Could have been deadlier

My brother got this game from a friend as a gift in '98 or so and has seen its fair share of use over the years. What initially drew me to this 3-d fighter game was the fact that it was devoid of fireballs and such unrealistic other moves.

Graphics: I think that the graphics could have been much better. They are fairly uninspired and some characters, such as Kai, are cheap rip-offs of fighters from other games *cough*Ryu*cough*. The color scheme throughout is only mediocre, and the anime-style characters could have been animated much better. However, some of the later stages in the game, particularly the last stage in a cathedral, isn't so bad.

Music/Sound: Again, nothing too great here, but at least the sounds of objects and bones breaking and popping sound ok. The music is better than average, mainly a mix of ambient or really fast techno, which at times is very annoying.

Control: This is definitley my harshest criticism. Only once you can get used to the akward controls can you really even begin to remotely enjoy this game. For one, the strafing from side to side looks very choppy and is very akward to execute. Also, one of the best attributes of the game, the realistic Jiu-jitsu and Aikido style throws and reversals, also take quite some time to get used to. It's an akward combination of using the R and punch buttons as well as a combination on the control pad. As a result, often times, you'll execute a move you didn't mean to, or it will get reversed. While such things are very cool once you master the timing and combos of buttons, very few people will have the patience to even get that far.

Create a fighter: This is really the only thing that can redeem this game from being pretty awful. While it's a cool feature, there are very few appearance options, and well, many of them look pretty dismal and uninpsired in design. As for the training and moves aspect, it's actually quite good, if not long and quite challenging. Basically, unlike WWF No Mercy in which you can asign any moves into any combination for your character, in Deadly Arts, you must train your fighter and eventually work your way up to learning more powerful throws and combos. While a great idea, takes really long to accomplish and the fighters get very cheap very fast. it does pay off in the end if you're patient enough, as you can create a very unique and versatile fighter who can take on anyone else with kicks, punches, throws and double-hit low sweeps.

Overall: This game had some really great ideas, but were executed poorly. For this reason, it is only merely average. Plus, I've had this game for a few years, and only now, after getting used to the controls, do I find it average and occassionaly enjoyable. I would recommend it if you could rent it somewhere, borrow it from a friend, or get it for a few dollars.