Bloody Roar: Primal Fury

The latest in Activision?s animal transmogrification franchise is the first ?real? fighting game for the GameCube. Find out if it cleans up after itself.

Throughout all its previous incarnations, Activision?s flashy, fun, but not particularly well-balanced fighting franchise has always rested just below the threshold of greatness. This GameCube upgrade of Bloody Roar 3 brings the series a bit closer to the top?though if it plans to survive in a jungle filled with DOA3s and Virtua Fighter 4s, it still has some evolving left to do.

Woof. Grrr. Squeak. Meow.
Since its first PlayStation inception, Bloody Roar?s game mechanics have remained pretty much the same: Fight as a human being using two simple attack buttons, and then when your Beast Meter fills up a bit, transform into a giant, ferocious Tiger, Insect, or Bunny Rabbit and whoop some ass using your new third Beast Attack button. It?s a pretty great gimmick, supported by a solid, fun fighting engine that relies on quick close-in combos and ridiculous automatic super-special feral freakouts. The game, however, isn?t all that deep, varied, or balanced: some characters are just way too good, and button mashers will often fare just as well as veterans.

Beauty and the Beasts
Even though its basic set of characters and moves are the same as in Bloody Roar 3 for the PS2, Primal Fury is still a pretty substantial upgrade: Two new boss characters have been added, certain stages have been replaced, the single-player game balance has been more finely tuned, and?above all?the graphics have been given a very impressive overhaul. Character models are far superior with better (though fewer) costumes and highly polished textures, and the arenas boast a much greater level of detail and depth. The special effects are much more special, too, and gone is the tragic jagginess that constantly plagues the PS2.

But even with all the improvements, Bloody Roar can?t compete with the cool factor of a game like DOA3. The arenas are just flat squares (reminiscent of Sega?s Fighting Vipers series) and feature nothing even close to DOA3?s ridiculous multitiered castles or nifty shifting snowfields. And while Bloody Roar?s character models certainly are pretty, they still don?t match the level of detail of those found in Tecmo?s premier fighter. The music is mediocre?forgettable faux hard rock?and the sound effects are solid, but barely leave an impression since characters don?t yell, roar, squeak, or bleat anything particularly fun or interesting.

My, What a Cute Bunny Ra?ARGH, MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!!!
And so Bloody Roar for the GameCube remains exactly where it?s always been in the fighting game kingdom food chain: just below the best and far above the worst. It?s instantly fun and boasts a really strong gimmick?but it lacks the gameplay depth, balance, and attention to detail that make top fighters shine. As the only real ?traditional? fighter available for the ?Cube (no, Super Smash Bros. Melee doesn?t count), it works just fine for now?though it probably won?t be long before you?re wishing Soul Calibur 2 were here.

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