Brutal: Above the Claw

"Fists of Furry..."

Fighting games come in all forms, from the technical to the absurd, and then you get one someplace in the middle such as Brutal. No longer are you fighting with human competitors with super human moves, but more or less animals with extraordinary powers! Through several different battles, you'll take on other animals, all of which have special powers that you can learn and take from your defeated opponent.

-Game Play 7/10-

It's your usual fighting game that pits your animal character in a one on one battle using some pretty funky special moves and regular attacks. You'll play everything from a tiger to a llama, all of which have a special way of going about their fighting ability. You'll find that the action is only increased by a password feature that allows you to return to any particular battle at any given time so that you can defeat a particular character for a new special move! The game is either a one player story mode, or a two player slugfest, but either way, you'll have fun playing through with the seven unusual characters the game has to offer.

-Control 7/10-

Precise and fast, the three button control is just perfect and everything has a strange resemblance to Street Fighter in how it moves and how it's controlled! Special moves only come into play when you defeat your opponent and take theirs, so the learning curve can be a little difficult when trying to use your new found attack effectively. As with most fighting games, practice makes perfect.

-Visuals 7/10-

Large and in charge, the characters here are all well drawn and animated with plenty of action going on. The sheer speed of the game and the way that it keeps together is a welcomed sight. However, some of the problems lay with the way that everything looks overly animated and rather cartoon-ish! The backgrounds are all well designed and well detailed, without much spared to the rest of the visuals on screen. Sometimes, with a fighting game, you'll find that the backgrounds don't really match the fighters that are battling through them, but you'll find that it all blends together nicely!

-Audio 7/10-

The sound here is strictly fighting game standard with some wild sounding music thrown in to battle to. The sound effects are also your standard fare, with the thuds and crashes of punches and kicks ringing through the stereo speakers! But, as with most fighting games, this can get hard on the ears, and the tones of the music are a little too jungle-like in their way to be pleasing for too long!

-Overall 7/10-

Brutal is a strange themed game that offers some decent fighting action with the help of furry creatures instead of muscle bound humans. Offering a password feature, a couple of hidden characters, and some familiar game play plus controls, Brutal is a needed change of pace from the Street Fighters and Mortal Kombats that dominate the Genesis fighting plat form!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/12/01, Updated 10/12/01