A lighter fighter
Pros:
Great gameplay for parties, simple engine, hilarious character animations
Cons:
Not for the serious gamer. Not a good single-player game.
|
|
Overall Rating:
|
 |
|
Author's Review
Overall: 7
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 7
Sound: 5
Concept: 6
Replay Value: 8
Sick of complicated fighting games that require you to memorize dozens of moves and combos? Want to just relax with some friends and enjoy a fighter for once? Well, here you go, Pocket Fighter can fit that bill perfectly.
Not every gamer will like Pocket Fighter. You may want to rent it or borrow it from a friend to decide whether it's for you or not. It's not really the kind of game that you'll be practicing for hours on end to get that perfect juggle combo off, or to learn your favorite character's ultra-super-secret move. Instead, it's a lighthearted game that's best played with many people around who have a tendency to get extremely loud. The louder the spectators, the better the game will be.
Pocket Fighter takes some of the characters from Capcom's popular 2D fighting games, such as the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers series, shrinks them down, and adds a few twists. The first big difference you'll notice is the 'gem' system from Gem Fighter, where your fighters power with different techniques increases depending on how many colored gems you can pick up. Secondly, you'll notice some of the hilarious animations for the combo moves.
Capcom really pulls out all the stops for the special animations, and if you're a Capcom fan, this is where the heart of the fun will be for you. When the fighters perform combos, they transform into anything from characters from other fighters to characters from completely different Capcom games like Mega Man or Resident Evil. I don't know anyone who doesn't get a kick out of watching thier fighter turn into 2 or 3 different, famous Capcom characters during the battle.
The fighting system isn't anything terribly new, but it is simple and efficient. There are only four buttons (one is the entertaining 'Taunt'), and combos are easily discovered on your own. There aren't any extremely difficult strings or button combinations to learn, so it's easy to just get straight to the fun. The graphics, while not groundbreaking, are entertaining and the frame rate is constant. There is no slowdown, and the transformations are performed seamlessly.
This isn't really a one-player game. If you like to get together with friends and play some games while you hang out, this is the perfect party game. If you're a hardcore fighter-lover, you probably won't enjoy the simple and cartoonish gameplay. Overall, the game is highly entertaining, and will provide hours of raucous, screaming, controller slamming fun for you and your friends.
