Decidedly quirky and very Japanese in
design, SCEA's Kung-Fu Rider is probably the most interesting title Sony
has released for the Playstation Move controller's launch lineup. Set in
the odd back streets of Tokyo, the game puts you in the role of an oddball
Japanese salaryman named Toby and his assistant Karin. They're being
pursued by mobsters for some unknown reason and have to race through the
streets to escape them. There are loads of obstacles and other things to
avoid while they glide down the streets that they have to avoid. The game
begins with your selection of a transport device. One of the fun things
about the game is that you don't have standard vehicles and instead
traverse the world in odd devices such as office chairs and baby
carriages. Once you've selected your vehicle, you begin the race. Thing
aren't quite as simple or intuitive as you'd expect, and there's a bit of
a learning curve, as seen in the game's first few levels. However, this
isn't a dealbreaker and most players should have fun almost immediately.
Kung-Fu Riders's initial levels act as
extended tutorials, and are a little plain and you can go through them
without much effort but mastering the basics allows you to get ready for
the more complex, longer levels later on. Once you get the hang of things,
you can try and perform more advanced moves and make some combos by
combing moves like kicking and jumping. Doing this increases your score
even higher. There's a lot going on in each level and you'll have to pay
attention, since obstacles and enemies can come without warning.
Fortunately, the game gives you some leeway since it's clean visuals make
oncoming obstacles easy to anticipate. While the controls are responsive
and work well, some elements in Kung-Fu Rider's mechanics aren't
immediately obvious. The placement can be a little counter-intuitive, such
as using the face buttons to perform quick lurches left or right and the
combos can be tricky to perform. It takes some getting used to the
controls, and the game feels a little clunky throughout no matter how good
you get. However, the game's relatively straightforward design makes these
flaws a little less glaring.
You begin each level at the top of a
hill and begin by moving the controller forward. This action propels your
character and you are then racing downhill on the course. You'll see
numerous obstacles in your path and you can steer to avoid them or jump by
moving the controller downward quickly. You can also use the controller to
pull back and duck underneath objects, which usually gives you extra
points. Each course features numerous flashing gates that contain money or
other extras. Passing through them successfully increases your score and
also adds to your energy bar, which gives you a quick super-boost of speed
when it's filled up completely. It isn't a completely friction-free ride
down the courses, since you have to watch out along the way.
As you plow down these dangerous streets
and alleys, you'll see a number of different obstacles such as barrels,
cars and moving items that you need to avoid. The main ones you need to
avoid are the mobsters, who will attack you and try and knock you off the
chair or other objects. You can attack them in numerous ways and knock
them out, or face the consequences. There are other things you need to
worry about such as pedestrians which you can choose to avoid or use your
kick moves to knock them out of the way. Sever collisions reduces your
energy and if you hit too many objects, the game will end - which makes
things a bit harder than you'd expect them to be. Adding to the pressure
is the omnipotent clock which counts down, making you hurry through the
levels. At the end of each stage, your character is ranked in terms of
overall performance and these grades are used to unlock additional areas
and unlock additional items.
Kung-Fu Rider's levels can be quite
large and lengthy, taking several minutes to complete. While there are
some minor branching sections scattered about, the gameplay is fairly
linear. Adding a sense of repetitiveness, you'll encounter mirrored or
slightly different levels early on, which makes the adventure exciting but
a bit too short. To extend the game's replay value, Kung-Fu Riders lets
you ride down different paths with separate rewards and can lead to higher
scores. Devoted players might want to play through some of them to achieve
a better ranking. However, you can progress through the game's earlier
levels fairly quickly, it's the latter stages that can be a little bit
hard to navigate through.
Adding to the strategy, there are
numerous sections that allow you to slide on rails and over cars and
jumps, which have accompanying power-ups. This can make the player's score
go even higher, though it takes some skill and practice in some sections.
It's earlier levels are fairly easy, but some of the later stages can be
tricky. Enemies have a habit of popping-up out of nowhere in the later
sections, ambushing the player mercilessly. This can become quite
frustrating and cause you to lose levels that you had almost beaten. It
makes for a frustrating experience at points, but most players will be
able to beat these sections on a second try once they can anticipate
what's coming. One of the drawbacks we encountered in the game was that
despite featuring two different playable characters, the difference in how
they control was marginal, which makes playing through it with both
redundant.
Kung-Fu Rider is a fun, arcade-style
game that's reminiscent of something like Crazy Taxi in terms of tone, and
the game's silly use of physics lets you see objects and people flying
around the levels in a humorous, exaggerated way. This approach should be
familiar to those who played Pain on the PS3, and KFR does these effects
nicely. A light-hearted J-pop soundtrack adds a more light-hearted tone to
the action, and the voice-overs are fun. The game's short length and
somewhat repetitive gameplay makes it something that offers more
short-term thrills than long term appeal.
- Michael Palisano
