yet another mech title
Despite some bold attempts, the Xbox is still in the shallow end of the support pool in Japan. Few Japanese developers are willing to commit big name franchises or development time to a machine they still aren't sure about. There are exceptions to this rule of course; Sega and Tecmo in particular have seen that Xbox has some immense potential if people will only give it a try. Another Japanese company who has seen the Green light is From Software, who showed off three Xbox exclusive titles at E3. Most impressive was Murakomo a game that is sure to please anyone looking for a good dose of motion sickness.
The Game
Now you're probably saying "Oh No, not another Mech game on Xbox!" and you'd be right. Xbox has 7 mech games scheduled for release in 2002 alone. However, Murakomo has some really impressive features that definitely make its Armored Core heritage show through. The story is an all too familiar tale of what happens when technology advances to quickly. In the future, the city of Oliver Port has come under siege by a hoard of renegade Artificial-Reflexive-Kineticoids or ARKS! You take control of one of five pilots with five different types of Arks with specific attributes and weapons. The Arks are all designed for different purposes such as close combat, armor, and maneuverability. So what's so interesting and intense about that? Just one word fans, SPEED!
The Control
Captain Falcons better put his racer in the shop for an overhaul, and Sonic's going to need more rings than the Shane Company because Murakomo is the new king of high-speed action. This game is sickeningly fast, the sense of vertigo in ****pit perspective is just insane, of course you also got a third person view for everyone with sensitive stomachs. The controls in Murakomo are pretty simple, fire weapons with the triggers and maneuver your Ark with the analog stick, additional weapons radar and tricks are mapped to the face buttons. By tricks I mean quick 180's and loop de loops that are right of Star Fox and look dam slick.
Fighting off all those enemy Arks may sound easy but it's not; all you have to do is get your targeting reticule to rest on an enemy long enough for you your Ark to lock on and then you can open up on him with a variety of rockets, energy weapons, and guns. Sounds simple doesn't it, well think again as these little buggers don't stand still or fly in a straight line, they swerve and weave around like Dragon Flies and are dam hard to pin. Oliver Port is no Suburb town either and you'll learn how Spiderman would feel if you strapped a rocket pack on his back and then told him to swing down 5'th Ave. Navigating the city is as challenging as fighting off the enemy Arks, you'll be constantly weaving and dodging around bridging, signs, overhangs, you name it. Overall the control is tight and exhilarating. The only thing left to see is whether Murakomo can ramp up the difficulty level steadily enough to make the progression feel fair and not impossible. Also we've seen images of areas in the game that are much more open than the crowded Skyscraper area; still not sure if the sense of intensity will continue if you've got plenty of elbow room.
The Look
Gone are the blocky lumbering machines of the Armored Core series; the Arks of Murakomo are 100% Anime high-speed goodness. The designs are quite original but obviously take lesson from popular Anime series like Gundam and Akira. Oliver Port, which is modeled after Hong Kong is an absolutely huge city with many different districts and areas that vary from the crowded downtown area, to a metallic industrial center. Graphically however the game shows some snags, while the Arks show some great details and reflection mapping, the overall environments are a bit on the bland side. This is particularly obvious with the buildings, which seem to feature the same bland texture map. Still From Software has plenty of time to spit shine Oliver Port up to Xbox standards; besides at how fast you'll be moving you likely won't even noticed some texture discrepancies.
The Sound
If all the trailers haven't tipped you off - Murakomo features a rocking soundtrack that perfectly matches with the games high-octane action. We haven't heard a lot of variety in the music but what has been heard goes along well with the feel of the game. Sound effects are pretty good; the missiles feature From Software's signature spiral missile noises and all the chain gun cannon blasting goodness your ears can handle. One snag though is the close combat attacks that feature your typical laser blade slices; but they just don't sound right. If I was carving a flying gun drone up with a light saber I'd expect to hear some serious metal screeching racket; as of right now those swipes just sound to clean. The games story mode is character driven and it looks as though it will have voice acting but no word has been heard about English dubbing or sub titles. Then again the game still hasn't been confirmed for the US either.
The Outlook
Murakomo is a new title entering an extremely crowded Genre on the Xbox. Yet this game is being developed by some of the best when it comes to mech games: From Software. So at the least it should turn some heads in Japan. As for us Yanks, unless you have nightmares about getting speeding tickets, Murakomo should give us all that adrenaline rush you only get when you're blasting between skyscrapers at 500 miles an hour, and who doesn't love doing that?
XBOX365 Says
Another quality looking title from the far east. Murakomo should give Xbox the shot in the arm it needs to beat Nintendo and Sony on their turf...
http://www.xbox365.com/news/zcomment...ZZukkFxdcwwGud
Reply With Quote
j/k dznutz, you left it open bro, so you know im gonna run with it!
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