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Review: Power Stone |
This, I believe, was the first game to use the Naomi arcade board. And the first conversion of such a board to the Dreamcast. So, how good an arcade conversion is it? Well it isn’t. Not really. Powerstone DC *IS* the arcade version. No two ways about it. The only difference is the couple of seconds load time between fights (which is bad considering MvC had none at all) - and the greater variety of options.
If you’ve been on holiday in Serbia recently, you won’t know that Powerstone is a 3D Capcom game, touted as the world’s first “adventure fighting game” - and it’s true. To a certain extent. Instead of two characters facing each other in a straight fight, you get to run around beautifully-realised locations, using various bits of scenery and weaponry to your advantage. In a way, it’s more like a Final Fight-style game. Chairs, pots, lamp-posts (!) bricks, furniture, barrels, tables (!) all can be hurled at your opponent, you can jump off walls, grab onto ceilings, and on one stage you can even get up onto the roof and run about.
Weapons materialise periodically, swords, bombs, guns and lead pipes all show up, and achieving certain predetermined tasks allows access to secret items - the shield (the only time in the game you can actually defend) the Ray-Gun, the extending staff, and, my personal favourite, the chaingun. Yep, you can re-enact the jungle scenes from the movie “Predator” with this baby. Definitely a high point of the game.
Actual physical combat is a very basic Punch, Kick, Jump setup. P+K is a throw, and also picks up or grabs onto things, and each character has a couple of ‘canned combos’ - P, P, P, K and so forth. Defence is pretty limited. You can run for your life. Or you can “avoid” - pushing towards+P+K makes you dodge - or you can roll over or under any table or chair, just like Jackie Chan, but without the bad dubbing.
Periodically, coloured gems appear, the “Powerstones” themselves - and collecting three of these will transform your chosen character into a SUPER version of himself. In this mode, which lasts about 20 seconds, you have much more powerful attacks, and have two “super” moves - activated by either P+J or K+J. Here’s where the problem starts. Once you have all 3 stones, you’re pretty much guaranteed to win. The supers are impossibly easy to do, and are very hard to avoid, and remembering there’s no block button as 30 missiles fly towards you really sucks.
I also dislike the way the CPU plays - it will ALWAYS go for the Powerstones, eschewing a straight fight for the chance to power up. This really bugs me. I want to fight, not run around searching for some damn gems. Attempts to actually go up and hit the other guy result in them doing a too-high priority throw, or some other annoying attack - basically, it’s not worth the effort to try and really fight. I want an option to turn the stones off, giving the enemy no choice but to get it on!
The CPU difficulty is odd too - I’ve played it on 1-Star mode, the easiest, and every now and then the opponent will go crazy and wipe me out in 8 seconds, then the next fight will be too easy! It doesn’t make sense!
The final (final) boss is a frustrating experience too, though it is an impressive sight. I won’t say any more, lest I spoil the surprise, but I’ll give you a little help: Get Ready To Run!
2-Player mode is better, but still serious flaws remain - the need for the ‘Stones, the over-reliance on the jump-kick - things like this bug me.
The sound bugs me too. The announcer keeps saying “GET!” when you pick something up, and “OH NOO!” whenever you get hit. That’s every single time, and the music is unmemorable at best.
Graphically, it is god. Some of the backgrounds are nauseatingly beautiful, as are the lighting effects and transparencies. The characters (unimaginative stereotypes that they are) are a wonderful example of how “cartoony” and “3D” are not mutually exclusive.
I’m glad to report it isn’t a straight arcade port. No, it’s a gay one.
*Start again*
I’m glad to report it isn’t a straight arcade port - there are several extras that extend the replay value generously. My favourite being the VMU mini games. After completing the game a set number of times, you gain access to three downloadable games. A fruit machine, a ninja shooting game and a shoot-em-up, which reminds me of “1941″
Playing these games earn you points, and with enough points, you can unlock other features: the aforementioned new weapons, a couple of secret characters and lots of interesting artwork among them.
The thing to remember is that PowerStone is not really a fighting game per se. And if I were to review it as one, I would have been more critical. But it’s an “adventure fighting game” - with the emphasis on adventure, and looking at it from that perspective, I enjoyed playing it. It’s also recommendable to the “younger audiences” as well as a great game to play with friends (if you have some.)
If you can overlook the abuse of the stones and the jumpkicks, and ignore the poor character designs, it’s worth a look.
