Players with more tender sensibilities can turn off the blood and
bruises that appear during combat in Tao Feng. To do so,
choose System Options from the main menu; then, set the Rating to
either Teen or Mature, depending on your preference. The default
setting is Mature.
You'll find no guns or knives
in Tao Feng, although the character Fierce Tiger does have
sharp claws, and Geist … wow! That girl has impressive ...
cybernetic devices.
Butt-Kicking Blood Fest
Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus isn't for wimps. If you are one, then you probably don't want to read the rest of this article. I'm going to talk about fighting and all the things that accompany a good fight in a lifelike game world. It's all about destroying your opponent. Read on … if you're feeling tough.
Let's see, how do you destroy your opponent? Let me count the ways. You destroy him with bumps and bruises and knotty contusions, with bashes and smashes and occasional slashes. You destroy him with pounding, resounding punches, and slick, bone-breaking kicks. That's how you drive your enemy to his knees. That's how you dominate the ring.
Guts and Glory There's more to this game than fat lips and oozing wounds, but the most in-your-face aspect ofTao Feng is the graphic violence. Über, high-quality graphics make it all happen right before your eyes. The level of detail is wicked. As the characters fight, they get progressively more bruised and bloodied. If you like that kind of thing, cool! Personally, I like that kind of thing. These characters aren't playing chess; they're kicking the crap out of each other. There are consequences for that kind of behavior.
Along with the integrity of the human body goes the integrity of the clothing that covers it. Grabs and strikes don't treat fabric gently. In Tao Feng, you see the damage to a fighter's fancy garb. Predictably, this gets particularly interesting with the female characters.
Surround Pound You'll find no guns or knives in Tao Feng, although the character Fierce Tiger does have sharp claws, and Geist … wow! That girl has impressive … cybernetic devices. You could put an eye out with those things. Nevertheless, the most important weapons you use in the game are the objects surrounding you. You can leap off walls to increase the power of a punch. You can swing around a pole to land a walloping kick. You can even throw your enemy into glass cabinets, force fields, statues, and ATMs for extra damage. It's cool.
You have 12 different arenas to choose from in the beginning. These aren't like the arenas found in some other fighting games (plain squares set against a somewhat interesting backdrop). These combat areas give you plenty of room to maneuver, present you with obstacles that you can use to your advantage, and even require that you do a little exploring in order to find out what's there for your martial entertainment.
Spice and Story What makes a good fighting game great? A cool story. Any game designer can put together a stable of eight characters and give them sassy moves, but that same designer adds depth and breadth when he incorporates a complex story line.
In Tao Feng, the story focuses on the rivalry between two martial arts sects, the Pale Lotus and the Black Mantis—the good guys and the bad guys. Both groups are trying to retrieve two special tablets. According to legend, these artifacts hold clues to the location of an ancient treasure that allows its possessor to negotiate with the gods for immortality.
In Quest mode, you dive directly into the story. At the beginning, you choose a side and then proceed to fight your way through the various locations in search of the tablets. The folks at Studio Gigante wouldn't tell me what happens when you find them, so you'll have to figure that out on your own!
Move It or Lose It How fast are your hands? Don't let all my talk of interactive environments and intriguing story distract you from the fact that Tao Feng is a hard-hitting fighting game. Studio Gigante has incorporated enough complex fight moves, including stance options, to keep your opponent from guessing what you might do next.
Some of the special attacks will have you hooting in delight. Others will make you cringe for the characters. Ouch! Yeah, that's gotta hurt! The high-quality graphics and the speed of the processor in the Xbox make it all-too lifelike. Not only that, but there's a mechanism in the game that represents limb damage. You can break your opponent's arm or leg, and his future attacks all take penalties as a result.
Did I mention that this game isn't for wimps? As the character Exile so happily growls, "Prepare … for pain." His comment may not be terribly original, but he's not joking either. Pain is what this game is all about. Enjoy.
