The Bouncer
by Rageonaleash

Well, I hate to say it to all of you that were expecting another great Squaresoft game, but the Bouncer is a dissapointment, to say the least. While the graphics are spectacular, the game itself just doesn't live up to the hype.

The Bouncer had problems from the beginning; we know this because Square didn't have a playable demo at E³. So don't be suprised if your the first person on your block to find a glitch, although none have been reported yet.

Those who have played Ehrgeiz in the past will immediately recognize the head to head and story mode components, along with the very simple to use controls that make the game easy to adjust to. That's one good factor.

The response time is an important factor in the gameplay because, well, it's a mash-the-buttons fighting game. When you mash the buttons, you should mash your opponent. The Bouncer delivers here. While it doesn't offer split-second response time, the mashability (lol) isn't bad, though its not quite as fast as DOA 2.

One of the reasons we shouldn't get ivolved in comparing DOA 2 to The Bouncer is because Bouncer has a story [Don't even get me started with DOA-2's "story." Pffft! (good game, though)] Instead of the basic "you-take-one-side-and-I'll-kick-your-butt-from-the-other" type fighting theme, you've got stories you can follow. You must be thinking, 'Wow, actual storyline to a fighting game?!? Well . . . Yes and no. Here it is:

The Story and Gameplay

There has been a lot of high expectations about the Bouncer's story. While it does have story, it's not one to draw tears or cause heart attacks. The story is as follows: Scion, Kou, and Volt are three Bouncers at a local bar. They set out on a quest to retrieve Scion's girlfriend, Dominique, after she's captured by a group of hooligans that think they're Samurais from Kung Fu Dojos. Basically, you fight them off until you get to the Mikado Station, where you learn about weird shapeshifting characters and evil plots that could destroy the planet (*Zzzzzz...*), plus you are taught about Dominique's mysterious past and being, along with why Scion cares so much for her. From here you "choose" a Bouncer that you want to follow the story mode with. Of course the other two Bouncers will be with you, but you will only follow what happens in your Bouncer's story. So therefore, the story is designed to be played 3 times, once for each character, but once you know the story from the first time, the next Bouncer's story becomes predictable, until on the third run you find yourself slamming the X button to get through the stupid cutscenes and boring dialogue and to the friekin' battles already, because it's a fighting game, dag-blast it! (Breathe, Colin, breathe . . .) Sorry. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the story mode gets repetitive, eventually you get tired of the fight-save-cutscene, fight-save-cutscene, repeat ad nauseum (more like add nausea) routine. In this respect you could say its a cross between Ehrgeiz and Shenmue. Unlike Shenmue, however, is the fact that the story mode is very short (its a fighting game, not an RPG, RPGs arent the only thing Square does, though they're the best), only about an hour and a half per each Bouncer's storyline. But remember that story doesn't make a fighting game (though it can't hurt), fighting makes a fighting game. And the fighting in The Bouncer is satisfactory, if not above average.

The story and gameplay are most definately NOT the best parts of the game. If there is a best part at all, it's gotta be the multiplayer. One to four player versus mode is entertaining especially with 3 or more people. You basically just have an all-out brawl, every man for himself. Survival mode is good fun too. Its kinda like the old Spider man games where you battle enemies one after another to clear levels. Thats basically it, except this time its on a 3D plane . . .

As for music, The Bouncer's is very appropriate. Heavy metal at first when you're roughing up everyone you see, and then the music evolves into more of a European style as you begin to travel more and calm down (but not much!). The voice-over dubbing is exceptional, but as for the lines that are spoken: Bland, predictable sentences that you've seen before in every other fighter with a story. Excluding a few times, everything said can be mouthed along to flawlessly the first time the game is played. While the dialogue is not boring, it's not riveting either.

And, of course, you've got the platter of various grunts and groans that fit well into the battle scenes.

The Bouncer gets a few points for originality when it comes to Charcters: Scion's character is arrogant, and common to that of a 20-year old male who's girl has been stolen. Kou is the careless yet witty comic relief of the story. For those who read Shakespeare (yeah, right), think of him as Touchstone, the worryless jester that drinks a lot and makes wisecracks to the audience while hiding his true intelligence to his freinds. The outright opposite of Kou is Volt, the hardass (well, sordof), downright know-it-all, not hiding his intelligence at all, and never making fun of any riskful situation (which this game is full of, so you can guess this guy doesn't poke fun of much). Dominique is the wannabe superhero that screams and panics in the face of danger [she gets in a lot of danger, so what does that tell you? "AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" "EEEEEEEEK!!!" SHUT - UP!!!!); basically she's just the looker.

One unfortunate aspect is the scenery interaction: There is none. Pretty much all objects you see are static. Another problem is the camera angles. While they are fine for the first 3 quarters of the game, at the end your characters go into a lot more alleyways and narrow spaces. The buildings obstruct (and sometimes cover up entirely) your view of whats ahead. Sometimes it becomes nearly impossible to advance in the game because you are continually beaten by an enemy you can't see!

All in all, The Bouncer is worth a buy if you're looking for a slightly above-average fighter for the PS2. But believe me, that's all you'll get.

Some information obtained from PS2.IGN.COM.

Screenshots

Images obtained from IGN.