Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus

"This is one game that deserves to be in any collection..."

Introductions

So, when Jon Tobias, the co-creator of Mortal Kombat, takes it upon himself to create a fighting game, we all expect it to be cool, suave, like Chester Cheetah with blood and gore. Well, I am as much a skeptic as the next and the hype that revolved around this title made me believe the worst. Due to the lack of decent fighters on the XboX, at the time, I caved in and snagged the title, hoping, for the better or worse, that there had to be a power greater than Kakuto Chojin on the X (minus DOA).

To my surprise, it was better, one of the best even. The game reinvents a concept that was ignored in the past, adds a double dose of polygons for a step-up from DOA 3's models, adds a pinch of blood without the comedic side-effects of Mortal Kombat and viola! We have a beautiful, solid game with a high learning curve and a great story.

The basics of the plot is similar to b-rated movies from Hong Kong. Yes, with the extremely poor voiceovers that still manage to bring tears to our eyes. But, this game isn't half as bad as it may sound. The storyline, for instance, is fully dependant on valuable insights given via text and by the head of each sect, both of whom were skillfully delivered by better voice acting than even Jackie Chan could manage.

The two sects, Lotus and Mantis, are represented by individuals who have issues with one or more members of the opposing team, and while they try to solve their quest of defeating the other sect, they also overcome whatever troubles their life. Now, if that doesn't sound like it's directly out of a movie, you should see the likeness of Jet-Li in Devine Fist.

Gameplay

When you first pickup the controller, you're bound to get killed a few times before you get the hang of the game. On the other hand, if you took the time to go through the training mode, you might be able to pull off a few combos before taking a dive. Once you're past that bit, it'll be smooth sailing for the next couple of stages. Then of course, you'll hit that point where your opponents will manage a number of combos that will raise the difficulty from slightly to what-the-hell-did-I-do-to-deserve-that. Needless to say, the game proves itself to be a challenge to both master and overcome. One should also note that the character line-up is unbalanced, namely Firey Pheonix. All his attacks seem to have priority over everyone else. Much the same, each character boasts attacks that receive priority over others, which may confuse players.

The innovations of the game also lies in its damage system, which, if accurately executed, can prove deadly to your opponent. Depending on how much the damage is, the character might loose fifty to one-hundred percent usage of their limbs.

This is where the chi meter comes in handy. When executed, you can perform powerful, but poorly voiced specials. You can only activate them with a full chi meter and if hit, it calls for a good deal of damage. However, their timing could use a bit of tweaking and variety per character. With a click of a button, provided that the chi meter is full, you can also reverse the damage on an injured arm, allowing it to nurse itself to full capacity.

Collision detection bugs were seen throughout the game, but they don't apply to the characters but the items and walls that you occasionally pivot off of to deliver an attack. On minor occasions, you will be bothered by a staircase that will literally question the accuracy of your attacks and the advantage a CPU might have over you throughout the game. And by the way, that advantage tends to be tedious at times but challenging at most.

One great asset of this game is its requirements. It's a change, for once. You will have to defeat the game with all of the characters enlisted in each sect in order to receive the full ending for each group. This quickly changes the replay value to high and due to the variety of storylines that merge perfectly in to one, you are bound to be fully entertained unlike some other fighters.

The main game, however, lacks that now crucial replay mode at the end of each bout. While you see it in the versus mode, which can be played with a human opponent or a CPU controlled one, the p.o.v's lack, in fact, it replays the entire fight the way you originally played it, in the exact p.o.v....

Graphics and Sound

From the start to the finish of any given fight, you will notice change in your characters appearance. Clothes will shred, their features will be bloody, their arms may hang loose by the sockets, they may limp, their bodies will glisten and by god, bruises will show. While I can't speak for Master Sage, the rest of the characters look like beautiful and deadly aliens who know kung-fu (and a variety of styles there of). The character designs are that diverse, and contain a good deal of detail.

While not quite diverse, the stages also contain a good sum of detail, and the work they placed in to creating each one is well reflected. There was something that bugged me. When you punched a caged monkey by accident, who in their right mind thought it would be funny to see them turn in to a bloody pulp with flying guts? Well, that does add to the interactivity of the game, no matter how inhumane.

The voice acting in the game is fantastic, and you will notice that when those characters summon chi attacks that they tend to be a little on the b-rated side. But, being that this game seem to derive a good deal of effects from the likes of say... Kung Fu Chaos, it seems fitting. The two senseis act as your narrorators for each battle, dependant on who you chose from which sect... and they do stay true to their characters ( watch for Wulong Goth and his threats when you loose a fight).

The music is great in that sense that it doesn't interfere with gameplay. From the main theme to the stages, they fit perfectly with the stages and while they do not compare to Kakuto Chojins kick-ass tracks, they can still be considered as entertaining. Besides that, I doubt you'll have enough time to notice the bg-music when you're being pummeled.

Results

This is one game that deserves to be in any collection. You have your story, innovation, acting and high replay value to back you all the way. This is a step up from Mortal Kombats gameplay, and a step up from DOA3's anyone-can-play-this routine. Sure the game suffers a little but if you want a challenge, this is it.

Team Tobias haven't quite been able to portray a mangled arm, regardless of how disgusting it may seem to me, the effects might still influence other games in the future... here's hoping!

The Positives:

+ Unique damage system
+ Excellent models, great graphics
+ Great plot, story
+ Narrative voices
+ Challenging
+ High replay

The Negatives:

- Collision detection
- Timing in chi attacks
- Lack of good replay modes
- Learning curve
- Too Challenging for some
- Attack/counter priority w/some characters

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/04