Deadly Strike

Written by Tom Clare in PS2 Game Reviews, Friday 4 April, 2008

Released: 2005
Developer: Psyworks
Publisher: Midas Interactive
Genre: Roaming Beat 'em up
Platform: PS2

Half-Hearted Prod

At 49p, Deadly Strike is just about the cheapest game I've ever bought. Therefore to claim that I (just about) "got my monies worth" might be a slightly misleading statement, but after having my faith in Japan 'Simple Series' budget titles restored thanks to the surprisingly decent Global Defence Force, Deadly Strike is rather more standard fare.

Given a 2004 release in Europe though originally created way back in the early days of the PS2 in 2001, Deadly Strike is a tentatively-3D hack 'n' slash adventure very much in the mould of Golden Axe, only replacing the sorcery/magic elements with guns and removing a fair bit of the fun factor in the process.

The story is a predictably thin one, apparently placing you in the 'toughest combat tournament on Earth', with one Shogun's Island as the setting. The six stages you must tackle will last less than an hour, punctuated by strange stop-start gameplay that sees your character teleporting from one pre-rendered environment to another after defeating a pre-determined number of samurai's, ninja's and shaman's in each area.

It's largely unchallenging with enemies generally opting to play spectator as you repeatedly pummel them with melee attacks. Probably just as well they don't put up much of a fight, as you get the impression that if they did, a lot more of the games niggles would come to light. The controls aren't responsive enough and the perspective can be extremely misleading at times; you'll often take swipes at enemies who you think are right next to you, but may in reality be several steps away.

The odd boss-battle adds a brief bit of intrigue and challenge, but the action remains virtually the same from beginning to end, becoming derivative even by the genres usual standards. There are no alternative weapon pick-ups to be found and the scenery is almost entirely uninteractive - the desperate lack of ambition at design level is exacerbated by the absence of variety in the moves. Indeed, a few short plays reveal a game that seems quite a step backwards from the 16-bit titles of the early nineties. The projectile-based secondary attacks provide some use against bosses but during the normal course of play will be avoided almost entirely as they scupper your chance of linking combos and getting those all-important points.

Thus, predictably, it's pretty bare about the bones. In terms of content though Deadly Strike has some genuine merit - there are six characters to play as, each with their own distinct attributes, fighting style and ending sequence (though your 'fighting style' still predominantly involves mashing 'square' regardless of who you play as). The incorporation of a system whereby you can spend points earned during the games on extras is very good, and it has to be said, long overdue in games of this type. Points go towards buying new costumes, attack and defence upgrades and an art gallery among other things, providing for some replay value.

As well as the Story mode, there are quite a few other diversions that can be unearthed. 'Survival' is simply a case of defeating as many enemies before you die, and there are two unlockable modes that appear following completion; one allowing you to tackle any of the games bosses and the other rather cleverly letting you play through the game as one of the enemy character designs. Granted, it's nothing excessively exciting the latter at least is quite a nice touch.

Visually, Deadly Strike is not too bad but again, there are some tell-tale hallmarks of its bargain bin origins. The environments themselves are good with a mixture of sharp, detailed forests, canyons and fields to brawl in and at a couple of points during the main game, you are given the chance of taking different routes - the gameplay remains much the same though at least you get a change of scenery. The characters on the other hand are weedy-looking and there are probably no more than half a dozen enemy types in the entire game.

Audio-wise it fares little better - the music is lame and the sound effects seem a few generations out of date, adding not even a shred of grandiose to Shogun Island, even as you tackle the castle at the end of the game. There is of course the mandatory two-player option that frequently has a say in the longevity of such titles, though in truth it plays identically to the single-player experience and so it too makes for an underwhelming half-hours worth of hacking.

For the committed, there are two or three days worth of play unlocking the various goodies and I won't deny that, for a shade under fifty pence, Deadly Strike does deliver an afternoons worth of entertainment for fans of scrolling beat 'em ups, though it's hard to escape the fact that it's most ambitious feature is probably the box-art. Be under no illusions - it is some way short of being a Streets Of Rage for the PS2. A Mega-Drive remains your best bet for quality scrolling beat 'em ups, though if you want something similar on the PS2 only a little less clunky, go for The Red Star.
Graphics: 6/10
Sound: 4/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Lifespan: 6/10

OVERALL: 4/10

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