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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
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Graphics & Sound:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon reminded me of another movie-based (well, sort of) martial arts game on the Xbox -- Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon. A quick look at that review will likely reveal that this is company Crouching Tiger surely doesn't want to keep. Although the game presents an interesting premise, its execution is a virtual train wreck. One of the more outstanding elements of the movie (beyond the kick ass wire-work fights) was its visual presentation. Every scene of the movie was stunning. Unfortunately, the game doesn't carry the same high quality production values. This is especially dreary when compared to other movie-based games, such as EA's Lord of the Rings titles and Activision's Spider-Man, which seem to go all out in bringing the look of the movies into the games. Overall, the only word I can find that aptly describes the visuals in the game is bland. Gameplay environments are uninspired, bland and overly repetitive. Even a few destructible items in some levels couldn't help. One of the game's biggest pluses, the faithful modeling of characters from the movie, is dashed when you see them in motion. It's certainly not the worst movement I've seen, but it's not the best either and it certainly doesn't even come close to the grace portrayed in the movie. Just as in the movie, all of the voice work in Crouching Tiger is done in Chinese with English subtitles. I thought this was a nice touch, but the quality ruined the effect. I can handle when voice actors in a game don't sound exactly like their real life counterparts, but it is always nice when the in-game voices are somewhere in the ballpark. A touch of emotion (as opposed to someone simply phoning in their lines) is always nice to hear as well. Sound effects are sparse, and what you do hear isn't all that inspiring. One positive is that the original score from the movie is used -- so the game has got that going for it.
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Gameplay:
At its core, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a pure beat 'em up game in the vein of Streets of Rage or Double Dragon. Essentially, you play through the plot of the movie, although a few liberties are taken in order to squeeze some more gameplay opportunities out of the whole thing. The story is told though CG cutscenes, but considering the graphical prowess of the game, this isn't all that much to get excited about. Personally, I would have liked to have seen some clips from the movie between levels since it doesn't look like much alteration would have to be done to include them. It also would have made sense since you can unlock movie clips -- if you manage to make it through the game. The game is split up into sections which are further broken up into chapters, which are essentially scenes from the movie. You begin the game as Jen and work your way through the story. After completing the story with Jen, you return to the beginning and play though with Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien. Depending on who you are playing as, the stories will change, but only marginally. In many cases, objectives and plots have been created in order to tell what a particular character was doing while off screen. Despite some variation, many of the levels are straight up replays of previous levels. Sometimes the variety is simply the inclusion of a time limit -- such as the bamboo forest sequence. Each level is very formulaic; you run to one section, beating the crap out of the same two ninja clones the entire time, complete an objective, run back to the original area, fight the same two ninja clones again and then either perform one more task or duel a character from the movie (like Lo or Jade Fox). Your only guide through these levels is a set of torches. Red fire means the path is blocked, blue leads to your objective and green signals an area you're already been to. It should go without saying that you'll see a lot of green torches considering the insane amount of backtracking in the game. Honestly, these levels aren't all that much fun the first time you play through them, so the second and third times are outright painful. After completing a level, the game will grade you on how well you performed. Scoring an 'A' unlocks a clip from the movie. Completing the game unlocks everything in the game -- such as all the movie clips, some concept art and mini games. You can also unlock a special section that allows you to play as Lo. |
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Difficulty:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is challenging, but not in a good way. Combat is good, although the controller setup is pretty awkward and takes a few deaths to get used to. Enemies aren't all that smart, but aren't notably cheap either -- which usually leads to semi-challenging fights. That is, if you can get the control scheme and combo blocking mechanic down. Scattered throughout each level are numerous platforming elements. These turn out to be some of the more frustrating aspects of the game. Not only is the camera less than cooperative, but most of these areas are timed as well. There are times when jump puzzles take more prominence over combat. As a wise man once said, 'just because you give me a jump button, that doesn't mean I want to use it.'
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Game Mechanics:
To its credit, the developers tried to bring the feeling of the movie's fighting sequences into the game. For the most part, they managed to get the look down, but it's not particularly fun to play with. First off, the controller layout doesn't lend itself to the in-game action and feels awkward. The face buttons act as combat buttons (for both weapons and fists), while the black and white buttons are used for grabbing and running. Combat is rather basic, but features some neat combos. Each character also has a set of special moves which can be activated by pressing a certain button combination. Similar to the movie, you can perform super-high jumps, run up walls and glide from rooftops. Trigger buttons control jumping and the game's one cool combat feature -- combo blocking. During combat, an icon will appear near your life meter. By pressing the trigger, your character will dodge, block or flip to avoid a strike. This is one of the few times where the game feels like the movie (or at least looks like it), however it does have a number of problems. Chief among them is that it's not all that challenging. Ducking and dodging is, as far as I can tell, supposed to be about getting the rhythm just right. However, there is virtually no variation in rhythm between different characters. One you get the pattern down, there's no stopping you. In the end, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is just a little too late to the party to be any fun. Had this game been released two or three years ago (you know, when the movie came out), it would have been a little more entertaining. Back then, movie based games were usually seen as bottom shelf thrills. However, the state of movie-based games has changed drastically and Crouching Tiger simply can't keep up with that level. Crouching Tiger makes a good rental if you're a big time fan of the movie, but you're better off just buying the movie on DVD. |
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-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker |
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