GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 02/17/2004
- Released on: 02/17/2004
- Originally published on GameSpot: Rise to Honor (PlayStation 2) Review
The concept of games with a cinematic touch isn't exactly anything new. Some developers have been chasing the dream of presenting their products as interactive movies for years, with varying levels of success. These days, however, the technology is there to really make this dream more of a reality. But just because a game can properly emulate the storytelling and tension of a movie doesn't automatically make it great. Sony's new beat-'em-up, Rise to Honor, may have the flashy action and storytelling that you'd expect from a martial arts flick, but unfortunately, the gameplay doesn't hold up its end of the bargain.
Jet Li's voice and likeness provide the basis for Kit Yun, the lead character of Rise to Honor.
Martial arts superstar Jet Li stars--in polygonal form--in Rise to Honor. Li plays an undercover cop named Kit Yun. Kit has infiltrated a Hong Kong crime family and begins the game in charge of protecting the leader of the syndicate, Boss Chiang. Without spoiling too much of the story, you're eventually put on a path to San Francisco to find Chiang's daughter. But there are forces out there who want to prevent you from reaching your goal, and you'll have to do a lot of fighting and shooting to complete your mission.
Fighting and shooting are the two types of scenarios you'll encounter in Rise to Honor. Most of the game is focused on hand-to-hand combat, so you're usually pitted against several foes at the same time. Much like Microsoft's fairly recent Xbox game Grabbed by the Ghoulies, you'll move around with the left analog stick, and you'll attack by pushing the right analog stick in the direction of your opponent. Constant tapping will execute combos, and you can tap in different directions to attack multiple foes with one combo. In addition to this, you can block attacks, counter attacks, and pull off slow-motion combos (that feature more impressive attacks) by spending some of the juice on your adrenaline meter. The combat works well by handling the multiple-attackers-thing without resorting to any sort of lock-on requirement. But even with breakable environments and some objects that can be used as weapons, the combat feels overly simplified and really gets old fast. You'll see the same combos again and again, and the enemy AI isn't really interesting at all.
The other main gameplay type in Rise to Honor is shooting. Here, Kit is armed with a weapon and is given a limitless supply of ammunition. The R2 button is your fire button, and the right analog stick is used to lock on to your enemies, which is required before you can shoot. You'll also make use of cover by hiding as your enemies try to gun you down. However, the cover system isn't so fluid, and it forces you to come all the way out of hiding to lock on to a target or to fire your weapon. A mechanic to either fire from behind cover or, even better, one that lets you pop out, take a few shots, and pop back behind cover almost automatically would have made the gameplay feel smoother. Other recent games, such as James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing and kill.switch, have combined cover tactics with gunplay in an expert fashion, so it's disappointing that Sony doesn't have something similar here. Additionally--though this is a minor point given the fact that the game isn't striving for realism--some of the cover in the game is pretty insane. The concept of hiding behind a plastic garbage can that can somehow take 40 rounds from a machine gun--without any of the bullets making their way through the can and in to the back of Jet Li's head--is a little crazy.
Continue reading
Rise to Honor (PlayStation 2):
%20PlayStation%202%20Game%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/playstation-2-games/rise-to-honor-playstation/4505-9581_7-30989466.html){kind=small}