Death by Degrees – PS2 – Review

Virtua Fighter has had
single-player offshoots.  Mortal Kombat had two, with another on the way.
Aside from mini-games within the recent Tekken games, Namco kept their beloved
fighting game franchise a multiplayer experience only.  You can always play
solo, but every fighting fan knows that the real way to play a fighting game
is with friends who can watch you gloat.

"Ha-ha!  Take that,
suckers!"

Death by Degrees marks
the first time that Namco has left the head-to-head experience behind.
Unfortunately for us, it could be there last.

Taking a cue from other
single-player fighting games, Death by Degrees tries to achieve innovation
through analog stick fighting.  This does not mean that Nina Williams (the
star of game) is throwing Dual-Shock 2 controllers at her enemies.  What this
means is that the player can only attack by using the right analog stick.

Theoretically, this is
brilliant.  The analog stick can be pointed in any direction.  If Enemy A
approached from the front and Enemy B approached from the rear, both can be
attacked without ever changing your position.  All you have to do is press up
on the analog stick, then quickly press down.  It’s that simple.

As simple and wonderful
as the theory is, this control scheme has yet to work for a fighting game.
Remember Jet Li’s first video game?  Neither can I.  The disappointment still
lingers, but the name completely escapes me.  Death by Degrees might suffer
the same fate.

Starting the game off in
the worst possible way, Death by Degrees treats its players to a long CG movie
that can’t be skipped.  I know that the industry believes that the stories
they tell are important, but when they force us to watch them they’re
forgetting one thing: this is a video game!  Play first, watch later.  The
movie was so typical among sci-fi stories that I would have rather skipped
it.  I wanted to start the game already.  All I could do was get up and leave.

When I returned to the
game a few minutes later, the movie was STILL RUNNING!  I pressed every button
on the controller and still couldn’t skip it.

Finally it ended, and the
game began by providing the basic gameplay facts, making sure that everyone
knew how the controls worked.  Once the enemies started pouring in I quickly
tapped the right analog stick, fighting off the wrath they were attempting to
unleash.  Not a horrible experience, but definitely a repetitive one.

Certain attacks, such as
the deadly grab moves, trigger a cool bone-breaking sequence.  The whole thing
is seen from what looks like an animated X-Ray.  Very clever.  The transition
from game to death animation is quick, making it one of the few moments where
everything seems right.

The transition from areas
and movie sequences isn’t as smooth.  The lengthy load times are much too long
for any game, though it is especially bothersome to have them in a game that’s
supposed to have non-stop action.

Within minutes the
battles ended and it came time to "explore."  I put the word in quotation
marks for emphasis.  Apparently this game believes that walking through a
pretty, linear room is exploring.  You can run, but do you really want to do
that?  ‘Cause if you do, you’re going to regret it.  The engine is polygonal
and involves no computer-generated backgrounds, yet the camera stays fixed on
one particular view at all times.  When you run, the camera switches to a
strange behind-the-character view that’s always out of place.  You can’t
reposition, and if you could, the indication this game gives is that it would
only make things worse.  Try releasing the run button and see what happens.
The camera snaps back into the awkward fixed view.  Now you’re confused.  You
feel a little disoriented.  And you can’t run!

Had it not been for the
mind-boggling camera issues, Death by Degrees could’ve garnered an honorable
7.0, which is higher than the score Jet Li’s quickly forgotten adventure
achieved.

However, Death by Degrees
has camera issues.  You can’t even walk through a hallway and approach a door
without seeing the camera sputter.  I’m shocked more than I am disappointed.
Games have had characters, hallways and doors for generations.  Consoles have
been in the third dimension for 10 years!  Yet still, this game acts like its
facing new technology.  I suppose I’d be more accepting if it were a
PlayStation 3 tech demo.  But this is a full-fledged game, it sells for the
full-game price, and it hardly lives up to the legacy that Namco has created
with its stellar Tekken series.

Review Scoring Details for Death by Degrees

Gameplay: 5.9
Faraway snipering
and up-close butt-kicking always sounds good on paper.  In Death by Degrees
they’re average, unrealistic play mechanics.  Nina’s hit detection goes down
the toilet whenever she tries to sniper someone.  What’s the point of aiming
accurately if the game can’t detect my subtle changes?  Games have featured 3D
sniper battles since the PSone was released, but after playing Death by
Degrees, you’d think it was an all-new mechanic that developers were just
getting used to.

The main combat consists
of repetitive analog stick fighting (tap the analog stick in the direction of
your enemies), though you’ll spend at least 20% of the overall experience
watching CG and real-time movies, and spend at least 15% of the time exploring
with an awkward camera over your head.

Graphics: 8.5
Gorgeous
backgrounds, decent (though sometimes unrealistic) character animation,
excellent character models, attractive (though not entertaining) CG movies.
Death by Degrees looks the part – if only the gameplay was just as appealing.

Sound: 6
Every repetitive
game deserves a repetitive soundtrack.  That seems to be the thought these
days.  Could it be coincidental?  Or just the bad luck of anyone who continues
to stumble on these games?

Difficulty: Easy
Just tap, tap,
tap your analog stick to a better tomorrow.

Concept: 9
Could’ve,
should’ve, might’ve…but didn’t get to be.  Death by Degrees has a great lead
character (Nina Williams, one of Tekken’s toughest fighters), excellent
graphics, awesome bone-crunching animation sequences, and a 360 degree
gameplay style that in theory, should work perfectly.  If only did it, and if
only the camera didn’t suck.  Then the Gameplay and Overall ratings would
likely deserve this high score as well.

Overall: 5.9
With a camera
that’s less wieldy than a shaken pop bottle, Death by Degrees leaves the
player with few reasons to return for more.  The gameplay nearly redefines the
word repetition.  The graphics are gorgeous, but the story is horrendous.  It
might be considered a decent rental to the biggest Nina Williams fans.  But
most gamers are going to be seriously disappointed in all that this game has
to offer, which, when it comes down to it, isn’t very much at all.