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Its Okay

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 17 / 21
Date: February 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am currently playing Rise to Honor, it is definately a different kind of adventure/fighting game. I know of no other PS2 game that doesn't use the triangle, Square, Circle, and X button.

This game uses only the Right and Left Analog, R1, L1 and R2, L2 buttons. For fighting you simply push the right analog towards your enemy.

The plot moves along briskly and there is alot of fighting.
I sincerly hope that you aren't looking for a great story with the game. This story is merely the excuse for fighting and shooting) Get ready for some tired fingers particularly during gun fights when you have to push the R1 button and push right analog forward everytime you want to fire. Diffculty wise I found it not too bad I've played a total of maybe 5 hours and am 80% finished.

Graphics are okay Jet Li looks a little fat and if you are looking for realism, remember this is like a remake of a Hong Kong action movie. (Where reality takes a back seat). But on the bright side your dual handguns, ala Chow Yun Fat, will never run out of ammo. However your stamina, and blocking ability will drain if over taxed. I hope I gave you some of the answers you are looking for.

Poor gameplay, but does capture Jet Li's moves well.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: May 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Any enjoyment you might derive from this game is from playing as Jet Li in an old-school fight setting. When the novelty of that wears off, what you have left is an incredibly repetitive game with a godawful camera and an ill-advised control scheme.

Yes, bonus marks are in order for using Cantonese in Hong Kong with subtitles. (As a native Hong Kong person I can say the dialogue is less stilted than usual, though still flawed) Though I might add that international espionage games like Syphon Filter has been doing that for years. The settings are authentic enough, with the battles in the Hong Kong settings being especially evocative of kung fu films.

But is it worth the very problematic gameplay? Just barely. If you've seen/played the demo already, you'll know that the entire fight system consists of slapping the right analog stick. While the array of moves you can unleash is impressive, motion-captured well from Li's own silhouette, this system is very ill conceived from a fighting-game perspective. Worse still, the camera is so restless that you could be in the middle of a combo against an enemy, and then the perspective shifts so that you're suddenly hitting at air and the enemy's to the side. So many game designers have misled notions about being filmmakers, not realizing that the best perspective for gaming is a fixed perspective. This problem came to a head during the ludicrous "escape from capture" stage where the camera actually cuts you off, preventing you from seeing what's behind you, even though there are guards sweeping flashlights that way that you're supposed to avoid! This is simply a moronic use of the camera.

Aside from this, the fighting gets tired awfully quickly, especially since the designers committed the ol' "this level never ends" sin. This game alleviates this problem by having lots of checkpoints where you can continue the game, but during some of the "one against 14" stages, the endless brawling still gets tired. And whose idea was it to have enemies pull off 18-hit combos, where if you get hit the first time, you get to watch your character get pummelled for 10 seconds straight?

I actually find the gunfight segments of this game more fun than the endless, endless hand-to-hand stages. This is where the dual analog sticks truly shine, allowing you to smoothly run from spot to spot forwards and backwards while your hands can aim independently and a top button allows you to do Time Crisis-style ducking. There's even a crazy level where you fight off about 100 enemies with two nailguns!

This game would probably remain tempting to Jet Li fans because of the role-playing aspect of it. And I wouldn't blame them -- this was my reason for buying this game, and there are a few levels that I truly enjoyed. The overall game, however, is really not that great, and I would recommend only playing it in small doses. It will get tired mightily quickly if you sit with it for more than an hour.

Kickass, but short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is fun as hell. About 2/3 of it is hand to hand and 1/3 is with guns. It's pretty challenging towards the end, and all the bosses are really fun to fight. However, it is very short, and a good gamer can probably beat it in a day or two. Nevertheless, its worth buying as there it is fun enough to play over

Fun, but short...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: February 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Rise to Honor seemed like a good idea. And for the most part it is. It flawlessly captures Jet Li's fast and flurrious fighting style, but a little more effort could have been put into the game's storyline which only serves as a backdrop to string together a series of fighting levels. The game plays like a movie from the opening titles and credits and smoothly integrates the action from cut scenes using the in-game graphics engine. Jet Li's likeness is dead on and the other character models are also impressively rendered. The environments are a mixed bag since they don't really offer much in terms of variety. The buildings all look the same and the detail is so-so. But the core of the game is the fighting. Rather than assigning a punch or kick move to a button, the game has you utilize the right analog stick to unleash a series of combos. By continously tapping the stick towards a bad guy, Jet Li will subdue him through a flurry of kicks and punches. Some of these sequences are cool to watch because the action will slow down to allow you a close up of the finishing blow. You can also utilize the environment by flinging chairs or throwing garbage cans at your opponent(s). Yet, the action can be frustrating when surrounded by mutliple baddies since they tend to crowd around you. This makes it harder to pull off the combos without getting nailed, because a reasonable amount of space is needed between you and the bad guys in order to finish them off. The gun fighting levels don't really work. By pressing the R2 button and tapping the analog stick, you can release a barrage of gunfire at a bad guy. But the setup is awkward and in most instances you'll miss badly unless your analog stick is pointed directly at a bad guy. This is also true in the hand to hand combat levels. The analog stick needs to be precisely pointed at a bad guy in order to nail him. Otherwise, you'll be kicking at air. This is more difficult than it seems, especially when surrounded where it is harder to judge where everybody is. A welcomed addition is the lack of save points which could have disrupted the flow of the game. Instead, the game automatically saves during the action as signified by a blinking red dragon at the bottom left hand corner of the screen. The game also doesn't offer much in terms of challenge. There are unlimited continues as well as weak bosses. Overall, it should take an average gamer about 6-8 hours to complete. In the end, Rise to Honor is a fun game that is full of action, but short on storyline, just like a Jet Li movie.

