Kakuto Chojin Xbox

The first game released by DreamFactory, a company consisting of personnel who developed the Tobal series in Japan, is a 3D fighting game distinguished by its use of dark, urban environments and motion-captured fighters. Players choose from 12 male and female characters before entering the seedy world of street fighting. Advanced graphics techniques include the use of real-time shadows, weather effects such as rain, and flexible skin that stretches with the fighter as he or she performs any number of punches and kicks. The action takes place in sewers, alleys, rooftops, and other gritty environments as characters compete with each other in a no-holds-barred fight for survival.

Roughly translated as "superhuman fighter," Kakuto Chojin offers two distinct sets of moves designed for beginners (Kakuto) and experts (Chojin). All moves are rooted in realistic fighting styles encompassing the arts of boxing, karate, jeet kune do, professional wrestling, caporeia, and more. Each of the included high, medium, and low melee attacks varies depending on the size of the attacker as well as his or her relative location to the opponent. The power and effectiveness of a specific move is thus modified based on a number of variables, including the environment, an opponent's reaction, and where the blow connects.

In addition to the single-player Story Mode, which consists of selecting a character and then fighting a series of opponents in the Fist of Fire Tournament, Kakuto Chojin features both a Survival Mode and a Practice Mode. Survival challenges players to fight as many characters as they can without dying, and Practice lets players get accustomed to the controls. Kakuto Chojin supports up to four combatants in a choice of three multiplayer modes. Versus offers traditional one-on-one fighting against a friend. Battle Royal has four players slugging it out simultaneously -- either in two teams of two or a free-for-all format -- while Capture the Crown is a timed event patterned after King of the Hill. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide