PlayStation 2

The Bouncer

With spectacular features, The Bouncer is not just another simple beat-em-up game. If you're looking for some variety in the limited PS2 library, hire The Bouncer you won't be disappointed.

In the end, you may have heard that The Bouncer isn't worth a purchase because it is too short, but you shouldn't really take that into thought since there are a lot of other things to do, playing the four-player mode being one of them. If the damn near perfect visuals aren't enough to satisfy you, the very 'cinematic' gameplay will and to add to that the perfect audio will make you think you were in a movie theater. Do yourself a favor, you must quickly rush out to your store and pick up The Bouncer. It can very well turn out that The Bouncer may be the prettiest game of the year. I definitely recommend it!

The game is only about an hour long (if you rush through and skip all the scenes) which makes it perfect for anybody wishing to get a quick beat'em up fix. Also, Story mode features an Extra Game option, in which you can start a new game with the same moves and stats you gained from a previous completed game. This allows you to see the story from all directions, pump stats even more, and learn more moves for Versus.

You really couldn’t ask for a better looking game. I oftentimes had difficulty determining if I was watching CG or real-time cutscenes. As we all know, though, we don’t buy games for their onscreen appearance. If the roles were flipped, so that gameplay outweighed the movies, The Bouncer would have been a force to be reckoned with. I applaud DreamFactory’s attempt, and enjoy the game, but frown on its decision to publish this title without going back and adding depth.

I had hoped that Bouncer would be a whole new twist on what fighters were all about; unfortunately, I was misled. What seemed to be a whole new revolution is in reality just a good old-fashioned fighter, albeit a DreamFactory 3D one, with amazingly gorgeous cutscenes intertwined. There are some great twists involved, like a plot that follows your chosen character, and plenty of moves and characters to unlock, but there is not a whole lot of new stuff here – it is just presented in a new way. The story is pretty interesting, so I give the game props for that, and the character models and environments look fantastic. I did, however, expect more from this game and from Square Soft. It’s a solid fighter with a killer look, but I only think it's above average.

I really had my hopes up for this one, but I have to admit it ended up being somewhat of a letdown. The graphics and sound are outstanding. It's unfortunate that the game play just can't back up these great features. This game is rated "T" for animated violence. It requires 70KB on a Playstation 2 memory card.

Hier revolutionieren Squaresoft und Dream Factory nur zum Teil die Spielewelt. Zum einen liegt das an dem recht geringen Umfang bei einer Nettospielzeit von ca. 60 bis 70 min die durch die Ladezeiten noch auf "gigantische" ca. 90 min gestreckt wird, und an der ungewöhnlichen Grafik. Während diese zwar schon fast übertrieben und peniebel detailreich erscheint, lässt der massig angewendete Motion Blur Effekt dies schon wieder fast untergehen. Aber es ist in meinen Augen ein edler Nebeneffekt der zuerst auf Ablehnung trifft, aber im nachhinein bei längerem spielen komplett unwichtig erscheint.

To sum it all up, The Bouncer was just not my type of game. It had all the makings to be something that I could really enjoy but I was never able to get over the cut-scene interruptions. When I am playing a game, I want to play, not watch. I seriously feel that if you are the type of gamer who feels the opposite, you will love this game because it is well done, if not a bit short. The graphics will wow your friends but when they go home and you are left alone with The Bouncer, you will go to bed unfulfilled.

Irgendwie fällt The Bouncer zwischen zwei Stühle: Für ein reinrassiges Beat`em-up fehlt es an Dynamik, Spielmodi und Moves und für ein kampforientiertes Action-Adventure sind sowohl Spielumfang als auch Handlungsmöglichkeiten viel zu bescheiden. Aber wie auch immer, die knappe Spieldauer, das träge Gameplay und eine geradezu lächerliche KI können auch von einer noch so bombastischen Präsentation nicht ausgeglichen werden. Völlig unverständlich ist auch, dass man den Story-Modus nicht mit ein oder zwei weiteren Mitspielern, sondern nur mit zwei wenig intelligent agierenden CPU-Sidekicks bestreiten darf - die vorhandenen Multiplayer-Modi sind nämlich eher enttäuschend. Kurzzeitig unterhaltsam ist das Ganze zwar auch für Solisten, aber offenbar muss Square noch viel lernen, bevor man auch in anderen Genres Final-Fantasy-ähnliche Standards setzen kann.

What frustrated me the most about The Bouncer is that there is so little interaction with the environments, and that there are no true story branch points. The game lends itself to these very things, buy then never delivers more than blunt cut-scenes and fighting, and nothing much more in the Story mode. The Bouncer is not the next messiah, it's not the next wave of fighting, and frankly, it's not the paradigm for anything really new, except perhaps incredible-looking graphics.

