John Romero's Daikatana

The Good
I believe the strongest point of this game is the fact that it almost appears to be 4 different games in one box. There are four different time periods which feature different foes, weapons, maps and design. If you don't like one, play on, because the next one will be completely different. The levels feature many hidden areas reminicent of Doom and Quake 1. I believe the graphics to be good and framerates to be good as well (p2-450, 128 ram, w/Voodoo 3000). Background music is good to very good in areas. Medusa level music really added to the atmosphere. Also there is actually a story that goes along with the game as it progresses, which many FPS lack, that adds to the experience.

The Bad
Savegem crystal system requires you to have picked up a crystal to save the game. Crystals can be accumulated, but it will force numerous replays on some areas that you would prefer to be done with. Some bugs in the sidekick A.I., as has been mentioned, being killed in closed doors, if you tell them to "get" something that is out of reach, they will continue the attempt even after being recalled. Manually configuring voodoo card support.

The Bottom Line
This is a game that was originally created and was supposed to be released sometime shortly after Quake 2 was. Many problems forced numerous delays This game has received a lot of publicity and many had very high expectations of it. It took a very long time to produce and anyone interested can read a good story about it on gamespot. Many have developed a personal dislike for some of the people involved due to some of the publicity practices (slogans) released through the years, as well as other reasons. If you are expecting Unreal or Quake 3 graphics, then you don't understand what all this game has been through and need to understand the delays involved. Graphics are better than Quake 2. If you like FPS and don't have any pre-concieved notions about the game, and have some patience, you probably will like the game. A patch is soon to be released that will address many of the (constructive) complaints made about the game.

The Good
The first episode weapon models, the enemy creature models and the architecture throughout the game are extremely well done. The textures and miscellanous art leave little to be desired, striking new ground in style and quality.

The duo that you tow along in the game, while annoying when in your line of fire, provide good comic relief, great assistance in a firefight and are generally nice to have around. Kudos for ION's attempt at moving the industry forward.

The Bad
For every episode after the first, the weapon models degrade. By the fourth episode, the weapons have reached an all-time low. Bad animation, foul modeling and even worse coding makes for an arsenal that serves only to smear you, rather than your opponents.

While your partners AI is grand, your opponents are a far cry. Harking the days of Doom, upon catching sight of you an enemy will yell, and attempt to advance on your position, usually getting hung up on the beautiful architecture and generally making a complete fool of itself. If they're not stuck somewhere they will bee-line. Some enemies will attempt to play with you, for example the griffon or the mosquitoes which zip around and actually present a challenge for a marksman, but in the end there is no AI, simply a repetitive and predictable Action/Reaction system; Quantity, but no Quality.

Sound effects and music are sub par but livable, while voice acting leaves me laughing. A japanese swordsman does not have an American accent. Shadow Warrior is more believable.

Of all the details, however, one sticks out; sorest thumb of all, the Daikatana itself. This sword is horrible. No fluidity in the swings, unpredictable hit-scan (meaning you don't know where you're going to be slashing) not to mention the fact that you have no way of controlling which of four slashes you perform.

The RPG element is in sour need of a redesign. An attempt at creating an RPGish system wherein you gain experience and thus 'levels' through the slaying of 'baddies'. It doesn't fly very well simply because if you do not select the correct stats you will find yourself a bloody pulp too many times, and with load times reminiscint of pre-patch SiN you do not want to be reloading.

The level design, while breathtaking in more than one area, is linear to say the least. And if not linear you will find yourself wandering aimlessly trying to figure out where to go next (though this is quite rare). There is no similarity between functions, for example a door that looks like another will not function the same.

The Bottom Line
Download the demo and you will find it enjoyable. Buy the game and you will be throwing your money away on an amateur product that should have stayed in development for another week to create new weapons.

Overall I would not recommend buying this game simply because it is not what it should be, after four years in development. I have seen many user created modifications for many different games that of much higher quality than this (eg: Counter-Strike, or Gunman)

The Good
This game's developer was involved in the creation of Wolfenstein 3D (a classic first person shooter). The bad news is that he seemed to forget how it became so popular. Daikatana is pretty dark and creepy like it's supposed be. There is a range of 25 weapons, 64 monsters, four different time periods, all of which are shared within 24 levels.

The Bad
When I said the game was dark, it really is dark, I have to keep squinting sometimes just in order to see what's in front of me (usually in a dark place). Another problem I have with this game is that it was a delayed release. The developer John Romero believed that the entire game could be finished in just seven months, intending to release it in 1997. The game was eventually released in 2000 and many people said that it was using the "old fashioned" 3D engine used for Quake 2.

The Bottom Line
Overall, this game is satisfactory and playable. John Romero's Daikatana is a pretty creepy and amusing first person shooter. While summing up this game, it has proven to be pretty original and creative.