I know Kung Fu! Ok, ok that was an easy joke and should have been beneath me but few jokes are. Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior’s Rise is the perfect way for a true novice at martial arts to feel like an utter bad ass as you fight your way through well done levels and learn new skills that have you flying Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style, only kicking more boots to the head.
Storyline:
Tian – Year 3. For years war and conflict between the powerful Tian empire and the northern country of Shaa have raged throughout the lands. As part of this war, General Loh travels to the Talin Temple in search of Master Mo to set up a base of operations against the rebels. What Loh learns from Master Mo sets him down a path to redemption and to put a stop to the Tian empire’s corruption. This does come through during the cutscenes which are nice looking art with subtitles though the story does take a bit of a backseat to the fighting.
Graphics And Sound:
Graphics have the look and feel of an old school fighting game, actually like a combination of all the old school fighting games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and other arcade classics. The sound effects match the action with lots of hitting noises and a soundtrack that is enjoyable but doesn’t draw attention to itself. The atmosphere created by the graphics and sound truly transport players back to the days of arcades where we yelled at the game while other watched on, waiting their turn and shouting encouragements. In all honesty I found myself yelling “I know Kung Fu you !#$!#@%!!” gleefully at my computer screen.
Controls:
There are two ways to control the action, gamepad and keyboard, and keyboard has two options as well. The keyboard controls for someone used to the keyboard are WASD and JKL for movement and action. For someone less used to keyboard controls, who likes using the arrows or likes to make moves with the right hand and action with the left you can use the arrows and JKL. I am used to FPS and RPGs that use WASD so that felt comfortable quickly. I used the gamepad to test it out and found I moved around a bit better and my jabs were more effective, in contrast the keyboard performed better combos and dodged better. The difference between the three ways of playing were minimal so it really comes down to whichever of the three control setups feel most natural for you.
Gameplay:
The gameplay at first seems to very much follow the standard fighting game set up, sideview, right to left with a punch attack, kick attack and a dodge. However you soon realized that you are not so much fighting on a plane as you are in a room. You can go anywhere within the four corners of the room and the camera angle follows you. The attackers will also jump into the fighting room from all directions so you have to keep an eye out for where they show up and how they attack. Each enemy has a special attack they do, even the minions, with the bosses sometimes having more. Each time you down an enemy they drop energy or money, the energy saving you in big gang ups and the money helping you buy new skills, equipment or armies (temporary allies). Choosing these wisely and by your fighting style is definitely important. If you love combos you would want to buy skills, if you tend to berserk then equipment might be up your alley, though no matter what your fighting style it is always handy to have armies so that you get a couple meat shields to distract some of the enemy and give yourself a better chance. You definitely want to get the skill which allows you to float in the air a bit and attack from it, total martial arts movie magic at play. As you work your way through each level you will have minion and mini bosses with a bigger boss every couple levels. This is good to keep in mind because you may start by fighting the minions and have the mini bosses jump in later when you have been worn down a bit so having some energy built up or keeping your health up can be essential.
Multiplayer:
The multiplayer consists of Co-Op or Vs. mode, both of which are designed to be done on the same computer. Kung Fu Strike is set up so that one player can play the keyboard and the other the gamepad and fight any missions unlocked in the campaign which is the primary play format. Once you complete a run through the campaign, whether by yourself or with some Co-Op help you can go into the Vs. mode. So the game really emphasizes single or co-op play over vs. play which is a nice change from the competitiveness that vs. brings out.
Last Call:
This game is great! It is an excellent and timeless example of the martial arts fighting game with it’s own twist of depth and it’s own take on multiplayer. The animations are excellent, the sound is great and the overall game transports you right into the arcade all over again with the skill selection options you come to expect from pc fighting games. I loved floating through the air gently then doing and insanely massive combo that sends the enemy flying to the far side of the screen. It emphasizes the buddy system over the beating up your buddy system as well which is nice and refreshing. If you are a fan of the genre at all, Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior’s Rise is a great game to have in your collection!
Trailer:
