This game is beautiful. A person who is watching from afar may not notice the copious amounts of detail that populate the environments but veteran players will tell you that this is one of the most beautiful games ever made. There’s an enchanting beauty in the way that the characters flow and animate. This is some of the smoothest animation to ever appear in a game and best of all, it’s so well-done that even the more absurd moves look realistic and convincing. With all of the fluidness it never seems like any moves would be out of place in real life, even the more far-fetched ones. All of the characters look pretty excellent as well. While there are some pretty poor character designs, the Todd McFarlane designed Necrid in particular, the models are all quite a sight to behold. You’ll see hair that flows in the wind, cloth that flaps as characters animate and shiny surfaces that shine and shimmer in the sunlight. The neat little weapon effects really tie a neat ribbon around this complete package.
Each of the levels look spectacular as well, from billowing smokestacks in the distance to little rays of sunlight that filter in through an open window, the environments are just a sight to behold. The beauty comes in the attention to detail paid to each of the levels. Even the grass of blades that are kicked up are animated. They don’t just come up and then disappear, they float around realistically and then discreetly flutter out into the scenery. Someone who’s really wrapped up in the action probably won’t notice such fine details but it’s there for people who are really anal retentive about the details. All of the backgrounds are well done as well and feature beautifully rendered buildings and structures that are far off in the distance. I’d say that some of the levels lack inspiration and variety. Although there are some pretty varied locales they all feel very similar to each other, especially the tiny ones that take place on a church-like setting.
In terms of framerate the Xbox and GameCube versions hold up really well and show only mild hints of slowdown. The PS2 version is a big bogged down as the action slows down heavily in the middle of a fight. The load times on the PS2 are atrocious as well as it takes a good five seconds just for the player models to load on the character select screen. If you want to change the costume of your character you'll have to wait another good five seconds and then wait for the game to load at the next screen. It's a pretty frustrating experience that really hinders the gameplay at times.
While all three of the games sound relatively similar it’s obvious that the Xbox has the superior audio. The Dolby Digital allows for clearer samples to filter through the speakers and the ambient noises come in much cleaner through the rear speakers. The native support just blows away the second-rate Dolby Pro Logic II that the PS2 and GameCube versions offer. It seems like the PS2 and GC versions have problems with siphoning the audio to the rear speakers. Periodically I’d hear a sword clash or the sound of a weapon contacting with an opponent, but it was rather sparse and not quite up to the level of what I’d expect. Not that they’re that bad, it’s just that the sound is much clearer and better sampled on the Xbox version.
It’s a good thing too because the music and combat effects are some of the best that we’ve ever heard in a fighting game. Each character has about 80 recorded lines of audio that are utilized in combat. It’s pretty astounding considering that most games record about 20 or so samples tops for each of their fighters. All of the combat sounds are authentic as well. From the clank of the swords to the sound of wood on flesh, it’s all that I have come to expect from watching years and years of Bruce Lee movies. The fights are accompanied by a mixed bag of music, depending on whether or not you like to pummel your opponents to the tune of operatic music. It’s epic, that’s for damn sure, but I don’t know how serious I can take the battle, especially if I’m battling against what looks like the giant lizard from
Brute Force. Oh well, it’s much better than fighting to some generic techno tunes, that’s for damn sure.
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