The Bouncer
Endlessly beautiful and pulled off with cinematic flair, The Bouncer is a perfect example of the PlayStation 2's power, but can it hold up as a real game?
Published: March 6, 2001
Okay, I'll just come out and say it. The Bouncer is quite possibly the prettiest game I've ever seen, and almost certainly the most amazing thing out on the PlayStation 2 – at least visually. The in-game models approach CG quality, and everything from the animations to direction in the cut scenes drips of high production value. But presentation isn't really the problem here. It's the gameplay.
Now anyone who's a fan of the PS2 will remember the tech demo that would eventually give birth to The Bouncer. Amazingly detailed and animated characters duked it out in a bar, breaking tables and sending opponents flying through railings. It was a testament to the power of the system, even if it wasn't a real game. Well, now we have the real game, and while the first scene of our punch-powered drama looks remarkably like that tech demo, there are a few things that didn't quite carry over. The Bouncer unfortunately doesn't offer any interactive elements in the environments, no chairs to throw, no breakaway railings, nothing. Sure, this is a disappointment, but is it enough to ruin the game? No. The gameplay takes care of that.
The Bouncer's story is simple, but offers a few great twists that elevate it well beyond anything else in the genre. If you haven't been clued in yet, the premise is simple. Sion Barzhad, Kou Leifou, and Volt Krueger are bouncers at a bar called Fate. One of the local "patrons" cute, bubbly Dominique has made it a point to stop by regularly, mainly to test the interest of Sion. Exactly one year after she first arrived, Dominique is kidnapped. Obviously, the guys aren't going to let this go unpunished, and race off to find out who the kidnappers are, and why they want Dominique. Without giving away too much, I'll say that I was genuinely motivated to find out exactly why someone felt it was their job to kidnap such a seemingly innocent girl. And once you find out exactly what Dominique's purpose is, you'll be all too happy to save her.
I honestly can't stop raving about how good the graphics really are. Tetsuya Nomura did a great job crafting characters that are easy on the eyes, and high on poly count. There were literally moments in the game's real-time cut scenes where the character models coupled with some perfect lighting made them indistinguishable from a pre-rendered sequence. Colored lighting is splashed about in such a way that no two environments really have the same feel. The garden atop the Mikado Building feels very earthy, with lots of rich greens, while the Fate Bar where the adventure begins feels very warm, with smatterings of red and orange covering all the different corners of the bar.
Likewise, the animation is breathtaking. Everyone, from the main characters to the many, many grunts that serve as fodder for your well-honed fists and feet, move in a completely realistic fashion. They lean forward to build momentum for a big run, lean back to stop, and swing with their whole body when attacking. The cut scenes are carried out with cinematic flair with slick wipes and great camera work. Again, the presentation here is fantastic, and leaves little to complain about. From the menus to the little bits of back story you get while waiting for the game to load the next section of the story, everything has been done with looks in mind.
Ahh, and then there's the voice acting. The fact that every big character in the game has a distinct personality has almost everything to do with the voice team over at ZRO Limit Productions, who breathed real life into these digital beings. The voices are easily on par with anything you'd hear from Disney or any other big animation house for that matter, and while Sion's lines can end up sounding rather cheesy, the delivery never is.
The voice acting is only the tip of the aural iceberg, however. The effects, while not mind-blowing serve their purpose admirably, offering up various grunts, groans, and smacks as the situation calls for it. Arguably the best auditory experience, however, comes when you get to watch the trademark breathtaking CG sequences, and those that are lucky enough to have a Dolby Digital-compatible receiver will be in for a treat. Until you hear a game, any part of a game, in 5.1 surround sound, you haven't heard the goodness of digital sound.
It's when you get to the meat of the gameplay, the combat, that the game starts to fall apart. It's not that the gameplay per se is bad. In fact, it resembles the tried-and-true combat of the Tobal series, and the fact that you have analog support built in is fantastic. Each of the shape buttons (yes, that's the triangle, square, O and X) has three different uses depending on how hard you press it. Mashing the button will only net you one big hit, but mixing up light and medium presses lets you string together some really slick combos that can deal out the hurt in a variety of great looking ways. By kicking the crap out of the assorted baddies, you'll earn valuable Bouncer Points, which can then be used to bump up your attack, life, or defense, or you can buy new moves. It's this nice blend RPG-style character building that keeps things from dropping right into the tiresome and repetitious right away.
While The Bouncer is endlessly cinematic, it comes at a price: load times. The typical gameplay experience goes something like this: a) Short snippet of cut scene, then b) a minute or two of fighting, followed by c) another cut scene, possibly interspliced with a CG sequence. Now excluding the CG, each of these little bits of game or movie are met with at least 10 seconds of loading. Chain all this together and you have about an hour and a half of game, but only 1/3 of that being actual brawling. Don't get me wrong, the story is fun to watch unfold, and when you are in control of your bouncer, it is fun (at least the first couple of times through), but this does leave things feeling quite shallow.
I could ramble on for another 1000 words about how much of a see-saw experience The Bouncer is. Besides the story mode, there's the much-needed survival mode, which lets you take any of the characters you've seen in the story mode, and pit them against an endless supply of foes (special moves and all). And, if the urge strikes you, you can team up with 3 friends and then proceed to beat the holy living crap out of them with characters you've built up in story mode.
