(LAST UPDATE: 7/28/09)
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Publisher(s): Namco
Developer(s): Namco
Platform(s): Playstation 2
Release: September 13th, 2005 (NA), September 29th 2005 (JP),
February 9th 2006 (PAL)
Characters: Paul
Phoenix, Marshall Law, Brad
Hawk, Shun Ying Lee, Dwayne Davis, Glen Kluger, Kadonashi Shotaro, Jake Hudson,
Grimm, Chris Bowman, Dae-Suk Park, Tong Yoon Bulsook, Alex Steiner, Douglas
McKinzie, Napalm 99, Golem, Lin Fong Lee, Sinkai
Related Games: Tekken,
Tekken 2, Tekken 3, Tekken
Advance, Tekken 4, Tekken
Tag Tournament, Tekken 5, Tekken
5: Dark Resurrection, Tekken: Dark Resurrection,
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online, Tekken
6, Power Stone,
Power Stone 2
Review:
Urban Reign
is a 3D street brawling/beat-em-up by Namco, featuring a 1-player story mode
with 100 missions (which can also be done co-op),
and 60 or so characters to choose from! The game also packs an entertaining 2-to-4 player VS
mode, which makes it it's own fighting game entity. With a tone similar tone
to Capcom's classic Final Fight, Urban Reign features a wide
variety of fighters ranging from random street thugs to flashy martial artists.
Some fighters seem thrown in just as "fillers", but others do have
some well thought out and entertaining fighting styles (some based on real
martial arts, like Tekken). Speaking of Tekken, Urban Reign actually a lot of borrowed
quite a few animations from
the Tekken series, which gives the game an edge over all others in the
'beat-em-up' genre... From the way characters react when they're hit to the
extra 'omph' that moves have when they connect, the animation definitely
resembles Namco's hard-hitting Tekken franchise (which us Tekken fans surely can
appreciate).
Namco not
only has what it takes to set the bar for fighting games, but for 3D street
brawlers as well... Because this is honestly one of the best beat-em-ups I've
ever played. Urban Reign has a fairly solid fighting system for a 1
on 1 fight, that also works quite well with a free-for-all 4 player battle.
Characters don't have the very deep movelists, but the ability of
characters to freely move in the environment, pick up weapons, throw objects,
give instructions to AI partners, and pull off moves on multiple opponents at
once makes up for the lack of moves.
The fighting
system features insane combo possibilities, dodges/counters,
double team attacks, tons of throws and grapple/wrestling moves
(which look ages better in this game than in most wrestling games), and free roaming... as well as the ability to "run
fast" while freely roaming which allows for special abilities like sweeping, running up walls, or even
running "up" other characters. 
There are also unblockable moves
that make oddly you invulnerable while you attack! 
Which is likely the biggest quirk of the gameplay, but it actually makes for
some pretty interesting battles. And thankfully, you can also "lock on" to your opponents; which
is a key element in learning how to play.
Urban Reign's
ability to bring 4 or more players against each other really makes it shine.
The fact that Tekken's Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law are featured in the game is also a nice touch,
but also leaves us Tekken fans begging for MORE characters from Namco's
staple franchise. Urban Reign's presentation
is simple and to the point, including some decent and funny dialogue, but the story is definitely
lacking quite a bit. All the missions are the same... Just kick everyone's
ass. But that's besides the point, the gameplay is where it's at, and it's
good times... Who doesn't enjoy beating up on gangsta wanna-be's?
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8 / 10 |
Closing Comment:
Urban Reign is an underrated and fun little game... Required for this fun
are (1.) a multi-tap and (2) some friends who enjoy violence. There's so much action
going on sometimes that the fights appear to be choreographed, and wont
fail to awe anyone who's watching in the crowd. Namco fans will also enjoy
many references to Tekken and even Soul Calibur in this title... So anyway, where's
my next gen Urban Reign 2 Namco?!? ~F.
Yagami, Webmaster of TFG
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