Maken X

"Bizarre, but in a great way."

Maken X: Bizarre, yet satisfying
So, what is this freakish game? I've seen it in many places for rent, but the back of the box only shows the bizarre nature of the game. What can I expect from it if I want to rent or rush out and blow my money on it this second?

Well, Maken X, like any game, has both good and bad points. For starters, Maken X has some flaws in the story department and a few gameplay quirks, but the character designs are among the best in any game I've ever played.

STORY / VOICE
Well, let's be clear in this department: Maken X has a story, but only loosely. The story that it does have has some interesting moments, but on the whole it lets you down. A high school student named Kay Sagami is possessed by an artificially created being. This being has the power to control the minds of others and form itself into a sword. When it possesses Kay, her soul is absorbed into the sword, and you have to make decisions on whether to ally yourself with the good or bad sides, or whether you care enough to save Kay's soul.

Unfortunately, for the interesting premise, Kay gets on your nerves. After every thing that happens, Kay will give some trite but of insight into the situation such as, ''Why did you kill him? He was a good guy.'' Thanks a whole lot, I had no idea. Kay has several internal monologues with the sword (you) which you can answer her in a yes or no which determines the pace of the story and how Kay reacts to you.

Another letdown is how shallow your choices are in this field. Instead of allying yourself out to several organizations all fighting for control of the sword, there are only 2. Good and Evil. This in itself gets a little tiring.

A point worth mentioning is that the story offers no reason why you need to go to many locations and fight there, or why there are enemies in this location. Moreover, there are several story elements that are just not capitalized much on that could have added a lot to the experience. Again, more wasted potential.

The voice acting, on the whole, is pretty good. Kay is irritating, but for the most part she delivers a believable performance. The other characters run the usual range of bad English dubbing, with the obligatory big guy, smart guy, cocky guy, and french girl voices, which most gamers will have heard a hundred times before.

For all of its potential, the story doesn't do it. It could have been a lot more, and it fell short. The acting, while bearable, is still sub-par compared to other games: surpassed by leaps and bounds in Shenmue, Metal Gear, Castlevania SOTN, and many other Dreamcast games.

Story / Voice : 2 / 10
Bearable, but disappointing

GAMEPLAY
Well, the true meat and potatoes of every game lies within the gameplay. Maken X takes an interesting road that some have called the first-person slasher. In this, you have a melee weapon and you play much as you would a First-Person-Shooter, sans the guns.

This has ups and downs, but thanks to an innovative control schematic, you are able to really take advantage of what Maken X puts on the table. In order to attack people, you hit the slash button. Holding it down will charge a more powerful slash or a special projectile, at the cost of some life. These attacks are helpful in a pinch, but you learn never to rely on them due to the life cost.

You can jump, and strafe, but what makes these even more effective is the lock-on system. Hitting Y will bring up a reticule that shows the life of the enemy you're fighting, and pressing left and right will move you around the enemy. If your opponent is on a higher or lower level, the sight will adjust accordingly. If you get close, you can press forward and jump to actually leap over the person, turn around in midair, and slash the exposed backside of whatever creature you wish to dispatch.

Blocking is also very easy. Hold back, and you're block every non-projectile attack that the enemy will throw at you. If it's an unblockable punch, you can press left / right and jump to move out of the way, which works very well.

Another feature of the game that fails to work at all because of the FPS nature of Maken X is the ability to deflect projectiles. Because you don't know exactly where the fireball is in relation to the character, you often end up swinging too late or too early, at the cost of life. A third person view mode would have been helpful for this, and if not replace the First-person-view mode at least toggle it back and forth. Incidentally, the PS2 version will have a third person mode.

Overall, the control is good enough to let you do what you need to do with minimal frustration, and despite the fact that there is little depth perception in the game, you can judge where your hits will land incredibly well thanks to the blocking, jumping, and lock-on.

Unfortunately, once you get used to the controls, you'll find that every enemy can be taken out the same way, and it may take a couple turns for the ''block, jump, slash'' pattern to kill the enemy. The repetition builds up by the end of the game, and more movement and attack variety would have been great.

There are lots of gameplay varieties though, as Maken X is based around the ability to ''Brainjack'' characters in the game. Bad guys, some good guys, and a few miscellaneous people can be possessed by Maken in the same manner that it possessed Kay. They are of several different levels, so if you aren't experienced enough you can't control the character. Experience comes in the form of yin-yang symbols found in levels and dropped by enemies that raise your level bar. At level 2, you can brainjack level 2 opponents, and so forth.

There are only so many brainjackable characters in the game however, but each have their own moves, special moves, and a combo. The choice of which character to use in a certain situation makes the game interesting. If you fight an interesting boss, you'll want the ability to use him or her later on, which makes things very cool.

Gameplay : 6 / 10
Innovative and useful, despite a few problems.

GRAPHICS
Maken X really does shine in this example. Although the environments are low-polygon, for the most part the skins are of excellent quality. A 6 sided box is usually textured in great detail, and is smooth enough to provide no jagged edges or any typical graphical glitches like this. Buildings look war-torn or lavish, depending on where you are. The levels take on a huge amount of character, and you really are in awe of some of the places, even if as simple as a sunset-lit outdoor area. Seriously, if you like game environments and architecture, this game will make your jaw drop at times.

And the characters are amazing. I can't even begin to imagine how some of these things were created. There are Mafia hitmen with butterfly wings, Nazi guards with chest-grafted chainguns and blade-arms, a Russian soldier that spits knives and carries a giant scalpel, and a mafia don that fights with a fire axe and explosive dolls. This is just to name a few.

All of these characters look and act incredible, and the motion is always completely fluid. The characters, coupled with the environments will really create an atmosphere that is a pleasure to see. Never before have I played a game where both the background and characters meshed so well into each other and created a great look.

Finally, the game moves at a constant 60 FPS. Everything is fantastic, well textured, and simple in a great and calculated way. It flows amazingly well, that it really makes one step back and say, ''Whoa.'' The gameplay, ironically, is more fluid and dynamic than the cutscenes, which is a real rarity.

Graphics : 10 / 10
Truly awe-inspiring.

SOUND / MUSIC
If anything, this is standard fare for most FPS games. The music is a little better than most games, and certain levels really have a cool tune. For the most part the music is a little bit of Japanese-influenced guitar rock, but it has some great tracks that break from the norm.

The sound, on the other hand, is a little muffled. It has some neat sound effects, but explosions, projectiles, and slashes just don't sound as great as they could have been. On the whole, the sound is a little bit muffled.

The voice, while unspectacular, is delivered cleanly and clearly, which is much appreciated in the sea of FPS games that try to do it without any real goal.

Overall, the sound and music are average. The sound gets a 3, the music gets a 7, which averages out to a 5.

Sound / Music : 5 / 10
Dead average.

OVERALL
If you're looking for an unconventional game that you can find for under 20 bucks, Maken X fits that bill like a glove. The characters shine with innovation and a weird aura that truly needs to be seen to be appreciated. The game's development for characters and story are lackluster, but the chance to use several characters throughout the course of the game is a unique experience to say the least.

The game works and flows well in its mechanics, but sadly the game does not do the amazing graphics and characters justice. Play it, and form your own opinions, but play through it enough to see the variety of interesting characters.

Overall : 6 /10
Above average with striking high points

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/21/01, Updated 02/18/02