Special Wednesday Edition From the Archives: Rise to Honor (2004)
Video games haven’t been too kind to the martial arts, especially lately. Sure, Jackie Chan had his Stuntmaster for the PS1, and Bruce Lee starred in Quest of the Dragon for Xbox, but both games are considered to be mediocre, even for us optimists. Outside of those two games though, nothing else noteworthy has come about to save this colorless genre. But in February of 2004, Rise to Honor became the exception. Starring Jet Li, the game attempts to fully recreate a believable Jet Li-style of film, and at that it succeeds, with only a few minor aberrations and one trivial misconception. The story is rather simple, but if this is to be as authentic a replication of a Jet Li movie as possible, the narrative can be as facile as it wants to be. It is a rare instance where I’ll allow a game to have such a lucid and vanilla story pass without some snide or cynical remark, but in Rise to Honor, it just fits in with the motif of the game. Essentially, you play as Kit Yun, an undercover cop who has infiltrated a crime organization, and must carry out the wishes of the dying Boss Chiang, the leader of this syndicate. As in most films of this variety, the story is just the avenue through which we progress to the fight sequences, and this is where Rise to Honor truly flourishes. The dual-analog controls, which is the basis of the game, have more in common with the fluidity of NBA Live than the traditional button-slamming techniques of other action games. The left analog stick controls your movement, while the right controls your punch and kick combinations in all directions. R1 can grab your adversaries, block oncoming attacks, and perform various actions prompted onscreen such as climbing or jumping. L1, used in combination with R1, will accomplish a counter attack, and holding L1 will unleash impressive special moves from your adrenaline meter, built up from frequent successful attacks. During no single part of the game do the controls become unmanageable or difficult. Rather, everything flows together concertedly thanks to, at least in part, the superlative motion-capture of Jet Li and his stunt crew. Every action, every punch, looks devastating and realistic in its presentation. Being surrounded by numerous antagonists, which happens quite often, allows the player to combine attacks in various directions and on various enemies. The analog stick fighting system works well and is unique, and in combination with the use of L1 for throws and adrenaline attacks, as well as the awesome interactive environments, each scene looks unique and not unlike an actual Jet Li movie. At times during the game, Kit Yun picks up a pair of dual pistols with unlimited ammo in an attempt to diversify the gameplay, which it does wonderfully. Unfortunately, another attempt was made to expand the game, with less-than-stellar results. Stealth is thrown into the mix at several moments in the game, with an outcome that’s more trial-and-error than it is Splinter Cell. The last stealth level, near the end of the game, is especially painful. These levels hurt the game to some degree, by taking a great pace set by the fighting and occasional shooting, and slowing it to a near crawl. Thankfully, there are only a few stealth levels, so we can get back to the action somewhat quickly. The graphics look marvelous, from the superb character models to the gorgeous backgrounds that lock you in Hong Kong and San Francisco. The audio is also admirable; I especially like the Mandarin dialect in the Hong Kong missions, complete with English subtitles, and the switch to English language when the story moves to San Fran. The music is good, if mostly unnoticeable. As for extras, Rise to Honor has a select few. Perhaps too few, for my taste. A nice making-of video accompanies concept art, an extra difficulty mode, and a few extra “skins” for Kit to wear based on Jet Li’s previous movies (the last two are unlocked by completing the game). And without a multiplayer option, which I think would have been an awesome addition, the game’s replay value falters a bit, but only slightly. In few words, Rise to Honor is a first-rate game, a game so good it can only be marginally damaged by its infrequent errors. A strong recommendation, without question.
