smoke some fat cracka fools.
One gigantic step that the game has taken to improve upon its predecessor is its ability to customize your fighter. I’m talking epic proportions here, fighting styles, skills, a massive arsenal of butt-kicking moves and a full freaking department store of clothes, jewellery and accessories. It’s pretty crazy and the game makes damn well sure that no two fighters are exactly alike.
The variety of levels is also astounding: underground fight clubs, gymnasiums, bar brawls, rooftops, power plants, top floor of a penthouse etcetera. It’s awesome. Each arena has its own way to make your fights more interesting. Crowds may push you around, hold you in place or even supply you with weapons. There may even be props you can use, say for instance in the bar brawl you can smash your opponent up against a jukebox, or in the garage you can throw your rival against the windshields of their car, etcetera. These provide a number of ways to KO your opponent.
Graphics are spectacular. The character models look superb and just like their real-life counterparts. All characters animate with convincing movement say for instance if you received a massive kick in the back, your dude would clutch his backside and stumble around a bit before collapsing face first. It’s moments like these that really give this game polish. One criticism that can be made at this point is that the frame rate does have the tendency to fluctuate now and then. You may notice it a few times, but it doesn’t stand too much in the way of progress.
The sound is even better. The producers called in heaps of rap artists to record their voices and the game is really given that authenticity. The sound effects of breaking bones and wooden panes are really satisfying. It serves to really make you believe that you are causing major pain (or inflicting it). Music? well that really depends whether or not you’re in the hiphop scene.
One thing that may prevent you from buying this game is its lifespan. Finishing the story may take one week of casual gaming, and if you’re anything like me you’ll want to play through it again and make sure you accomplish absolutely everything there is to accomplish in which case maybe another 1 or 2 weeks. After that it may scarcely come down from the shelf, maybe now and then for a multiplayer session.
And of course the game features about a gazillion rap icons but I don’t care much for rap, but maybe you do and would appreciate this game even more so than I do, in which case hooray for you! So by all means, go out and play this game, its fantabulous, just don’t buy it with the premonition that it’s going to last a long time.