Maken X
Score: 60% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Sega Developer: Atlus Media: GC/1 Players: 1 Genre: First Person Shooter
Graphics & Sound: The gameplay graphics were pretty great. Unfortunately, the cut scene graphics were just horrible. The blocky graphics resembled something out of an 80's anime. Not only did they look bad, but also the characters didn't blink or move their lips to the words, something that the Dreamcast is supposed to do. As long as you are playing the game, the graphics are good. During the down times (cut scenes), look away. The sound, however, was outrageous. The realism and 3D effects in the game added greatly to the gameplay.
Gameplay: Okay, Maken is a sentient sword (a sword with a brain). As the sword, you can take control of about a dozen different characters throughout the game. Basically, it's a first person shooter, only with a sword, not a gun. To be honest, the game is just not fun. It looks good, but the controls are awkward and it's just boring - twenty levels of boring. The 'brainjacking' is kind of neat, but it's still a bad game. From what I understand, there are several different endings, but if you make it to more than one, you're a better man than I am. Another cool thing about the game is the lock-on target feature. This helps with the awkward controls a bit. Here is the game - run around and hack at people. You can jump, strike, 'brainjack', and manipulate objects. Uh ... that's it. The story line is weak, and the game gets old fast. I had high hopes for this one, and I was very disappointed.
Difficulty: I found the game to be of moderate difficulty. The hardest thing about the game is the controls. The gameplay is easy; it's the mechanics that are hard. The game is not too challenging; I think that contributes to the boring gameplay.
Game Mechanics: First person shooters were just not made to be played on a six-button controller. In the game, you can walk, look, strafe, swing, lock - on, jump, select an action, cancel an action, run, and 'brainjack'. That's a lot to do on a little controller. What if you want to run left while strafing right and looking up? Too bad, you can't. One at a time, my friend. What about a jump-attack while locking onto your target? Sure, do you have three hands? The controls are just ridiculous with overlapping functions. You can use the VGA box to enhance the graphics on a monitor, use the jump pack to make the controller heavier, and use the VMU to save the game and come back for more torture. Okay, I have been a little hard on the game, but I expected so much out of it. It just didn't deliver. It's just another boring first person action game.
-Storm, GameVortex Communications AKA Jeremy Kelso
Jeremy McGrath 2000 MDK 2