Fist of the North Star - Ken's Rage (PS3)

Although a beloved classic in Japan not everyone is familiar with the Fist of the North Star manga or tv series. It's a tale of revenge set in a post apocaplyptic world where the protagonist, Kenshiro, betrayed by his best friend and his brothers and left for dead, sets about tracking them down, settling a few scores and finding his lost lost, Yuria. It's effectively an ultra-violent western with lethal martial arts.

This game charts the story of Kenshiro and replicates all the famous encounters fromn the manga - Shin, Jagi, Toki/Amiba, Heart, Raoh, Boss Fang etc. all the best showdowns from the manga are here. It plays in the third person a bit like God of War - the levels are fairly linear with hordes of thugs and sub bosses to defeat and ending with a boss fight. There is a degree of puzzle solving but this is mainly in the form of simple mazes, the bulk of the action is by the way of battering your way through the gangs of thugs to the end of the level.

The combat seems a bit basic to begin with. There is a light attack and a heavy attack, but by combining them a variety of combos can be unleashed. It is also possible to stun enemies (striking tsubo) to multiply the damage you inflict or alternatively you can boost your attack power by tapping into your spirit gauge. To really bring the pain you can unleash special attacks such as the hundred crack fist or boulder splitting wave - combine this attack with the spirit boost and you can really do some damage. There is a guard feature too which provides the option for more tactical fights against bosses or sub bosses, but this isn't particularly effective in the scrum but proves vital in boss fights later on.

As you progress you can earn and find spirit points which can be spent on character upgrades to increase health, attack power and learn new moves. Rest assured the O.T.T Fist of thre North Star gore is intact. In terms of gameplay, the combat is great fun - enemies explode or shatter into pieces as you carve your way forward. Crowds of thugs can be splattered in a single attack. The level design is good with many hidden areas only accessible on a second play through. The difficulty has been nicely pitched - easy is fairly stress free for the average player and there are no nasty surprises in terms of design disasters. The only real groan is a slightly whirly camera, but they have included an auto-centre function during boss fights to address this.

As you progress you will unlock the option play as other characters - Rei, Mamiya, Jagi etc. The story modes for Rei and Mamiya follow Kenshiro's timeline but, critically, you do not have to play through the same levels as Kenshiro. This is a particularly nice touch as it would have been an easy out for the developer to just re-run the same levels for all characters. As Rei, for instance, you have the ability to wall jump and bypass large sections of Kenshiro's level to play completely new areas. The extra characters also play very differently - Rei for example has the ability to counter. He can also attack with much greater speed which is a huge plus in the thug battles but less effective in boss fights.

The graphics and presentation are very good. The manga style has been very faithfully reproduced and the voice work is very much in the style of the 80's tv series. The Level introductions mimic the dramatic/macho Fist style. The menu system is uncomplicated and well thought out.

Overall, a huge amount of care has gone into this title and unlike some games of this type it retains replay value. If you are a fan of Fist of the North Star this is probably a four and a half/five star game as all the boxes are ticked. For players who have never heard of it, I would say three and a half to four as some knowledge of the original story certainly makes it more fun.

Finally a real fighting game that doesn't focus on the weapons. I just played this for the first time last night and played as the main character Ken who fights with his fists and kicks. Good combo's and plenty of character to beatup. Recommend this to any fighting fan. Game is like the old streets of rage with a bit more kick ass

Ok, my english is not awesome, but I'll give a try. If you simply like beat'em up games, you definitively will enjoy this; but, if you also like the Fist of the North Star saga, you will LOVE it! The game is long, long, long and it takes many hours to complete it. In addition to the standard Legend mode (the original of the series), that you can complete with up to 5 different characters, there is also the Dream mode. What can you think about this? A simple addition? Nooooooop. Dream mode is even better: it recovers the Dinasty Warriors spirit, with major combats between entire armies and introduces an alternative story (like a what if...) for the same characters of the Legend mode, plus bonus charactes! Like I said, tons of hours to enjoy a game with correct graphics and good gameplay, but on the top of that great ambientation.