The Bouncer

Review

by Jon Thompson

When it was first revealed to the world, The Bouncer's crisp graphics and enticing cut-scenes seemed to assure everyone of the next-generation viability and power the PlayStation 2 could provide. Now that The Bouncer has been released, there's not much else to be excited about. It is an average beat-'em up with some nice visuals.

The fighting system, arguably the most important element in a game like this, is not terribly deep, even with the ability to buy extra moves and more attributes with the Battle Point system. Rather, it plays like a standard arcade game with a few twists.

While combos exist and different moves can be performed using the same button (thanks to pressure-sensitive controls), the game usually degenerates into a slightly more sophisticated form of button mashing. Players will end up finding the move that works best and using it over and over.

Perhaps the biggest flaw is the pacing of the game, which is horribly stilted and disruptive to the gameplay. In similar titles, levels are lengthy as you plow through enemy after enemy. The Bouncer, on the other hand, throws little snippets of gameplay at you, forcing you into one small location to dispose of a limited number of enemies.

Once you complete one of these brief fighting sessions, the game usually switches to another cut-scene. While those scenes are certainly pretty to look at, there is never a real sense that you're actually playing a game. Instead, it feels as if you're watching a movie with some gameplay occasionally getting in the way. The fact that The Bouncer is extremely easy doesn't help matters.

While the ability to switch characters at the beginning of every battle might seem intriguing, in reality this only adds to the disjointed feeling of the game. The Battle Point system is a nifty touch, although it is annoying for the game to take you to the upgrade menu after nearly every fight. The storyline is adequate, but it's not worth the sacrifices made to the gameplay.

The other modes, Versus and Survival, are actually decent additions to The Bouncer, as not only do they give you a reason to play through the main game to build up your characters and release the hidden ones, but being able to play against three of your friends is very entertaining, even with The Bouncer's simplistic fighting engine.

Team Battle is fine, but the four-player free-for-all is where the game shines, letting you choose from a number of different arenas and just go at it. If you have a Multitap, four controllers, and three friends, then it just might be worth buying The Bouncer for this mode alone, as it really turns out to be a lot of fun.

The graphics in The Bouncer originally captivated audiences at trade shows two years prior to its release, and even now they are a sight to behold, as it is occasionally difficult to tell the pre-rendered segments from those done within the engine. The character designs are well detailed, and the entire look and movement of the game is top notch. The music is quite nice as well, with thumping action tunes where appropriate and the trademark Square Soft "drama" located elsewhere. Even the voices are competent for the most part, with only a few of the spoken parts sounding utterly wooden.

Unfortunately, The Bouncer is filled with problems that keep it from being a terrific product. The combat is too disjointed, the gameplay feels distant, and the fighting engine is too simple. The backgrounds are also not interactive enough, and the game doesn't really try to improve upon the limitations that have held this genre back. Even despite the many gameplay faults, The Bouncer is an interesting and beautiful experience, one that seems best suited as a rental instead of something you want to own.