John Romero's Daikatana

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.

The Good
The gigantic levels are very well designed and there are lots of puzzles to solve in them. The weapons are very creative, and the game can be considered an First-Person RPG, because you can level up your stats, such as Speed, Acro, Power and Attack, and even your Daikatana. The story is so great that the game can be turned into a book (there is a rare comic book by TopCow, released with the game), or even a movie (if Uwe Boll don't direct it). You are a martial arts trainer called Hiro Miyamoto, and you receive a visit from an unknown guy called Toshiro Ebihara, that says you have a mission to save his daughter Mikiko and a mystic sword called Daikatana, forged by the ancestors of Hiro. I really should say it's at least epic and creative!

The Bad
Even if the Sidekicks help you to not being alone while playing the game, they are annoying because of their defective A.I. Seriously, the A.I. is so bad that the sidekicks can get stuck in lots of spots, specially in stairs, they just keep going up-down-up-down, that really pissed me off. There are some slight graphics slowdowns, they happen most frequently when you're exposed into a fog effect or light. Also, if you're playing the game in the Windows Xp or later (I play it on Seven) you have to patch the game to version 1.2, because the game keeps crashing very often.

The Bottom Line
Don't let the critics let you down. Even if there are problems with the game, it is an underrated gem of the PC. It is very fun to play it and soon you feel in the story. One more thing: play the Windows version, not the N64 one, which is bad, ugly and slow.

The Good
Without a doubt in my mind, this is the biggest disappoinment in the history of PC Gaming. Three years in development. Developed by the creator of the first person shooter. Action/RPG gameplay. The Quake 2 engine. So what's wrong with it? Ion Storm developed it or way too long! If it made its original release date, Daikatana would have been an innovative, fun game. Reason one: Graphics were excellent. Reason two: First game to play with two buddies that help you through the game. Reason three: Find-the-key, kill everything gameplay was still passable as a good game. Reason four: RPG elements. Reason five: exciting multiplay deathmatch Three years later, classic games like Half-Life, Rainbow Six, Deus Ex, System Shock 2 and Unreal Tournament alll have these features and were revolutionary while Daikatana stays the same, but with buggy gameplay and stupid AI. Well a few parts are good about Daikatana, like some of the Greek levels are good.

The Bad
Well, the part that is the worst is the first level. You roam a swamp, searching the ground and air for evil flies and frogs, killing them using a sluggish bee-shooting gun! What? this is fun? In the more interesting levels, all the enemies do is like 'blow up' when you kill them. Multiplay is boring and lame, lag-filled fun, just as 'fun' as the maps. I cannot think of how I could recommend it when there are so many better games out there.

The Bottom Line
Load up mine sweeper, and play it on the hardest difficulty. Then, turn off your monitor and you will have the experience the numb gameplay of Daikatana. Fun isn't it? Then you'll reconsider why you bought/considered buying this garbage.