Fist of the North: Ken's Rage 2
Reviewed By Stephen Pastic
As far as I am aware, Fist of the North Star is a cult IP which has its roots in anime. As far as this game (hereafter referred to as KR2) goes, it was little surprise to me to learn that this release was made by the same studio responsible for Dynasty Warriors titles. Take that for what you will.
Players are primarily cast in the role of Kenshiro as they viciously pummel waves of enemies into bloody submission. Ordinarily, this is where I would go on to describe some basic plot details, but as someone who has zero prior familiarity with the Fist of the North Star property, there isn't a hell of a lot to speak of. Whilst the game does attempt to give some context to the clashes between Ken and the other major characters, to an uninformed person it seems that the plot is nothing short of ludicrous and only serves as the thinnest pretense to justifying the battles contained within.
Even in sequences which try their hardest to engage the player into caring about the characters and their motivations cannot help but come across as overwrought and juvenile (as with the Ken/Shin/Yuria subplot). Perhaps there is more here for a fan of the anime, but even then I would be surprised if anyone were to be terribly engaged by what is presented. Narrative definitely feels like it takes a backseat to providing whatever rationale it can to throw Ken into battle.
Basically, KR2 takes the form of a third person beat em up where players will be eliminating hundreds of enemies at a time with Ken's deadly fists. Whilst I am not terribly familiar with Dynasty Warriors, it was obvious from the outset that this title has much in common with it. Standard battles will often involve Ken being swarmed by massive mobs of weak enemies at one time, and players are encouraged to rack up ridiculous combos as they thin out the ranks.
Basic attacks and combos will build up a meter which can then be utilised to unleash some ultra devastating attacks - such as punching an enemy hundreds of times within seconds only to witness their head explode soon after. Tougher enemies will sometimes require a little more patience, as well as liberal use of blocking and dodging in order to beat many of them.
Presentation wise, KR2 is unremarkable. Everything about the title feels more akin to a PS2 title, and that is to say nothing of the gameplay itself. Unimpressive visuals, lackluster still shot vignettes dishing out exposition and enemies which literally appear out of thin air are recurring elements here. Some of the more damaging moves available can sometimes look kind of cool the first time they are seen, but in terms of presentation KR2 cannot compete with even an average current gen title.
The immediate thing which jumped out to me about this title was the sheer number of enemies onscreen at once - it was little exaggeration when I stated earlier that players will often find themselves surrounded by hundreds of enemies at a time. Unfortunately, it did not take long to notice the first of many issues I had with the game. Whilst a ludicrous number of opponents simultaneously sounds great in theory, often only one or two will attack the player at a time making 99% of any given crowd utterly redundant. On top of the fact that said opponents are often visually identical, this leaves mammoth chunks of gameplay simply feeling like busywork in service of simply getting to the next crowd of cannon fodder.
It should be stated however, that there seems to be no shortage of content on the disc. The main campaign will require a decent time sink to complete, and an additional "Dream Mode" - which can also be tackled online - featuring various playable characters (and their associated side stories) will keep those interested playing for some time. There is also something of a light customisation system in place where players can mess with certain player buffs in particular combinations for maximum effect.
For fans of the source material, the sheer number of characters featured throughout the game is utterly mental - if there are central characters to the anime not featured here, I would like documented proof that they exist.
As I write this, I am genuinely attempting to recall some more positive things to say about the title, but I find myself with little to latch onto. Mediocre repetitive gameplay, uninteresting plot and something which truly felt like a boring slog to play through leaves me with little reason to even half heartedly recommend this title over other available products.
To give some context here, Duke Nukem Forever received a well deserved critical panning for its quality, but even that release was far more enjoyable to wade through than this. It may be something of a cliche among gaming circles, but I can honestly say that KR2 is one of, if not the single most unimpressive game I have played this generation.
....and I both own and have finished Too Human.
Game: Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2
System: PS3
Developer/Co-Developer: Koei
Publisher: Tecmo Koei