Underrated and Misunderstood

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I held off on buying this game because I read all the reviews when the game came out. The prognosis was not good. It was getting very mediocre scores. In addition, many reviewers seemed to dislike the control scheme. Naturally, when I picked it up, I wasn't expecting much.

20 minutes later, my jaw was resting solidly on the floor. Several things impressed me greatly:

1. The whole game is set up like a dvd. The menu has new game, load game, scene selection, special features, and options. All of these, except for load game, match up with what you would find on a dvd. The scene selection, which lets you go to any scene of the game you've already been to, especially makes this obvious, and all of the menus have a certain flair to them.

2. If the menus weren't enough of a hint, the very decent voice acting, cinematics, and full score continue the impression that the player is actually playing AND watching a Jet Li movie. The game has the flow of a movie as well (as long as you don't get bogged down in any one place).

3. The gameplay...yeah, this is where my jaw was dropping to the floor. The analog attack system is really a lot of fun. I wouldn't want it applied to every game, but it really fits this game well. The moves just look incredible...and there are so many hidden moves that require a bit of experimentation. In addition, there are scene specific moves that use the environment....some are pretty spectacular. I've played through once...my guess is that I missed some, so I'll have to go through again :D When certain moves are performed, the game goes into a slow-mo cinematic....yeah, again, jaw-dropping.

I think reviewers gave the game low scores because A) they aren't open to innovative control schemes (some places gave Mark of Kri bad reviews), B) the short length, and C) many professional reviewers have forgotten how to have fun.

The only real flaw I can see with this game is it's length. It won't take the average gamer longer than 6-7 hours max to beat. Some stuff unlocks after you beat the game...new difficulty, costumes, etc.- there is some incentive to play through a second time (or third? anybody?), but the game itself is pretty short. Still, this is a game that I will keep. I typically turn games in after beating them if they haven't really wowed me; this one has earned a permanent place on my shelf!

cool game, some good stuff some bad

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: March 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

i love fighting games, and in this one you fight, you shoot alot. not much of a story, just enough to give you a reason to kickass, the game has great graphics, and sound, although it is strange not using the gamepad buttons, o button etc, you use the l1 r1 and analog buttons, it is a different, not bad thing.

pros: good graphics, lots of action,

cons: the controls get screwed up, you opponent will get you in a place where you can't turn or block, very frustrating. the game should also have a way to roll away, or straf

all in all i suggest you give it a try.

Well done!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I played a demo of this game and it is alot of fun. You really do feel like your in a hong kong movie. Really fast paced fighting and the fact that you can interact with almost everything is cool. It's impressive how they blend alot of moves on the fly, and there is alot of moves. Good visuals, good audio, good gameplay, good story, good game.

A must have for action fans and especially for Jet Li fans!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This a well balanced action game that should appeal to all action fans. Particularly unique is the fighting system where you use the right analog stick to both fight and aim, it's a welcome change from the standard mindless button mashing action gamers have been subjected to for decades. This new system tests your skills and reflexes and it will be interesting if future games follow this formula.

For die-hard Jet Li fans, once you complete the game, you can replay any scene using a Wong Fei Hong skin and Chen Zen skin (from the movie 'Fist of Legend') it would have been great if they included the skins from the movies 'Tai Chi Master', 'Swordsman 2' or even 'Black Mask'.

It rules

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am currently playing this game it rocks.You are a bodygaurd
of a man who dies his last wish is to deliver a envelope to his daughter in San Fransisco.The hong Kong levels were a bit boring but the San Fransisco levels rule.Watch how the small Jet Li takes on people twice his size.Buy this game.

A pretty good action game but could be better.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First of all this game rocks and you should really consider checking it out. It isn't worth the 40 dollar price tag but if you can get it for around 20 that's well spent money. The gameplay is awesome how you use the right analog stick you can do some really cool combos. The environments are totally interactive like throwing someone in a fish tank and see the fish tank break. The bosses are hard but the levels themselves aren't that terribly hard untill you get towards the end then it's really hard. The game is a tad short but don't let that fool you it's still a good game with great graphics. There's probably going to be a better game like this eventually but this game just set the bar for this new crazy genre.

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