The Bouncer Review

For PlayStation 2

By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne

Rating: Average
   If there's one thing that the video game industry needs, it's a 
PlayStation 2 game from Square that doesn't suck.  Instead of being the 
genre-breaking masterpiece that it could have ended up being, The Bouncer is
just another game that doesn't even approach the level of quality that is 
normally found in Square's products.
   The hype surrounding The Bouncer progressed to out-of-control levels when
usually-reliable magazines like Next Generation put it on their covers and 
heralded it as The Next Big Thing.  This happened despite the fact that 
nothing from the game had ever been demonstrated that indicated it would 
have any steak to go along with its sizzle.
   It was clear when the first video clips from The Bouncer were released 
that it was going to be one heck of a good-looking game, and the graphics 
are indeed spectacular.  The high-polygon character models are a sight to 
behold, the animation is extremely smooth, and the backgrounds do a nice job 
of fitting in with the game's atmosphere.  Unfortunately for Square, a game 
that offers amazing graphics and not much else is just an empty shell of a 
game (just ask the legions of gamers who were disappointed by Shenmue).
   The level of control that you have over what's taking place on the screen
is dwarfed by far older games like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage.  The 
Bouncer can easily be finished in a few hours, and about 75 percent of that 
time consists of watching non-interactive sequences.  The flow of the game 
is essentially this: Watch a lengthy movie, play the game briefly, watch 
another lengthy movie, play the game briefly, and so on.
   To make matters worse, the game sometimes decides to skip the "play the 
game briefly" part of the equation.  Being able to choose from multiple 
characters could have given the game some depth if all of the loose ends 
were tied up and everything flowed together naturally, but this isn't the 
case.  If you have chosen a character who doesn't want to fight during a 
particular interactive sequence or doesn't have anything to do with the 
story line at that moment, you simply sit back and watch your computer-
controlled teammates battle with the computer-controlled enemies.
   Sitting through cut scene after cut scene is made all the more un-exciting
by the fact that the story line doesn't have a shred of originality.  
Essentially, a mysterious girl is kidnapped, and you have to go save her 
with the help of your friends.  Shallow story lines are to be expected from 
beat-em-up games, but not when the story is presented as the focal point of 
the entire game.
   Even when you are actually controlling the game rather than watching it, 
The Bouncer is still nothing to write home about.  The kicks are slow and 
mechanical, even by beat-em-up game standards.  Not only does each character
have a very limited selection of moves, but most of these moves have to be 
unlocked by beating the game repeatedly (as if that's supposed to make up
for the game's ridiculous lack of length).
   If you're in the mood to hear multiple people simultaneously remark, "This
game kind of sucks" at the same time, be sure to check out The Bouncer's 
Versus Mode, which somehow offers less depth than the single-player mode.  
Gameplay sessions with skilled fighting game enthusiasts quickly devolve 
into button-mashing exercises in tedium, and the level of interactivity in 
the environments is a lot lower than Square wanted you to believe last year.
   Call me crazy, but I was under the impression that this "interactive 
movie" crap died in the mid-90s during the mini-crash of the video game 
industry.  If I want to watch a movie, I'll go to the theater and watch a 
movie.  If I want to play a game, I'll go to the store and buy a game, 
preferably one that offers a lot more substance than The Bouncer.

Send your thoughts on this review to jimmy@mastergamer.com

      

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