- Pledge to deliver an envelope to young Michelle, the mobster's daughter - and unravel hidden agendas which will tear up Kit's sense of duty.
- Travel from Hong Kong to San Francisco, fighting through 11 intense levels.
- Take out enemies using a 360-degree martial arts fight system - combos, attack blocking, counter moves, and adrenaline attacks.
- 3rd-person play action as you shoot it out with the world's deadliest killers.
- Dramatic camera angles and cinematic storytelling bring you a story that could have come from a classic Hong Kong film!.
Product Description
-------------------
Play as the martial arts master, Jet Li, in this action-packed,
movie-style brawler. Battle through 10 globe-spanning levels from
Hong Kong to San Francisco as a plot to restore honor unfolds.
Review
------
With the electrifying combat prowess of Jet Li at your
fingertips, and the ostentatious fight choreography of Cory Yuen
fueling your every move, Rise to Honor successfully captures the
cinematic flair and rip-roaring excitement of a Hong Kong action
film. Jet Li's superlative fighting style has been replicated
perfectly through motion capture technology. As you catapult off
of a wall into a spin kick, and exchange countering attacks with
a foe in a lengthy choreographed sequence that can best be
described as poetry in motion, you really do get the feeling that
you've stepped into the shoes of the almighty Jet Li.
To successfully bring Li's signature fighting style to the video
game front, Sony Computer Entertainment America's Foster City
studio developed an innovative combat system that allows gamers
to assail multiple enemies at once. With context-specific moves
assigned to the right analog stick, you can seamlessly transfer
attacks from one foe to the next. For instance, if you find
yourself in a situation where two enemies are advancing from
site sides, tapping to the right will throw a jab at the
enemy on the right, then hitting left will send a back kick to
the enemy on the left.
Assuredly, the combat system feels a little awkward at first, but
once you understand its intricacies, you'll love it. Taking down
30 enemies without getting hit truly is a remarkable feeling. The
only area where this unique formula comes up a little short is in
countering attacks. To dodge a move, you simply need to hold the
counter button and tap the analog stick in the direction of the
foe when an attack is thrown. Rather than pushing gamers to hone
their reflexes, the timing of your counter doesn't have to be
precise. In fact, you can simply jam in the direction of the foe
without penalty – which results in uncontested retaliatory
strikes.
To offset the martial arts and inject variety into the mix, Sony
has incorporated run and and stealth sequences. These
stage-specific gameplay styles appear frequently, but neither
matches the quality of the hand-to-hand combat. As clunky as the
shootout controls can be, and as odd as it is that you never once
have to reload, I actually enjoy the simplicity and epic
explosiveness of mowing down dozens of enemies in no time flat.
As for the stealth exercises, let's just say that you're
basically playing the children's game "Red Light, Green Light"
with a bunch of dimwitted security guards with flashlights. In
other words, they couldn't be more dreadful.
As is the case with most brawlers, Rise to Honor is as linear as
linear can get, and does little to invite gamers back for a
second time. The entire game can be completed in roughly five to
eight hours. As rewarding as the hand-to-hand combat is, Rise to
Honor's thrills are short lived. It's an enjoyable play, but much
like Jet Li's films, is nothing more than a lazy afternoon of
fun.
Concept:
Jet Li stars in a beat ‘em up with motion-captured, choreographed
sequences and unique analog fighting
Graphics:
Other than the awkward running animation, this game's visuals
scream "big budget." It looks great.
Sound:
The soundtrack is hit or miss, but I absolutely love the fact
that the characters speak Cantonese in Hong Kong and English in
the U.S.
Playability:
The analog combat system works incredibly well
Entertainment:
Highly enjoyable, yet far too linear and way too short
Replay:
Low
Rated: 7 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: March 2004
2nd Opinion:
I must say I'm impressed at how well Rise to Honor pulls off the
kung-fu movie experience. Sure, it's a tad short and can be a bit
repetitive at times, but overall it's not a bad attempt at mixing
the two art forms into a meaningful, and at times, entertaining
game/movie. However, I want to make it clear that I'm just
referring to the game's overall presentation and story arc, not
the combat system that I feel leaves a lot to be desired. Like
Xbox's Grabbed By The Ghoulies, Rise uses the right analog stick
to deliver its combat, which is not only limiting but inaccurate,
and quite frankly annoying as hell. Brawlers are typically
shallow, so I won't hold that against this title, but its combat
system just doesn't offer the precise control and interaction
that I'm looking for in a game. Not a bad rental if you love Jet
Li, but everyone else should steer clear.
Rated: 6.5 out of 10
Editor: Andy McNamara
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