AAAAND WE’RE FIGHTING,WE’RE FIGHTING, WE’RE FIGHTING…
The Dragon Ball Z franchise has been pumping out games at a rate we have not seen in years. This is like my third game this year alone. Now we have Raging Blast to chew on. A release that sticks with the traditional combat style and adds a few new things to the mix. Is it worth a purchase? Will it bring the casual gamer into the fold? Is there as much yelling and carrying-on as in previous game?! Click below to see.
Raging Blast offers up every major storyline in the series history with a section of great ‘What if ‘ scenarios. The huge character count of seventy makes for one of the most impressive line-ups in the genre. A World Tournament mode lets you play a 16 player tournament on or offline (the online multiplayer is awesome by the way). And the Super Battle Trial mode is a great collection of quick challenges – perfect for the current A.D.D.-riddled generation. Most of Raging Blasts improvements are cosmetic but nonetheless the newly updated facial expressions and sleeker graphics are engrossing. The one major gameplay addition is the interactive and destructible environments. So now you can put an opponent through a large chunk of rock and do some added damage. Enemies hiding behind something? Blast through it and knock the crap out of them in a flurry of fiery death. Works well for Jehovah’s Witness outside your door also.
But it’s not all power blasts and flaming black ties and backpacks. The camera is atrocious, more so than usual. So not only did the developer not fix past camera issues, but they actually missed the fact that it got worse. And it directly and adversely affects the gameplay. Seriously, getting sucker-punched a bunch at a higher level can prove fatal and it’s annoying as hell. And why is it that a proper lock-on button hasn’t been added? When an opponent can be anywhere in an area is it unreasonable to be able to actually see them? Besides the crap storytelling (newbies prepare for confusion and anger) the most odd downside to this game is the lack of depth in combat. Many of the combos from previous games have been removed leaving a repetitive button-mashing fight experience that is hugely unsatisfying. Even the new ‘Super Rising’ move is annoying. Ever tried to accurately time a simultaneous bumper and trigger pull? It’s a pain in the ass on an Xbox 360 or PS3 controller. The upside is that you get used to these things after a while. Is that an upside?
Overall Raging Blast is a by-the-numbers sequel that brings enough to the table so die hard fans will scramble for a purchase – everyone else will roll their eyes at what is really a paltry offering. Is it fun? Yeah, not as fun as the other games but fun still. That means you can lose many hours playing through – but don’t expect a fresh feeling as you go. If your not a fan by now, just go out and pick up Street Fighter IV or Tekken 6.
[A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes]
