Deathrow

"DEATHROW- never heard of it? Sure, but it's still good"

Talking about underrated games, DEATHROW comes to mind. This is one of those games that has excellent graphics, well-done and non-repetitive voice dialogue, sensible gameplay physics, well-thoughtout characters (and the drawings too!), customized and player-friendly interface, but when you talk about it online or with friends, you get the saying, ''Huh? Which? What?'' I guess that's goes with the saying that good guys don't always come out on top.

Graphics 9/10: This game is rated M, and it is meant to be. If you are not used to seeing blood and gore then this game is not for you. But for the rest of us mature gamers, DEATHROW offers one of the best graphics that the console has to offer. Smooth frame rate cooperating with detailed sketches of game characters will amaze anyone looking for a fun future sport game. A game with a great deal of unrealistic violence and blood is plainly stupid, but one that has some real-life like scenes of gore combined with teamwork sport is absolutely exciting. Another factor that makes this score so high is that the players moves very much like human, instead of walking robots.

Gameplay 9.5/10: Anyone looking for an instant refreshment after a long day of work/school looks no further! Here, you can beat, maim, punch'em in the head, stomp, and swear to any other player in the game, including your teammmate. The ultimate goal - the disc (like the buck in hockey), is where all the mauling is coming from. The action does not stop once you get ahold of the disc. You can still charge your disc fully in your hand before throwing it off to the poor goalie on the other side of the goal, who will be most likely be electrocuted and be bounced several feet away. If you are sly enough, you can fake a throw, tricking your enemy them into defencing the goal, immediately quick throw the disc to another partner of your own and let him score! Intense action and instant gratification are what make the gameplay addicitve.

Sound 8.5/10: Very well done voices. Fun and hilarious dialogue too. The swearing in this game is full and again the reason for getting an M rating. There's only a few different music for the game, but believe me, you wouldn't feel that they are repetitive at all. Why? Suitability is the key. Remember sometimes you have a good game with dull music, and other times you have some that goes too far off to the artistic end, competing for attention with gameplay itself. DEATHROW does an excellent job in combining music with the game.

Control 8/10: Are you put off by the complicated controls that sometimes mainstream sport games have? Deathrow offers a straightforward approach in this area. You don't need to have 1ms reaction time to play it well, though when you reach the harder difficulties, you quite need to be skilled. Most can get the hang of it after a solid 30-min playtime (or less).

Single or Multiplayer: Either one is good, though notice that a lot of the time and effort have been put into the single player section. Tons of unlockables: new teams, new players, new arena, and a whole lot of side stories to keep the single player both lasting and interesting. Multiplayer is good too, but you should get another friend that is about the same level as you are. Or he'll be put off by getting beat up after playing 5 mins.

Overall 9/10 (not an average): To sum it all up, DEATHROW is an excellent game that will suit any mature gamers looking for some muscle-packed, fast paced action sport game. It does not have your favorite sport stars or resembles to any real life sport, and it really doesn't have to either. The game itself is designed bravely with a brand-new futuristic sports that you would seriously watch and enjoy. The game offers (thanks to the Xbox harddrive) long playbacks and the game itself can be played in two different modes/perspective.

Buy or Rent: I'm not a sport game fans, nor am I a fighting game addict, though somehow this crossover sport game comes to attract me deeply. It puts together a large dose of life-like fighting, quite a bit of teamwork, and a reasonable amount of reaction. I really don't want to give a biased comment, telling you ''MUST BUY, MUST GET!''. But it's one of those games that you first thought is nothing new, but upon playing it for 5 mins, you suddenly know how you will spend the rest of your days and the whole coming weekend. I suggest everyone to rent it first, frankly, but for all of you DEATHROW fan-to-be, don't blame me for wasting your rent tickets because you'll be buying it soon after.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/29/04