Stake: Fortune Fighters

"Fans of crappy games rejoice!"

Stake: Fortune Fighters is perhaps the worst game available on XBox, yes, even worst then Kabuki Warriors. This game offers almost nothing to compliment it. Stake is a rushed piece of garbage that the developers managed to sneak onto store shelves. I feel for any unfortunate soul that dished out their hard earned cash when this game was first released.

Someone might look at the Box Art and go ''Cool, some peeps are trying to rip off the Street Fighter characters! Maybe this game will be worth a try!'', I pity those people that don't look into any reviews at all before purchasing a game, but alas, alot of people do that today. Ignoring one site that gave this game a B, almost every other site gave it a whopping 30% or less. The average ranking for Stake is a 31.9%, and even that score is generous.

Let's pretend for a moment that this is a good game so I can introduce you to the ''features''. Stake is a arena type fighting game, except you have the ability to wander in one decently sized map. You are one of eight characters who have two sorts of basic attacks and three specials, one special requires you to have a full special meter. There are also 8 arenas to play in, each is unique to a certain character. Once in a arena, you grab items and power ups along the way of meeting your opponents. You are able to control the camera by zooming in and out with the L and R triggers, and rotating the camera with the right analog stick. Among the items that can be used to attack opponents, there are shrink and poison potions to punish your enemies, and you can even place a ''fake'' item that will trick your enemy into thinking its a power up. There's also a radar on the top right corner indicating your position, and possibly your enemies position, on the map. Oh, did I mention this game also supports custom soundtracks? Woot.

The Gameplay

If only the game looked good on paper.

The gameplay consists of running around all day looking for your opponents and grabbing items along the way. When you meet your opponent you'll attack him with an item, special or your basic attacks. Sounds fun, right? Wrong.

Your so called ''attacks'' are limited to two different attacks per button, and you only have two attack buttons. You can't vary your attacks by pushing a direction, and there's only two different attacks per button. You'll get tired of seeing the same attack animation over and over. Maybe you'll want to throw in some specials while your at it? Some specials for certain characters are completely useless and a peon with the IQ of two could easily avoid them, while other characters specials are almost unblockable. I take it back, they are unblockable as there is no block button! There is no block button in this game, so characters with auto hitting specials can cheese you to death. I should also mention that's its relatively easy to refill your special meter by getting hit or hitting others, not to mention there is a carrot power up that refills your special meter 100%, and those aren't too hard to come by.

Your character always moves at the same pace. There is no walk or run option, which makes the game play even worst.

To make matters even worst, all characters run at the same speed. So if the computer opponent decides to run away from you during the entire match, he will very well succeed. You can't auto target the enemies or teleport near them to stop them from running away the entire match.

Did I mention the great falls of doom? Some maps are horribly done, and It's easy to fall off the edge and die. Your character slips into his doom, with little warning.

The so called ''Items'' in this game are also a joke. You can hurt yourself with the gas potion if you stand still long enough, so you have to constantly run about before the potion expires so you aren't damaged. There's also a freeze potion that will even freeze you if you get close to the ice. The grenade items almost instantly explode and are impossible to dodge once the enemy gets you within their sight. The ''magic carrot'' item fully restores your special meter, which makes it even easier for you to get back your specials to cheese your opponent to death (remember, this is no way to block attacks). Last but not least, there's an item that allows you to place fake items in the game. There is no color variation in the fake items, so beware of picking up any items in the game as they may be fake and explode upon picking up. Oh the horror!

So here's a quick run down of the game: You pick one of eight characters. Run all over the map for twenty seconds before you encounter your enemy, mash one of the attack buttons which have a whole two attacks per button regardless of the direction pushed. When your special meter is full you perform your special. Rinse and repeat until you meet the required frag limit and win the game.

The gameplay is so basic It will bore you to tears. But perhaps it deserves almost a 2 just for being so simplistic, because despite the over killing computer AI at times (Even at EASY difficulty the computer can rack up the required frags before you do, or they'll run away from your all day so you have to play ''Tag'') , you'll be able to do most of your basic attacks with ease. However, the controls to perform specials don't seem very responsive, and at times won't always be performed even when you have the desired chi.

The Sound

Horrendous. Without turning up the sound volume to the top you can hardly hear the grunts of the characters. But seriously, why would you even want to do that? The attack sounds are pathetic and will make your ears bleed, and the characters ending taunts I can't even understand! Well, at least you get to hear that lovely ''STAKE!'' saying once the game loads. I almost laugh every time I hear it.

Music is pretty bad. The games built in sound track sounds like the creators spent a whole hour composing the theme songs for each stage. Perhaps the worst sound track I've ever heard in a video game outside of Kabuki Warriors, you'll have to hear it for yourself. But luckily you might just skip over it because...

... our wonderful friends at Metro3D added the ability for you to play your own custom soundtracks! I should mention this is the BEST PART OF THE GAME! Never in my life would I imagine that being able to hear your own soundtrack would be the best feature in ANY game, but Metro3D managed to do the unthinkable! They should be burned on a Stake! *snicker*

The Graphics

Wowzas! This is by far the worst combination of camera angle and poor graphics I have EVER seen! The camera angle (DESPITE HAVING THE ABILITY TO CONTROL IT!) sucks in almost every direction! The graphics literally blur when even on close up shots, and are even worst from afar. It looks like Metro tried to rip the character models out of Raganarok Online but failed horribly, like they were ultra early beta shots. The Arenas, although decent in size, also look pretty poor and aren't well constructed at all. Out of all 8 possible arenas, I can't name one that doesn't have some sort of SLOW DOWN in it, blur or looks just flat out bad. The graphics and camera angle make a terribly frustrating game despite the easy control scheme.

The Fun Factor

Fun? Is this some sort of Joke? There is no Fun Factor in this game unless your a die hard fan of gamecrap. You will laugh ALOT at this game, but don't even dare buy it unless you appreciate gamecrap. This game is worst then Kabuki Warriors in many ways. Trust me.

Replay Value

I didn't even beat the single player campaign yet. But I did managed to play several hours, and it seems like you have to beat every character in the game in their arena. I'm sure the ending isn't very breath taking anyway.

The Best Aspects
+ Makes a nice coaster for your drink
+ You can laugh at the game all night long
+ You'll turn your best friends into your enemies
+ Customizable soundtrack is in! This is the ONLY good aspect of the game. I swear!
+ You'll own one of the worst, if not the worst, game on XBox. True fans of gamecrap need to buy this.

The Worst Aspects
- Everything: Graphics, Gameplay, Sound, Fun Factor. Etc.
- The Camera Angle/Graphics combo ruins any chance of withstanding this game for more then ten minutes.
- Even at $10 you'll want your money back.
- Again, there is no redeeming quality in this game outside of customized soundtracks.

The Final Verdict
Stay away. Stay far away! Do NOT give into the temptation, even at ninety nine cents! This is by far the worst game I've played on XBox, and I own Kabuki Warriors.

The Final Stab
Graphics - 1
Gameplay 2
Sound - 2
Re playability - 1
Fun Factor - 1
The Final Stab (not an average) - 1

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/03