Mad hair, out of sync speech, weird names and a cast of hundreds, it can only mean another Dragonball Z game. This classic series has been gaining more and more fans over the years and with the up and coming live action film, the game taps into the buzz and brings all fans and newcomers up to full speed on this huge story.
Dragonball Z is a long running anime show that has had many series and numerous film and other tie-ins. There was always a problem (like with many other imported shows) that the storyline has been cut and changed for a western audience. Burstlimit helps fill in the gaps and starts from the beginning of this huge saga. Just like the BanDai/Koei Gundam tie-in last year, this time BanDai have teamed up with Atari to bring Dragonball Burst limit which is a start to finish chronicle of the greatest stories from this universe.
Burst limit is a 1 on 1 fighting game with a few different modes to choose from to keep you interested in the game. First off is the training session which is really recommended as there are just so many moves to remember. Each move is explained by a mentor, these are well narrated and this helps make sure you nail each move before moving on. Though I mentioned there are loads of moves to remember, thankfully the button layout is quite simple, the face buttons are two types of attack, a block and a projectile move. The projectile move is a weak fireball, this wont do much damage but can knock your opponent off guard, enabling you the upper hand, mix this with the two attacks and you can pull off some easy combos. To use more powerful moves you can use trigger buttons together with the attack buttons to pull off Aura actions like the Mega Crush. The block button is quite versatile, depending on when you use it, you can dodge, deflect or ricochet a projectile back at an enemy, with the press of a direction you are also able to jump behind the enemy for a better advantage.
The main screen is nice and simple to understand, you have your standard energy bar which depletes with each hit received, your Ki bar which increases as you fight, and once this is full you are able to pull of Ultimate moves with a simple combo. You also have Drama Cards. You collect these during the main campaign, if you find yourself in a required situation you will unlock a short cutscene, which usually culminates in an assist from another character. Once unlocked you are able to select these in the multiplayer games, adding a nice touch to the game.
As well as the training you also have a practice room, here you can go and try out some of the more technical moves in your own time without the hassle of another player beating down on you. Having played DBZ games on the PS1, I found these training areas really helpful to get to grips with the moves and also the multi level battlefield.
The Z Chronicles is the main fighting mode, here you will play as numerous characters from the Dragonball Z series, fighting in some of their more memorable fights. As you play through you will experience stories from the Saiyan Saga through to the Cell Saga and play as favourites like Napa, Piccolo, Gohan and Vegeta. In this mode you are able to unlock the Drama scenes to assist with online play. You are able to choose from 4 difficulties on each fight. At the end of each fight you are also graded, with Z being the best, you are graded on numerous areas such as speed to win, first hit, finishing moves and so on. The stories themselves are fun and engrossing enough that you will want to play through to the end, there is also plenty of DBZ humour to keep a light note to all of the violence. There are about 21 characters to play and unlock throughout the game which is reasonable enough, whilst the actions to perform the moves are identical, the on screen moves differ so a different technique is required for each player. This is a really good idea as it levels the playing field for new players and the more experienced.
In the One on One mode you are able to choose from local play or online, here you can choose from any of the characters and levels you have previously opened. A cool touch is the power level of your character. Play online and with each win or loss you will gain power points, you are able to view your own points and your opponents, just like in the show. Online is the same as local, no lag and really fast paced, on a few occasions the servers were so full I could not get a game which shows how popular this game is.
Finally there are a few filler modes that you unlock during play including a survivor mode where you have to try to take out 100 opponents without dying. Fun in the short term, but does not add anything extra to the game.
The three main ingredients for fighting games is the characters, the moves and the levels. DBZ has plenty of well animated characters and great moves lists, though the same for all characters, each one has their own weakness and strength but it really misses out on the levels, they are very bland and similar. There is no interaction, you are left with just an open area and lots of sky to fight in, which is a bit boring to say the least. In the end I did enjoy this game, the ease of online and the ability to view your opponent’s power rating is faithful to the show and the inclusion of Drama abilities is a really good idea. Well worth a look if you are after a good fighting game.
