Death by Degrees

"This Game DOES NOT deserve the bad reviews it recieved."

Well I read so many bad reviews about this game and I think its unfair, so I decided to write a review myself. The reviewers were obviously to busy or something to give this game the chance it deserver. By reading some of them its pretty obvious they just put the game in, didn't like it right away because it takes getting used to, and tossed it in the trash.

After playing so many games nowadays that are pretty much the same game with different characters and titles... I find it hard to stay interested enough to bother finishing them. Death by Degrees is thankfully not one of those games. All in all I had a great time with this one. It has alot of old school platform action feel mixed with some newer ideas.

--GAMEPLAY-- 8/10

The game in set in the 3rd person view, and the flow is similar to most in this genre, meaning that you run around kicking ass while looking for keys, finding clues, and solving puzzles to advance further in the mission. And if its done right, dammit, it can still be lot of fun. Death by Degrees mixes alot of cool features in as well, such as a level up and points system, where the character becomes stronger, gains more health and focus points, and purchase new moves to perform during battle. Focus points are used to execute special moves, which you can purchase using your points that you earn while fighting with the enemy. Pushing l2 while near an enemy will kick in this x-ray mode, where you see the poor fellows skeleton that you are about to break. A little icon appears on the screen, and you just simply need move the icon over the desired bone you want to smash, push a button, and then watch as you do some funky move to disable your opponent.

--CONTROLS-- 8/10

At first I wasn't so sure about the controls. I was constantly pushing the wrong buttons when trying to attack enemies or control the camera angle, but once I got used to them I found to my surprise, that I ended up really liking both the character and camera controls. Once you learn all the combos and special moves you can pull off the control system becomes incredibly deep. You use the r3 button to attack the baddies, by pushing the analog stick in the direction you want to attack. You change your weapons by using the d-pad which is nice, because there is a little load time every time you access your menu, which is one gripe of mine, especially when it comes to using health or other items.

--GRAPHICS-- 9/10

The Character models are well done and make good use of the ps2's power. The ingame models are fairly high poly which means no super blocky looking characters. The textures are beautifully done without becoming repetitive at all, the environments have there own unique look and atmosphere. And of course we can't forget about the star of the game, the sexy Nina Williams. She's got everything you would expect from a video game femme fatale, from the perfect body to the cocky attitude, and the wondrous dynamics making her breasts bounce around like theres no tomorrow. But before you make the usual accusations that you read in so many reviews, I for one DO have a girl friend, and I DON'T live in my parents basement, but I DO love a good looking polygon chick, what can I say, people have enjoyed sexy art for centuries past and will for centuries to come. So if your like me and like a little eye candy in your games, this one has plenty of that. You get to see Nina in everything from a skimpy little two piece bathing suit to a maids uniform to a full body armor suit type thingy. Each costume seems to have a varying degree of bounciness as well, and yes I spent a little time studying the effects thank you.

--STORY-- 7/10

The story is nothing super unique, I guess you can say its your typical spy story, you are sent to uncover some sinister plot that will destroy the world if you don't save it. It plays out pretty well though in this game. Nothing stands out as being really cool or really crappy. And the eye candy makes up for any misgivings that the story might have in my opinion.

--CONCLUSION-- 8.5/10

I was happy with this game all in all once I got used to its controls.If your a fan of this genre then you might want to buy this one, but if your not sure it never hurts to rent it and give it a test run first. Like I mentioned, be sure to give it a chance and let yourself get used to the controls before you give up altogather. You might be surprised at how good this game turns out to be. I know I was.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/22/05