Deadly Strike [PlayStation 2]

"If you like strategy games like me this will be entertaining. Most people will like this game, but you may get bored after a while with it. It's not the best of all games. But read to find out why to buy this, I may change your mind.

Game play 8/10

Deadly strike is a game, where you have to go through a small area killing enemies within the time limit; it's a lot like Raging Blades in some ways. When you can't see an enemy it indicates to you where they are. You choose your character from a range of six, each of these has their own reason to fight, and you must play to find out. Unfortunately there are not many attacks to use, you can use square for attacking, cross to use a gun, circle for rolling, but triangle is of no use, finally move simply use the analogue stick. Therefore the controls really aren't that good. Also attacks are slow to do; this can be annoying because you will get hit easily, or when you are trying to run away. Believe me this is frustrating. At the end of a zone there is a boss. Once you have defeated the boss, it adds up your score and gives you a letter rank through all six stages. The rank you get in each stage varies the next stage you can choose to play. It also has a combo system, which means you get more points if you kill enemies quickly, to make sure you keep your combo high, kill enemies quickly and don't waste time.

Graphics 7/10

The graphics I would say are end of PS1 beginning of PS2 standard, but they are good enough to play on. They are graphics which try to be realistic, yet they are Murky. In my opinion they may have looked clearer more and cartoonish, such as the games Cel Damage or Taz Most Wanted, even though they're not impressive style of graphics, they'll display better. The graphics do indeed suit the type if game except the downside in them is their quality. On the positive side they are a lot better than most Gamecube games, but then Gamecube graphics aren't really that amazing.

Sound 8/10

The soundtrack to this is great, it's quite soothing and relaxing, and it suits the mood of the game, because this game is full of various martial artists, it gives you that feeling as if you are in a dojo. If you want to play this for hours, you will still be wanting to hear the music. You do as well get a different piece of music for each stage, and the stages are pretty short, so you won't get bored with the same music for long. The enemies in pain has a realistic sound effect, as well as when your character attacks, although the attacks are slow, the sound of the gun shots and swords waving is very realistic.

Lifespan 7/10

It will probably keep you playing for a week, then you'd stop playing it. It is easy to complete and if you really wanted to just play it, you may finish it in a day. It will give you something to do if you are bored but you may get bored quickly with it when your finished. It's good to play through if you're currently playing a long game. The main idea of the game is to buy all the shop items, once that is done you have unlocked everything. I don't really think this would be played again once finished, unless you really enjoy it.

Features 7/10

You can have up to 2 players, this lets you team up with a friend to have double the joy. There is also a nifty shop where you spend your points to get lives, credits, costumes and power ups. When you buy a lot of things it makes the game easier to get through. In terms of gameplay, there is an extra mode, where instead of playing as a character you play as the enemies throughout the game; these enemies have their own abilities, which you can see for your self. Finally the last nice thing is the gallery mode, here you see the storyline of each character and some cool poses.

Storyline 7/10

Each character is in this tournament for their own reason. Even though you can find out their reasons for being in the tournament, it's pointless to have to buy and extra feature in the shop to find it out. That's what you have to do, it would have been better with a small introduction. Alternatively you can finish the stages with the character only then to find out a basic storyline. The stories aren't really fantastic; by they do include love, their past and fighting for others. They may sound great, but there is little information on them

Overall 8/10

It's a good game; I think you should buy it, if you see it anywhere. If you don't like it, trade it in to get a bit of money back or keep it for another time. You have nothing much to lose, it's worth buying. You can have some fun out of this game. Have a little fun put it away then play a longer game. It isn't a must buy, but it is a cheap game, and will give you some enjoyment. I recommend buying it.


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