Rise to Honor

"A realistic Jet Li video game!?!? Where can it go wrong?"

Rise to Honor for the Playstation 2 is yet another story about an expert martial artist/gunman trying to survive in a world ruled by organized crime syndicates. It's been done a thousand times, so one can hardly expect anything new, right? WRONG! With an excellent plot, stunning graphics, awesome sound effects, great voice acting, and superb game play, this game definitely has the potential to become a PS2 classic. With all of that, plus Jet Li starring as the main character, Kit Yun, how could this game be any better? Below, I'll break down where this game gained and lost points (or should it be point?).

Plot: 10/10 - Absolutely nothing wrong here due to the fact that the story line is very compelling yet believable at the same time. I don't know about the rest of you, but I definitely began to feel sorry with Kit Yun's character during the game.

Game Play: 10/10 - Okay, I'll be the very first one to admit that the controls in this game are somewhat confusing. In fact, I've never actually played a game with controls similar to this game. You see, instead of using the normal triangle, square, circle, and x buttons to fight, you simply use the right analog stick and point in the direction that you wish to attack. Sounds simple, right? Well, in one-on-fights with weak enemies, yes it is. Once you get into fighting with multiple (five, six, seven, or eight) enemies, it can get a bit hard. Luckily, you can use the L1 and R1 buttons to block and counter attacks and use adrenaline (which speeds you up and slows everyone else down) to aid you during combat. However, after an hour or so, you'll be fighting like… Jet Li himself. An additional plus is the fact that you can pick up to two different hand weapons to deal extreme damage to your enemies.
During gun battles, you automatically have unlimited ammo. How sweet is that? Once again, you use the right analog stick to point in the direction that you want to shoot and the R2 button to actually shoot. While the unorthodox controls will definitely be confusing at first, you'll definitely come to love it well before the game is finished.

Graphics: 10/10 - This game definitely beats Max Payne graphic wise. The characters definitely look lifelike, the martial arts moves look like they belong in a… Jet Li movie, and the background and foreground designs for San Francisco and Hong Kong are stunning.

Sound Effects: 10/10 - The sound effects sound exactly like what they should, and Jet Li and the other VA's also deliver excellent performances in both English and Mandarin.

Difficulty: 9/10 - Okay, this game has a very diverging difficulty. Whereas several levels can be beaten very easily, several parts of the game are so hard that you'll feel like tearing out your hair. Luckily, I have short hair… and luckily this game has unlimited lives. Even further, each level is further split up into several automatic save zone where you'll wind up if you die. This will definitely come in handy in many of the harder levels.

Overall: 9/10: The only thing that detracts from this AWESOME game is the fact that it has an inconsistent difficulty. There's no doubt that this is a hard game, but the fact that there is a range from very easy to insanely hard to just a little beyond the halfway point of the game is somewhat annoying.

Rent or Buy? I'd say buy, even though I only rented it. Don't worry though, I'm definitely going to buy my own copy after I return it to Blockbuster.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/24/04