the new threat you will get hit. The R1 button is also the Action button enabling the animated Jet Li to perform some incredible stunts like running along walls and leaping over cars. Some of the fight stages are really hard with some difficult combination tricks to discover but for the experienced gamer this may add up to only sixteen hours of challenging and enjoyable playtime. But there is plenty of scope this to this game. Also included are some impressive gun battle stages and run and dodge or stealth stages. Once you've gotten through the game you will have unlocked a Hard difficulty option, new outfits and videos including the making of the game and some animated Wushu katas or patterns. One of the greatest features of the game is the sheer amount of brilliant fighting moves which have been animated using motion capture. Look out for some extraordinarily balletic moves that you can do with other people using the grapple function. Also keep the default language settings at Cantonese for Hong Kong (with English subtitles) and English for San Francisco. Not only is Cantonese a beautiful sounding language but it also adds atmosphere to this already intensely atmosperic action masterpiece. 'Rise To Honour' is easily one of the best games I've played this year and it should set the benchmark for further action projects.  |
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