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>
>Post some thoughts on it when you get a chance, please. I almost picked it
>up last week, but thought I'd wait on some reviews...

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>
> Finally got a chance to try it out tonight. In short, not as much like
> Streets of Rage as I was led to believe, and more like Powerstone with
> slightly more brain challenge. There's issues of timing and strategy to
> consider, and it's not just a button masher. I feel like there was a
> deliberate effort to reward smart gameplay and quick reflexes.
>

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>
> The controls are unique, and after a while seem pretty natural. You have
> two basic attacks a 'beat' and a 'charge' and they differ among the four
> characters. Your beat is either a basic kick or punch that you can perform
> while standing, running or jumping. The charge attack differs depending on
> how long you hold down the button, and depending on how far your on-screen charge
> meter builds up you can have one of four possible attacks out of it. The third
> and fourth attack variants are interesting, in that the
> third temporarily puts your opponent into an immobile 'dizzy' state and
> the fourth knocks him about twenty feet back on his behind. There's also a
> shift control that allows you to run around while still facing your
> opponent (for handy strafing or backward retreat action.) Oh yes, and when
> you get close enough to touch, you automatically grab your opponent in
> preparation for a throw or a flip.
>

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>
> The opening cinema is interesting from a Sega fan's viewpoint, since it
> makes references to plot events from 'ten years ago' that are obviously
> from the Naomi arcade game that never saw a Dreamcast console conversion.
> It's weird to see a game packaged as a sequel when most of us never saw
> the original title that inspired it. It's also interesting from a cultural
> standpont, in that we have a Japanese interpretation of a largely American
> culture of crime. The emphasis on unadorned physical confrontation is the
> kind of weird American thing that we carried over from European dueling
> and brawling. The lack of firearms is the kind of cartoonish detail you
> would get in a Japanese story.
>

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>
> Sorry, that was out of left field a bit. Where was I? Oh yes, game seems
> reasonably fun and priced right to boot. I haven't played on Live yet
> (mostly because Xbox Live makes me lose all faith and regard for my fellow
> human beings) but I'm sure the experience is well-handled. There's just
> enough slop in the controls and the character reaction to overcome any lag
> or other connection problems, similar to how it was handled for Phantasy
> Star Online.
>

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>
> Come back out with me into fanboy land for just a bit?

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> I really wish that
> Sega would take a page from Namco's playbook and have some of their
> franchise characters make apperances in this kind of game.

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> Spikeout has
> the potential to rise above freaky niche status and become a signature
> title. It wouldn't hurt to have a Virtua Fighter, a Fighting Viper or
> maybe even one of the Shenmue NPC's hanging out in the game somewhere. You
> get the impression that Sarah and Candy/Honey wouldn't be out of place in
> this environment.
>

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>
> Anyway, I'm going to head back and try this on Live now, if I can work up
> the courage. There's only so much youthful profanity my old ears can take.
>

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>
> -KKC, who may set up a PSO server this weekend if he can find the energy.
>

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>
>Yeah, I mean, look at how well some of the Capcom characters did in that one
>game...dammit, where everyone is on rollerblades...on the DC. At any
>rate, you know what I'm talking about.

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>Imagine a SoR-like game, or even a Kung Fu Chaos/TMNT: Mutant Melee sort of game
>that featured, like, 60 characters...all from various Sega games....then
>imagine it
>on Live...of course, as soon as you begin to imagine it, that damn alarm clock
>seems to go off everytime...

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> -KKC, who also now owns a copy of God of War. It'll go in the back of the
> cabinet next to DOA Beach Volleyball...

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>
> That was Cannon Spike, and to be completely honest I'm not sold on that
> kind of game as a publisher's crossover title. It was neat to see them in
> there, but it felt less like the character apperances added anything to
> the game and more like they were there just for some quick name
> recognition.
>

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>
>
> I always imagined that a Sega crossover title would be an RPG, given that
> they have such a library of titles to plunder characters from. All of a
> sudden, I don't have much to so on the subject.
>

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>
> -KKC, who also now owns a copy of God of War. It'll go in the back of the
> cabinet next to DOA Beach Volleyball...
>

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>
>Really? I hear that GoW is damn good...now DOA Volleyball on the other
>hand....well,
>I guess it makes for nice viewing...but that's about it. ;)

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>
> The reason I lump the two games together is because the same reptilian
> motivation caused me to buy both. You may not be aware that in God of War,
> power ups are achieved through sex acts with NPC's that you encounter
> along the way. There are also mini-games centered on the same gameplay
> elements. That's all in spite of (or perhaps in concert with) the
> elephantine volume of violence and gore that the game is already well
> known for. This is definitely not the kind of game you show off to your
> grandparents.
>