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Platform: PlayStation
2
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Urban
Reign
Back
in the 16-bit days of gaming, brawlers were all the rage with series
like Final Fight, Double Dragon, Battletoads, and Streets of Rage flying
off of store shelves. Since
the inception of 3D gaming, though, this genre has unfortunately fallen
by the wayside. There have
been some exceptions like Fighting Force, but most people are still
trying to forget about that stinker.
In an attempt
to revitalize the genre, Namco is taking the brawler of the 16-bit era, and
transposing it into the modern world of 3D gaming on the PlayStation 2
with Urban Reign.
Right
from the start this game has quite a bit going for it, considering that
both the Tekken and Soul Calibur teams will be working on it. With that, Urban Reign is all about the brutal world of
street gangs, and the merciless justice that they dish out. Players will take on the role of a thug that must protect the
leader of one of the city’s toughest gangs, helping him with whatever
felony tickles his fancy at the moment.
Thus far, there looks to be quite a bit of meat on Urban Reign’s bones. There are 100 missions planned for the game, as well as 60 characters to choose from in multiplayer |
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mode, including
some appearances by popular, yet to be named guest characters.
In a surprising move, the game will go so far as to support the
multi-tap, allowing up to four people to play simultaneously.
With the people responsible for Tekken and Soul Calibur on the job, one has to assume that there will be quite a few interesting special moves to learn while playing Urban Reign. In addition to the expected liberal doses of punching and kicking, the game will include 30 weapons for players to arm themselves with. With this, players will actually have a number of moves that |
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they can use which are specific to each weapon. So instead of picking up a bottle, or a knife and watching one’s on-screen alter ego haplessly poke away at an enemy, there will be a variety of unique moves one will need to learn for each of them.
In
recent years it seemed many were about to throw in the towel when it
comes to brawlers, resigned to accepting that the genre had died with the
16-bit era. It’s nice to
see a publisher step up to the plate and try and rejuvenate it, and
hopefully Urban Reign can do so in a way that not only has gamers
swelling with nostalgia, but also feeling suitably impressed with how
the genre has been updated for the current generation of consoles.
Mr.
Nash (May 10, 2005) |
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