Kakuto Chojin

"An okay fighting game that could've been great"

Dream Publishing originally developed for Squaresoft, as they originally created the cult-classics Tobal #1 and the Japan-only Tobal #2. Then, they developed Ehrgeiz, a fighting game with Squaresoft characters. But then, they created The Bouncer for PlayStation2, and it was royally a big dissapointment. Many were expecting their new Xbox fighter, (published by Microsoft Games Studio this time) to continue the trend started by Tobal. But no, it succeeds and dissapoints. Read on.

-VISUALS: Probably the best thing going for Kakuto Chojin would be its dynamite graphics. The characters look incredibly detailed with many fancy lighting effects. The environments look crisp and detailed, despite the fact that they're awfully cramped. They may not be realistic, as the characters bodies reflect light abnormally, resulting in some truly bizzare lighting effects. But there are some bad-ass fighting effects, but when a battle finishes with the last blow, everything freezes and the camera rotates 360o and it looks beautiful.

-SOUND: The pounding heavy metal rock beat truly adds some Fight Club-like flair. The voice-acting is not very good, and still I wonder why Dream Publishing was too lazy to bother lip-synching the voices.

-GAMEPLAY: Kakuto Chojin's fighting engine plays a little like old-school Mortal Kombat. You get a high punch, high kick, medium punch, medium kick, low punch, and low kick. You have two fight styles, Kakuto and Chojin (which you have to unlock). But if you were expecting an incredibly deep fighter, you may be dissapointed. Each fighter has only about 10 moves, and they execute poorly and are quite tough to string up combos. Don't expect a combo-heavy fighter. And the A.I, don't get me STARTED about the A.I. You could start a fight and mash the buttons, and your opponent will hardly fight back. And a total lack of unlockables really butchers the replay value. The only things you can unlock are the Chojin gameplay style and one, that's right, ONE unlockable character.

One of the only redeemable features is the cool multiplayer mode which can feature up to 4 players. It is pretty cool. Other modes included with Kakuto Chojin are SURVIVAL, STORY, VERSUS, and a couple others. The only other thing wrong with Kakuto Chojin is the kinda messed up hit detection.

-CONTROLS: The controls are pretty solid, with high, low, and medium punches and kicks, as well as some cool moves. Plus the hit-detection is a little off.

-OVERALL: Kakuto Chojin could have been better, really, it could have. Let's hope that if Dream Publishing makes a sequel, it includes more unlockables, more refined gameplau, and a more vast selection of moves.

SCORECHART:
-VISUALS:9/10 -ORIGINALITY:3/10
-SOUND:6/10 -REPLAY:6/10
-CONTROLS:7/10 -OVERALL:7/10
-The Verdict: RENT IT first. You may not like it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/02/03, Updated 03/02/03