Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Wu Tang fans and thrill-killers alike, it's time to dance. Take control of one of the members of the Wu Tang Clan and battle it out in a four-player brawler that's best described as a button-stompin', gang-bangin' blast.
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A Wu World Order
For those who don't know, the Wu Tang Clan is a persona-based hip-hop menagerie with a kung-fu idiom, bustin' virtual heads like they bust rhymes in the real world. When their master is kidnapped by his long time rival Mong Zhu, the Wu Tang are forced to shed their hip-hop gear and get their hands dirty. The road to victory is not easy, Grasshoppa - prepare for some of the most unfair odds, strongest opponents and most outta-there kung-fu action this side of Jackie Chan.
Or, if you so choose, you can divvy up the Wu Tangers among your friends and hash it out in a four-player simultaneous bashfest. You can gather into teams or fight it out deathmatch-style with any mix of four human or CPU players. The action gets intense, and friendships get threatened, but the PSX handles it in true Shaolin style.
My Life With The Thrill Kill Engine
Thanks to sneaky upgrades to the infamous Thrill Kill engine, Wu Tang paints four players on the screen like nobody's business. The areas you'll fight in are simple squares without any real environmental interaction, which is a necessity with so many people getting beat-down on the aging PSX. Blood flies out everywhere, as long as you've disabled the parental lock-out code. Wu Tang is no graphical knockout, but the four-player engine keeps up with the Wu Tang Clan's frantic musical style without any noticeable slowdown.
The sound in Shaolin Style is basically a simple mix of grunts, bashes, bangs, and screams, all backed up by music performed by or inspired by the Wu Tang Clan. Wu Tang fans will get way into the tracks played during the game. Clan members RZA, Raekwon, U-God and Inspectah Deck lend their voices to the well-made CG cinemas, making this all the more a genuine Wu Tang experience.
Shaolin Style controls more like a multiplayer party game than a true fighting game, and with so much going on, this is often a good thing. The fighting is as much twitch-based as technique, especially when you have three chain-wielding suckas coming after you at once. You can learn one or two moves and get through a lot of Story Mode, but that's okay, because you can learn the rest in the great Practice Mode. Not that you'll ever get a chance to pull off any of the more difficult moves, but they're always good to know.
Wu Tang You Very Much
Party gamers looking for a good four-player brawler to play with their friends should give Wu Tang a look. There's no real Tekken-style technique involved, but get a few friends together and you'll have a good time kickin' it Shaolin Style.
