fantasy

Jet Li is by far the best martial artist alive. And he is one of my favoirite action stars. Now just to be Jet Li in a game, thats awsome. This game is really good, even tho the graphics on the character models arent perfect, the backround graphics are well done. It is a simple fight system and very fun. Jet Li is the coolest person, and to be the best martial artist in the world, in a video game, just makes it alot better. The game itself uses right analog fighting hand to hand, and right thumstick and r2 for guns. This is like a classic action movie, there are plenty of cutscenes that bring out the story. This game is a great action fighting title and you should buy a copy today.

At first, I was skeptical, especially after learning that it wouldn't be sold at the usual price new games go for. Usually, such a sign is similar to when a movie comes out without being made available to critics for review. And after playing the first portion of the game (the Hong Kong levels), I had a creeping sense of disappointment -- it seemed all too repetitive -- simply run in to a room, get surrounded by a bunch of enemies, and take them out. The use of the right analog stick for all the fighting moves was a definite plus as you could intuitively snap a punch or kick at someone standing behind you, and then just as quickly punch at someone in front or to the right of you. But as soon as the game changed its setting to San Francisco, California, it started to pick up and became more entertaining (I realized the Hong Kong stages were to start off the story and to get you used to the controls). Younger gamers, or those who aren't Jet Li fans, aren't likely to be wowed by "Rise to Honor," but any gamer in his late 20s or older may find a game that's somewhat of a throwback, especially in the shooting sequences. When the enemies hide behind walls and such, and then pop out to shoot, it may not be dazzling, but such presentation has an old-school game feel -- that's a good thing. And at times, the fighting sequences involving bats, chairs and other handheld weapons or objects, remind me of an modernized Double Dragon fighting style. That Jet Li's character Kit Yun doesn't run all too fast only adds to the game's realism. (in most games, your character can run forever at a fast rate without so much as a breath). You can't just walk into a room and pummel everyone to death. You need to do some running, quick stops, sneak in a quick punch or kick, and then move on -- or you'll need to use some strategy, creating space between you and the thugs, and try to get one isolated, and then get in some good licks and continue that pattern. It's good that you can't easily get combos off on an enemy -- not without another coming behind you and knocking you to the ground with a bat. And in the shooting levels, it's good that you can't just jog down a street alley and shoot them all down with ease. So, just as with Jet Li in most of his movies, his videogame alter-ego is realistic in that he's NOT Mr. Invincible and can be beaten or sent reeling if he gives a foe the opportunity. While most might not be amazed when playing this, any one who's an older game or a Jet Li fan will find "Rise to Honor" to be a solid, fun game with just the right amount of difficulty.

Any enjoyment you might derive from this game is from playing as Jet Li in an old-school fight setting. When the novelty of that wears off, what you have left is an incredibly repetitive game with a godawful camera and an ill-advised control scheme.

Yes, bonus marks are in order for using Cantonese in Hong Kong with subtitles. (As a native Hong Kong person I can say the dialogue is less stilted, though still flawed, than usual) Though I might add that international espionage games like Syphon Filter has been doing that for years. The settings are authentic enough, with the battles in the Hong Kong settings being especially evocative of kung fu films.

But is it worth the very problematic gameplay? Just barely. If you've seen/played the demo already, you'll know that the entire fight system consists of slapping the right analog stick. While the array of moves you can unleash is impressive, motion-captured well from Li's own silhouette, this system is very ill conceived from a fighting-game perspective. Worse still, the camera is so restless that you could be in the middle of a combo against an enemy, and then the perspective shifts so that you're suddenly hitting at air and the enemy's to the side. So many game designers have misled notions about being filmmakers, not realizing that the best perspective for gaming is a fixed perspective. This problem came to a head during the ludicrous "escape from capture" stage where the camera actually cuts you off, preventing you from seeing what's behind you, even though there are guards sweeping flashlights that way that you're supposed to avoid! This is simply a moronic use of the camera.

Aside from this, the fighting gets tired awfully quickly, especially since the designers committed the ol' "this level never ends" sin. This game alleviates this problem by having lots of checkpoints where you can continue the game, but during some of the "one against 14" stages, the endless brawling still gets tired. And whose idea was it to have enemies pull of 18-hit combos, where if you get hit the first time, you get to watch your character get pummelled for 10 seconds straight?

I actually find the gunfight segments of this game more fun than the endless, endless hand-to-hand stages. This is where the dual analog sticks truly shine, allowing you to smoothly run from spot to spot forwards and backwards while your hands can aim independently and a top button allows you to do Time Crisis-style ducking. There's even a crazy level where you fight off about 100 enemies with two nailguns!

This game would probably remain tempting to Jet Li fans because of the role-playing aspect of it. And I wouldn't blame them -- this was my reason for buying this game, and there are a few levels that I truly enjoyed. The overall game, however, is really not that great, and I would recommend only playing it in small doses. It will get tired mightily quickly if you sit with it for more than an hour.