On one hand the combat here is a huge improvement to the formula. In addition to this being in three dimensions, the way your character slides forward a bit when kicking and you having a back-punch move that lets you completely reverse in the middle of a combo and smoothly transition into an offensive makes this so much more complex than the old school side-scrolling beat-em-ups. The fighting here is about distance-management and strategy. You want to avoid being surrounded, which is a thing that can happen only in 3D (or top-down/isometric). And it surprisingly works very well for a while.
On the other hand you're unable to block or break through the enemy blocks, you rarely have an opportunity to grab an enemy, and sometimes you get stuck in that loop of being unable to pick up a weapon because you're being punched and unable to punch back because you're standing over an item and that's when your punch button turns into a "pick up" button.
All these issues kinda come to the forefront on the first boss[1] where the difficulty suddenly spikes and his every hit knocks you down. I still don't know whether I beat him correctly or cheesed him because the only way I was able to do it is get close to him, let him electrocute me, get up and try to hit him immediately before he electrocutes me again. Rinse and repeat till you go insane.
After that boss it seems to me that the issues were starting to become more exacerbated. Enemies became more agile and made you feel like your animations are slow and clunky. New types of enemies started to feel cheaty, as some could incapacitate you like that boss and some would have replenishable health.
All these issues really made the game start to feel stale after that point. A shame because I feel like this had the potential for a masterpiece. But I've definitely played better 3D beat-em-ups and this ain't it.
[1] it was that robotic boss that hits you with electricity. Might've not been the first, I don't remember.
On the other hand you're unable to block or break through the enemy blocks, you rarely have an opportunity to grab an enemy, and sometimes you get stuck in that loop of being unable to pick up a weapon because you're being punched and unable to punch back because you're standing over an item and that's when your punch button turns into a "pick up" button.
All these issues kinda come to the forefront on the first boss[1] where the difficulty suddenly spikes and his every hit knocks you down. I still don't know whether I beat him correctly or cheesed him because the only way I was able to do it is get close to him, let him electrocute me, get up and try to hit him immediately before he electrocutes me again. Rinse and repeat till you go insane.
After that boss it seems to me that the issues were starting to become more exacerbated. Enemies became more agile and made you feel like your animations are slow and clunky. New types of enemies started to feel cheaty, as some could incapacitate you like that boss and some would have replenishable health.
All these issues really made the game start to feel stale after that point. A shame because I feel like this had the potential for a masterpiece. But I've definitely played better 3D beat-em-ups and this ain't it.
[1] it was that robotic boss that hits you with electricity. Might've not been the first, I don't remember.