Power Stone for Dreamcast

Powerstone is the most innovative fighter game to hit the Dreamcast. As with other Capcom games, it takes the violence from a cartoon standpoint. The action is highly simplistic, the moves are easy to learn and perform. Its definitely a good change to see in this genre, but the game itself isn't so much fun in the long run. That is possibly the only problem against it -- its long run play time is not that long. However, as a short pass-time for you and a friend used sparingly once in a while, it does have some entertainment value.

Game Play 5/10
This is a 3D fighter game with unique camera view points that do not resemble any other fighting games. Perhaps on some level its like the War Gods fiasco that was released by Midway some years ago, but the action is completely different. All right, lets take a shot at this from a really weird angle. Imagine any one of the Resident Evil games, except your job is to run up to the zombie and smack it with a combo. Also imagine being able to jump up and hold on to objects, and pretty much use anything that you see as a weapon. Ok, just now you've got a sense of what Powerstone feels like.

The best part of the game revolves around grabbing and throwing objects at your opponent. Or jumping up and doing a special trick using a light pole or a board. However, the characters do not have the same kind of specialization other Capcom games have offered in the past. The combo's, first of all, are very simplistic. There is absolutely no reason why you should ever use more than 2 different combos. Tap the kick button quickly and you've got one, or you can just use the punch button. Every character has the same basic combos. Their special moves vary, but the fighting style is the same for everybody.

Graphics 6/10
Allow me to welcome you to the world of realistic 3D rendering, Capcom. Obviously you haven't been paying much attention to this field, as that could be the only thing to explain your incapacity to organize actual 3D games. The characters and the areas look pretty neat in this game, but its all in cartoonish graphics. Its like watching He-Man again. That is not to say that this is bad, but look at games like Soul Calibur or Dead or Alive 2 and you will catch my meaning. However, Powerstone does not look bad at all. The characters move and run around with dance like steps, the combos somehow resemble martial-arts, and the special moves look quite neat.

Innovation 7/10
Using every single object as a weapon is a lot of fun. The Chinese guy can flip around a pole and than do a deadly double kick. The Indian fellow can rip out a light pole and smash you with it. Its rather funny and joyful at the same time. The best part is without doubt the Powerstones. Indeed, there is a reason for that name. The game starts with each character holding onto one crystal, which the character will drop if he/she is knocked out. The third crystal will appear at a random place in the stage. If you grab all crystals, you character will turn into a behemoth, and your opponent will be running from you like a headless chicken. All your moves become unblockable special hits, and you can also do a fatal special move by thumping 3 buttons at the same time. Every character has its own super duper outfit as well as special moves. Due to the immense power that the Powerstones behold, most of the fighting revolves around who gets all 3 stones rather than any other skill your might have with the buttons.

Conclusion 5/10
This is a fun game, but play it for a couple of days and you will get tired of it. The entire outcome of a battle is dependent upon who got the stones rather than anything else. This kind of diminishes any chances of getting highly skilled at the game, because once your opponent has transformed you are already dead. The combos you can do with each character is exactly the same as others. If you can beat this game with the Arabian girl, you can probably beat it with everyone else. Nevertheless, the two player smashing action does offer a short lived entertainment value.