6-Jan-2004 Jeezo - it's been like going for a joyride in Marty McFly's DeLorean playing these Bloody Roar games. While the PS2 version was a bumpy ride back in time, accompanied by mild time-travel sickness, this Xbox exclusive slammed us back to the future with a huge, but pleasant, bang.
This is Bloody Roar Extreme, the first outing for the game on Xbox. It's really just a special edition collating the characters from the series, but the difference in quality is enough to make this stand out from its PS2 homie.
Bloody Good First of all, and naturally given the power of the Box, the graphics are astonishingly good. But while in Soulcalibur II the difference in graphics between PS2 and Box was merely cosmetic, the improvement here seems to invest the whole package with much more quality. Second, the instant hit the Arcade mode gives you is much more satisfying. The simplistic fighting remains a bit basic for fans accustomed to the ninth-dan finger acrobatics of Virtaul Fighter 4 and Soulcalibur, and the PS2's career mode is sadly lacking, but at least it feels like you're really slashing the crap out of your opponent.
Bloody Roar 4 left us feeling a bit weird about its retro styling, but Extreme sits favourably next to other contemporary fighters. It's by no means a heavyweight, but fans of the series will get a hell of a kick out of the Xbox conversion.
Made us feel more comfortable than the PS2 version but still lacking the 'oomph' the best beat 'em ups should have. Fight game veterans will tame this beast in no time.
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