The Bouncer simply HAS to be experienced. There are plenty out there that will find the game enjoyable, and this is a definite rental, but in the long run, I can't see myself pulling the game out to blow through another hour and a half of cinemas that I've most likely watched about 10 times already. For the first couple of times through, however (and you'll want to beat it a few, since every character provides a little more insight into the story), The Bouncer is enjoyable. I just wish that enjoyment stuck with me a little longer.
Now anyone who's a fan of the PS2 will remember the tech demo that would eventually give birth to The Bouncer. Amazingly detailed and animated characters duked it out in a bar, breaking tables and sending opponents flying through railings. It was a testament to the power of the system, even if it wasn't a real game. Well, now we have the real game, and while the first scene of our punch-powered drama looks remarkably like that tech demo, there are a few things that didn't quite carry over. The Bouncer unfortunately doesn't offer any interactive elements in the environments, no chairs to throw, no breakaway railings, nothing. Sure, this is a disappointment, but is it enough to ruin the game? No. The gameplay takes care of that.
The Bouncer's story is simple, but offers a few great twists that elevate it well beyond anything else in the genre. If you haven't been clued in yet, the premise is simple. Sion Barzhad, Kou Leifou, and Volt Krueger are bouncers at a bar called Fate. One of the local "patrons" cute, bubbly Dominique has made it a point to stop by regularly, mainly to test the interest of Sion. Exactly one year after she first arrived, Dominique is kidnapped. Obviously, the guys aren't going to let this go unpunished, and race off to find out who the kidnappers are, and why they want Dominique. Without giving away too much, I'll say that I was genuinely motivated to find out exactly why someone felt it was their job to kidnap such a seemingly innocent girl. And once you find out exactly what Dominique's purpose is, you'll be all too happy to save her.
I honestly can't stop raving about how good the graphics really are. Tetsuya Nomura did a great job crafting characters that are easy on the eyes, and high on poly count. There were literally moments in the game's real-time cut scenes where the character models coupled with some perfect lighting made them indistinguishable from a pre-rendered sequence. Colored lighting is splashed about in such a way that no two environments really have the same feel. The garden atop the Mikado Building feels very earthy, with lots of rich greens, while the Fate Bar where the adventure begins feels very warm, with smatterings of red and orange covering all the different corners of the bar.
Likewise, the animation is breathtaking. Everyone, from the main characters to the many, many grunts that serve as fodder for your well-honed fists and feet, move in a completely realistic fashion. They lean forward to build momentum for a big run, lean back to stop, and swing with their whole body when attacking. The cut scenes are carried out with cinematic flair with slick wipes and great camera work. Again, the presentation here is fantastic, and leaves little to complain about. From the menus to the little bits of back story you get while waiting for the game to load the next section of the story, everything has been done with looks in mind.
Ahh, and then there's the voice acting. The fact that every big character in the game has a distinct personality has almost everything to do with the voice team over at ZRO Limit Productions, who breathed real life into these digital beings. The voices are easily on par with anything you'd hear from Disney or any other big animation house for that matter, and while Sion's lines can end up sounding rather cheesy, the delivery never is.
The voice acting is only the tip of the aural iceberg, however. The effects, while not mind-blowing serve their purpose admirably, offering up various grunts, groans, and smacks as the situation calls for it. Arguably the best auditory experience, however, comes when you get to watch the trademark breathtaking CG sequences, and those that are lucky enough to have a Dolby Digital-compatible receiver will be in for a treat. Until you hear a game, any part of a game, in 5.1 surround sound, you haven't heard the goodness of digital sound.
It's when you get to the meat of the gameplay, the combat, that the game starts to fall apart. It's not that the gameplay per se is bad. In fact, it resembles the tried-and-true combat of the Tobal series, and the fact that you have analog support built in is fantastic. Each of the shape buttons (yes, that's the triangle, square, O and X) has three different uses depending on how hard you press it. Mashing the button will only net you one big hit, but mixing up light and medium presses lets you string together some really slick combos that can deal out the hurt in a variety of great looking ways. By kicking the crap out of the assorted baddies, you'll earn valuable Bouncer Points, which can then be used to bump up your attack, life, or defense, or you can buy new moves. It's this nice blend RPG-style character building that keeps things from dropping right into the tiresome and repetitious right away.
While The Bouncer is endlessly cinematic, it comes at a price: load times. The typical gameplay experience goes something like this: a) Short snippet of cut scene, then b) a minute or two of fighting, followed by c) another cut scene, possibly interspliced with a CG sequence. Now excluding the CG, each of these little bits of game or movie are met with at least 10 seconds of loading. Chain all this together and you have about an hour and a half of game, but only 1/3 of that being actual brawling. Don't get me wrong, the story is fun to watch unfold, and when you are in control of your bouncer, it is fun (at least the first couple of times through), but this does leave things feeling quite shallow.
I could ramble on for another 1000 words about how much of a see-saw experience The Bouncer is. Besides the story mode, there's the much-needed survival mode, which lets you take any of the characters you've seen in the story mode, and pit them against an endless supply of foes (special moves and all). And, if the urge strikes you, you can team up with 3 friends and then proceed to beat the holy living crap out of them with characters you've built up in story mode.
The Bouncer simply HAS to be experienced. There are plenty out there that will find the game enjoyable, and this is a definite rental, but in the long run, I can't see myself pulling the game out to blow through another hour and a half of cinemas that I've most likely watched about 10 times already. For the first couple of times through, however (and you'll want to beat it a few, since every character provides a little more insight into the story), The Bouncer is enjoyable. I just wish that enjoyment stuck with me a little longer.
