Breakdown

"Namco Delivers a Truly Original Game"

INTRO

Namco's Breakdown, a sci-fi action game with a really trippy story, is really a breakthrough for the FPS genre. The game is completely in first person, and you always see the game's events unfold through the eyes of the main character, Derrick Cole. Throughout the game you try to save the world from the threat of Nexus and the T'lan warriors, with help of various other characters, namely Alex. This game is a truly unique experience and Namco should be congratulated for being original and innovative, although parts of the game could have been worked on a little harder. I will now break down (no pun intended) the qualities of this unique sci-fi action game.

GRAPHICS

These are pretty much your average 3D graphics for the Xbox. They are sometimes put to very good effect, such as when Derrick has some hallucinations, and the nice cloaking effect of the stealth T'lan. For the most part, though, they come off as bland, boring, and repetitive. The indoor environments usually consist of various shades of gray, and all of them pretty much look the same. Sometimes you will swear you had already been in a room but it is, in fact, a completely different area. It almost seems like Namco just used the same generic rooms over and over again to make the better part of the game. The outdoor environments are a little better, but not as detailed as they could be. The character models are done very well, with the T'lan glowing with T'langen, and human characters showing shredded clothes and many cuts and bruises. Overall, the graphics of this game fail to please in many ways, and give you a strange feeling of Deja vu.
Rating: 7/10

AUDIO

The audio in this game is done up pretty well. Everything sounds very authentic, at least for a sci-fi game. The yells of the marines strike fear into unarmed gamers, and likewise with the roars of the T'lan closing in for the beat down. The voiceovers are done very well and convey a sense of emotion that immerses the player even more into the game. There are about thirty different songs that play throughout the course of the game, some getting the player pumped up for a fight, while others convey a sense of hopelessness. Overall the audio seems to be very professionally done.
Rating: 9/10

GAMEPLAY

This is where the game really starts to shine. Not only did Namco make this game a shooter of sorts, it is also a knock down drag ‘em out brawler, with a little bit of driving thrown into the mix. The gameplay really immerses you in the sci-fi world of Derrick Cole. Everything is done out deliberately in the game for a sense of reality. If you are going to open a door, you must first reach out, grab the handle, turn the handle, and then you can go trough the door. Unfortunately, this drawn out method is also used in picking up ammo and food. It may be realistic that you pick something up and put it away before you grab something else, but it gets very tedious, especially if you have five or six items to pick up in one spot. The animation for eating is also very nicely done. If you get a rations bar, you tear the wrapper off and take a bite out of it. If you get a can of soda, you pull the tab and proceed to guzzle it. You even get to see yourself barf in first person, where else are you gonna see that! The fighting is what really makes this game stand out. To fight off the T'lan, you have a variety of combos you can use, ranging from simple one-two punches to uppercuts and kicks. You can even do a backflip in first person, which will guarantee nausea if you do it enough times in a row. This is some of the most original and innovative gameplay I've seen on the Xbox, kudos to Namco.
Rating: 10/10

CONTROL

These are your basic controls for an FPS. The various punches and kicks are mapped to the right and left triggers, and some require the use of the right and left thumbstick in conjunction with the triggers. I found that there were too many moves to remember, so I stuck to a few key moves that got through pretty much the whole game. The guns are far easier to use, just shoot with the right trigger until the clip is empty, reload with the left trigger, and repeat. The worst part of the controls would have to come with the jumping; especially when you get to later parts of the game where timing your jumps makes or breaks you. I remember several times when I was almost to the end of an area, about to make the last jump, and fail and fall miserably to my death and have to start over. The game could have done without the jumping puzzles anyway.
Rating: 7/10

REPLAYABILITY

Last but not least, is there reason to play Breakdown a second or third time? It depends on what you want out of the game. Everything can be unlocked in the game by one run through on Normal difficulty. Now if you were like me and decided to play the game on Easy the first time through, you might want to go through the game again on Normal to get the Extra Hard difficulty. If you want to beat the game on all its different difficulties, you will have to play through it at least four times, so it has a decent amount of replay value in it. I personally only see myself playing through it one more time at the most.
Rating: 7/10

OVERALL

Like I said before this game is very original and innovative, and for that it gets my respect. The graphics could have been more detailed and the levels could have had more variety to them. I enjoyed the nine and a half hours it took me to beat this game, so I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something that's not just running around shooting people deathmatch style. It would be a great addition to anyone's Xbox collection, especially at the $20 price tag that it can be gotten for.
Overall Rating: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/04