Overall, The Bouncer is a game that features very good music, art, and gameplay, but lacks a lot of gaming substance. While possessing all the qualifications of a potential ‘classic’, it falls short in not delivering enough actual gameplay to satisfy most gamers. The game was fun to play, but I did want to see more action. As an interactive story it may be the first of its kind, but the majority of gamers are still wanting more action and less story.

The Bouncer makes a great showpiece for the PlayStation 2. It looks and sounds incredible. However, the ease and extremely short length of the game, matched with other problems like horrific camera angles and lack of a multiplayer story mode, make The Bouncer fair, at best. It's definitely worthy of a rental, if you're interested only in the gameplay, but The Bouncer is also worth buying if you're looking for an amazing graphical showpiece for your PS2 library.

The Bouncer is a shining case of “Style over Substance.” It has some excellent graphics and sound for the most part, but is riddled with shallow gameplay. The short playtime is also a knock, but with a game this repetitive, it’s probably a good thing. If there was more variety and it wasn’t so linear, it could be dealt with better, but the straightforwardness of the whole deal is disappointing. This game is worth a rent to see what it’s all about, but not really worth a purchase, unless you want to use it as a showpiece for your fancy PS2. If you fell for the hype, you’re bound to be wholly disappointed. To those who didn’t, the Bouncer will come off as completely mediocre – not a horrid game, but not exactly Game of the Year quality.

Oavsett om det finns ett mervärde i att spela igenom The Bouncer med alla de tre utkastarna så är detta inget annat än ett mycket mediokert slagsmål. Fighting Force, Erhgeiz, Spike Out och Gekido har alla gjort mig besviken och jag frågar mig: När ska den magi som återfanns i klassiker som Final Fight och Streets of Rage appliceras på ett tredimensionellt spel av samma typ?. The Bouncer klarar sig nätt och jämt tack vare underbar grafik, spelmässigt är detta både spänningslöst och sömnigt.

Unfortunately, The Bouncer is filled with problems that keep it from being a terrific product. The combat is too disjointed, the gameplay feels distant, and the fighting engine is too simple. The backgrounds are also not interactive enough, and the game doesn't really try to improve upon the limitations that have held this genre back. Even despite the many gameplay faults, The Bouncer is an interesting and beautiful experience, one that seems best suited as a rental instead of something you want to own.

Tyvärr känns spelet alldeles för tunt och otillräckligt för att få mer än medelbetyg. The Bouncer är ett praktexempel på att grafiken när allt kommer omkring inte är allt.

The Bouncer viene miseramente schiacciato nella lotta contro il tempo e titoli molto più vecchi di lui divertono in maniera decisamente maggiore

Als ik je tot besluit één advies mag geven: koop deze game niet. Huur hem desnoods en check de vette graphics maar The Bouncer is je zuurverdiende geld echt niet waard. HEt ziet er echt jaw dropping uit maar de game zelf is veel te makkelijk en wie een game alleen voor de graphics koopt, is niet helemaal bij zijn hoofd. Wellicht dat The Bouncer snel in een of andere budgetbak belandt maar als je 'm huurt, ben je voor ongeveer tien piek ook meteen genezen. The Bouncer ziet er ongelooflijk mooi uit maar de game zelf zuigt mega.

The Bouncer was looking to be one of those titles that would go a long way to sell the PlayStation 2, and in the way of graphical content it can certainly show off what Sony's console can do. The trouble here comes from the game mechanic itself, as this type of title has been designed countless times in the past and has been done so much better in some cases. If the developers ever go ahead with a sequel we can only hope for the same kind of interactivity that we have grown accustomed to in the last couple of years, rather than a rehash of an old genre which rides almost solely on the hope that gamers prefer graphics. Disappointing, and only recommended to hard-core fighting fans.

The Bouncer est la plus grosse déception à ce jour sur PlayStation 2. Attendu comme un Hit en puissance, le jeu fait preuve d'une durée de vie ridicule et son gameplay est totalement inefficace. Seule la partie technique est assurée avec brio, mais même le plus beau jeu de la plus puissante console du moment ne peut se permettre d'avoir de telles lacunes, surtout à ce prix.

You have probably flicked your eyes down to the score by now. Those two whole marks are for the designs of the main characters which are rather good in a Final Fantasy VIII science-fiction type of way. But otherwise this game is worthless. An unengaging plot about a doe eyed moppet being kidnapped by an evil corporation (yawn), dislikable characters and a truly pathetic level of interaction and combat means this is the one Squaresoft game that is an unmitigated disaster from start to finish. It was a joke when it first came out and it hasn't got any funnier in the intervening years. Avoid at all costs.