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On the outside, Tao Feng isn't unlike most fighters. There are the standard modes: Survival, Tournament, Team Battle, Versus, Training, and Quest; with the Quest Mode being the most unique out of the lot. Unlike a good deal of other fighters, there was a concentrated effort to give Tao Feng a solid backstory that revolves around a conflict between the Pale Lotus and the Black Mantis and their battles around 'Metro-China' to recover pieces to tablets that will lead either side to the gates of immortality. I like to amuse myself by thinking of the whole setup as a West Side Story meets Generic Karate Movie; even though the story isn't terribly deep, it is presented very well with a solid narrator explaining the history between the fighters before the matches. However, unlike those crazy kids in New York, these fighters aren't quite as coordinated. The fighting engine revolves around small and large combos, along with several single moves that are meant to be linked together. The smaller combos are easy enough to pull off and will provide some reassurance, but it's when the player reaches the third or so opponent in their Quest, and they proceed to unleash hell upon them, that they soon realizes that: A.) the larger combos aren't that easy or fun to pull off and B.) linking moves together doesn't work all that well. Instead of a seamless ballet of martial arts goodness, the characters end up moving in quick, jerking motions. Now, I don't expect a bunch of random moves to equal a combo, but I would've hoped that they would equal something; unfortunately, they normally don't. On the upside, the implemented combos are a treat to watch and do provide for some nice movie-quality action. Let's say that the player just happens to click with the game and that they have no problems pulling off these extremely long and time-sensitive combos, and they're a maestro at linking standard moves, not even those skills will help them to avoid the unholy trinity: blocking, AI, and the camera. Blocking is crucial in Tao Feng, not only because doing too much will cause limbs to become damaged and they being less effective as a result, by way of doing less damage and moving slower - which is a nice feature - but also because it requires some excellent timing. If an opponent's move isn't stopped by a swift attack, or blocked at the right moment, they are free to let loose deadly and fairly extensive combos. A quick hit or two are the more fortunate instances, but even on the normal setting, the computer will whip up some killer combos that'll leave the player staring at the screen, slack-jawed and frustrated. The AI also comes into play here. At first, the computer seems fair enough. Sure, they might side-step a move or so or whip up a nice little combo, but it's when the rookies retire to the back after the third or so round that the real pain begins. Unbelievably good at blocking, the computer is ruthless and deadly enough that the game really begins to lose its fun after the same opponent wins again and again and again. This isn't from lack of skill, either; the computer has an amazing ability to attack through blocks, link outrageous moves, and brush off any attacks. To make things even more frustrating, the camera is finicky, and in a move that baffles me, the controls will switch whenever the view does. So, say an opponent is attacking and back is being held to block, if the characters go too far to one direction, the camera will switch and back becomes forward, and instead of blocking, the player is walking into an attack. Joy. Not helping things are the characters themselves. Now, I have no problem when a developer follows standards within the genre, so I don't mind the hulking badass, the women who unintentionally look like scary mannequin cross- dressers, the old master, the young upstart, or the Dragon Ball Z- inspired baddie. But most are just so uninteresting that I really didn't care who I was playing as. Most looked like their appearance was suppose to give them personality, and aside from a monk made of iron and a few others, most just came off as generic. Some of their moves even looked recycled. To help spice things up, the developers included the previously mentioned limb damage, chi power, destroyable stages, the ability to fight off of walls and objects, and melded rounds to make encounters seem like one long battle. The limb damage is a cool feature, but I only noticed minimal results from my opponent being half crippled, but I was also sweating bullets and praying I lived to the next round, so who knows. Chi power builds up throughout the fight and can be used to either heal a damaged limb or used offensively through a variety of attacks, with most being fairly weak and more of a light show than something to worry about. Contributing
to the camera woes is the ability to fight off walls and objects. Easy to pull
off, launching aerial attacks by swinging from poles is camera-safe and fun, but
jumping off walls can really throw the view off. Equally fun to do and watch,
it's a shame that the wall attacks aren't always trigged when commanded to and
a result of a miss can lead the camera to get confused. The ability to do all
kinds of damage to the levels themselves is a good idea and a blast to exploit.
Not only does it help to knock a bit off the opponent's life, it also looks great
and makes the stages look like an awe-inspiring battle to the death actually took
place there. To make the fights seem even more movie-like is the option to keep
the fights within one long round. After being defeated, the loser, looking exceedingly
busted and bloody, shakes off the assault and prepares to fight again. This isn't
necessarily an essential aspect of the game, but it does keep the action going
quickly and adds more to the game's general feel.
Graphics: 8/10 Sound:
7.5/10 Control:
5.5/10 Overall: 6.5/10
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