Dark Rift
Reviewed by pat64@geocities.com
Dark Rift is yet another 3-D fighter. If we had enough of those already. . .
Well, I think we have a winner (N64's first good fighting game!). This game
has flawless graphics with pretty good sound. It features a number of
fighters (something around 8) each with 6 to 8 special moves. The characters
are also creative (well some. . .) And have very cool move. My favorite is
Morphix, he has the best moves and combos, and is the most original
character in the game!
The graphics are quite good. The fighters look real and the back grounds
are amazing! The only thing about the backgrounds is: you only see one
little bit of it cause when you turn, it's the same and you can't reach
the end of the screen. Hey, they look good though. The sound is okay, not
that great, and when you finished the round, or choose your character, it
does not say the name, it says You Win, or You Loose. Even in 2 player
mode, it's says you win, so could have been killed and it says You Win. I
think they could have done better than that. . .
Many people don't like the controls on this game and say it's uneven or
something. I like the control setup a bit more than most fighting games.
Instead of having high kick, high punch, low kick, and low punch, it's
vertical attack (punch or weapon), horizontal attack (same goes here),
kick, block, special, close move, and finally dodge in a direction. The
combos are a little hard to remember them cause some are long, short
and completely different. Hey, I'm not that good at combos any way.
One of the best thing in this game is smart AI. Yes, the computer is
smart. (With the exception of the 2 first people you meet, they are
soooooo dumb. . .) It recognizes repeated moves and counters with a
better move. It's hard, and you can't play cheap. (It's fun) I like 2 player
much better myself. There are also codes to be the bosses. I like having
the other person in 2 player pick some short fighter, then I pick Demitor
(what ever his name is) and just smash them up.
This game is fun, but if your like me and don't really like fighting games,
this game gets real boring. It's fun the first few days, it last another 3
days with 2 player, then it dies. That is unless you master every combo
and try to beat it on hard, and well, you know. So what I'm saying is, rent
it 2, three times and that will be good.
Plus: Excellent graphics and good sound, game play modes and more.
Minus: It's a fighting game. Play seems limited.
Equals: The best 3-D fighter on the N64.