Fighting Vipers 2
is the sort of arcade game we were all playing several years ago, so to
bring it out now does make it appear dated.
It's not just the graphics which, while very colourful, are no different than
everything that's gone before, but also the gameplay - kick, punch, guard,
or a combination of them in a bid to kick the shit out of your opponents,
each of which look stupid, dress daft and have bizarre names.
The name of the game comes from the basis that in this sequel to the Sega
Saturn game, revenge has conquered your mind and aggression has poisoned
your blood as you take control of a band of Vipers, each boasting distinct
weapons in a fight to remove dictatorship from the city's Mayor, but enough
of the pointlessness.
Originality is out the window as the four game modes are the basic
Arcade, V.S., Random and Survival options, plus a training
mode, which removes the choice of
Tekken Tag Tournament's
tag-team and the fact that you're limited to a small caged arena takes you
away from the expansive areas of Dead or Alive 2.
And don't forget the daddy of all beat 'em ups - Soul Calibur, which
still stands the test of time today, contains a separate game in the form of
the "Edge Master" mode, in which you have to fight the opponents with
different, specific, methods to collect extra weapons and once the Dreamcast
is officially dead from March next year, it'll probably be the only one of
two games I'll still be playing on the console, alongside
Crazy Taxi.
NB.: The game I reviewed was a Beta version but I doubt the retail
release will be any better.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Fighting Vipers 2
is the sort of arcade game we were all playing several years ago, so to
bring it out now does make it appear dated.
Originality is out the window as the four game modes are the basic
Arcade, V.S., Random and Survival options, plus a training
mode, which removes the choice of