Video games haven’t been too kind to the martial arts, especially lately. Sure, Jackie Chan had his Stuntmaster for the PS1, and Bruce Lee starred in Quest of the Dragon for Xbox, but both games are considered to be mediocre, even for us optimists. Outside of those two games though, nothing else noteworthy has come about to save this colorless genre. But in February of 2004, Rise to Honor became the exception. Starring Jet Li, the game attempts to fully recreate a believable Jet Li-style of film, and at that it succeeds, with only a few minor aberrations and one trivial misconception. The story is rather simple, but if this is to be as authentic a replication of a Jet Li movie as possible, the narrative can be as facile as it wants to be. It is a rare instance where I’ll allow a game to have such a lucid and vanilla story pass without some snide or cynical remark, but in Rise to Honor, it just fits in with the motif of the game. Essentially, you play as Kit Yun, an undercover cop who has infiltrated a crime organization, and must carry out the wishes of the dying Boss Chiang, the leader of this syndicate. As in most films of this variety, the story is just the avenue through which we progress to the fight sequences, and this is where Rise to Honor truly flourishes. The dual-analog controls, which is the basis of the game, have more in common with the fluidity of NBA Live than the traditional button-slamming techniques of other action games. The left analog stick controls your movement, while the right controls your punch and kick combinations in all directions. R1 can grab your adversaries, block oncoming attacks, and perform various actions prompted onscreen such as climbing or jumping. L1, used in combination with R1, will accomplish a counter attack, and holding L1 will unleash impressive special moves from your adrenaline meter, built up from frequent successful attacks. During no single part of the game do the controls become unmanageable or difficult. Rather, everything flows together concertedly thanks to, at least in part, the superlative motion-capture of Jet Li and his stunt crew. Every action, every punch, looks devastating and realistic in its presentation. Being surrounded by numerous antagonists, which happens quite often, allows the player to combine attacks in various directions and on various enemies. The analog stick fighting system works well and is unique, and in combination with the use of L1 for throws and adrenaline attacks, as well as the awesome interactive environments, each scene looks unique and not unlike an actual Jet Li movie. At times during the game, Kit Yun picks up a pair of dual pistols with unlimited ammo in an attempt to diversify the gameplay, which it does wonderfully. Unfortunately, another attempt was made to expand the game, with less-than-stellar results. Stealth is thrown into the mix at several moments in the game, with an outcome that’s more trial-and-error than it is Splinter Cell. The last stealth level, near the end of the game, is especially painful. These levels hurt the game to some degree, by taking a great pace set by the fighting and occasional shooting, and slowing it to a near crawl. Thankfully, there are only a few stealth levels, so we can get back to the action somewhat quickly. The graphics look marvelous, from the superb character models to the gorgeous backgrounds that lock you in Hong Kong and San Francisco. The audio is also admirable; I especially like the Mandarin dialect in the Hong Kong missions, complete with English subtitles, and the switch to English language when the story moves to San Fran. The music is good, if mostly unnoticeable. As for extras, Rise to Honor has a select few. Perhaps too few, for my taste. A nice making-of video accompanies concept art, an extra difficulty mode, and a few extra “skins” for Kit to wear based on Jet Li’s previous movies (the last two are unlocked by completing the game). And without a multiplayer option, which I think would have been an awesome addition, the game’s replay value falters a bit, but only slightly. In few words, Rise to Honor is a first-rate game, a game so good it can only be marginally damaged by its infrequent errors. A strong recommendation, without question.
It makes me wonder why a sequel of this game was not created (perhaps not sequential in terms of the story, but of the style of gameplay). Shame on game buyers if it did not sell well. It seems we have gotten stuck buying what is tried and true (notice much difference between the last few Call of Duty games or Madden, for instance?). That may be understandable when handing over $60 per game and the seeming lack of reasonable rates on rentals. What are we to do?
ReplyDeleteI wish this game had a sequel, too. And your points on Call of Duty and the Madden series are worth considering. In fact, I just bought Madden '98 for $.75 (used to own it forever ago, but it got lost in the shuffle when I moved) and it plays better than Madden '12, despite being 14 YEARS OLDER. '12 does have pretty graphics, though, and that's about all it has on the older ones.
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