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Daikatana
Developer: Ion Storm
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Category: : 3D FPS
System Req: P233, 32Mb, 4x Cd-Rom, Win95/98, Open Gl VideoCard
Might look like: Quake 2
Date posted: 17 December 2000 (Requested by Readers)
Written By: Bert
- This game was reviewed on PII 350, 128 Mb RAM, Hercules 3D Prophet DDR DVI, 32 Mb RAM, Soundblaster 128, Win2k Pro- -
We also test other games on
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New Hope
Finally, John Romero's newborn child is under my hands. Everybody heard the stories about John, his penthouse and his fellow programmers.
But luckily they found peace and now after several delays we can play the latest Ionstorm game, named Daikatana. The game is focussed around an ancient sword that contains magical powers. When you hold it in you hands, you can travel in time. But as usual, criminals stole the mighty sword and now you, playing the role of 'Hiro Miyamote', have to take it back.
Launching Daikatana
Curious as I am, I started a new game. An in-game intro movie told me the back-ground of Daikatana. Sadly this movie wasn't really high quality and the characters walked in a very weird way and lipsynchronization was definitely out of the question.
So my hopes weren't that high but then again ... what's a bad intro anyway? It doesn't mean that the whole game is bad, right? So, I loaded the first level. Leveldesign is quite good and logical but not superb. Daikatana has a lot of NPC's but they don't do a lot and you can't chat with them. Also, later in the game, you'll get team-mates, but again, you're better off without them because they AI is below zero.
As mentioned before I am very glad with the level design. The buildings in Episode 2 are really brilliant. I have only some complains about the levels in the first episode. The textures are were used in this "modified" Quake 2 engine are pretty good. Of course I have seen better but I have seen worse as well. You have 24 weapons at your disposal, which will all have a new skin as soon as you enter a different time-zone. Enemies are also detailed but it could have been a lot better.
  
Dumb and Dumber ?
Yes that's a 'bad' thing to say but it's true.
Daikatana's AI is basically almost nothing.
For example, most of the bosses that you'll encouter at the end of each level are pretty dumb. They don't use their weapon strategically and don't hide for cover.
Most of the NPC don't even know that you are here and your team-mates ... well call them your 'mates' because they are not acting like a team. Another example of the bad AI is that when you stand far away from a enemy, although you are sure that he's able to see you, and you fire ... he simply won't react!
John Romero = Super Graphics?
Daikatana is of course build on a modified Quake 2 engine. Yes, not the eye-candy that we now see in much more detailed games but the game has some detailed textures, nice skies, realistic water effects and so on.
I am pleased with the graphics engine but of course the Quake 3 engine is far more better. The levels in this modified Q2-engine game are very symmetric and contain a lot of sharp corners.
It doesn't use the latest gimmicks and tools of your new expensive graphic card but luckily, the textures and skins make it playable. Perhaps spending some more time on AI would be better.
  
Sound and Music
I really enjoyed the sound effects and music tracks that Daikatana has.
The sound of your weapons do sound realistic and the background music is quiter good.
Not the quality like we have now in some new games but then again, Daikatana is not build on a new engine either.
Multiplayer?
The game features 4 multiplayer modes: 'Deathmatch', 'Deathtag', 'Capture The Flag' and 'Cooperative'.
Not much new stuff except 'DeathTag'. DeathTag is a team-game by two teams of two players where each team has a home base and a scoring area between bases. Each base features a bomb in a enclosed area. The goal of each team is for a runner to grab the bomb from his or her home base, run through the scoring area, and hit the trigger at the end to score a point.
To gain access to the bomb in your home base, however, your team first must flip a switch in the enemy base. The concept is good but it doesn't give you what you need ... a real adrenaline rush.
The weapons aren't made for deathmatch either because the projectiles are a bit slow. The other modes are just not good enough when you compare them to "Unreal Tournament" or "Quake 3: Arena".
Conclusion
Daikatana has much potential to become a classic but unfortunately the entire development team was too much focused on the graphics instead of the gameplay and artificial intelligence.
This is a very good example that decent graphics does not make a game excellent.
The AI is just terrible which basically destroys the whole game. Although the level design is very good I'm not sure if should recommend you to buy this game.
Try to download the latest playable demo of Daikatana and if you like it, then you can always buy the game. If not, try "Quake III: Arena" or "Unreal Tournament". They are far better in that genre.
-Bert
Ratings
Manual:
85% |
Graphics:
80% |
Music & Sfx:
83% |
GamePlay:
70% |
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This game scores
 
on our 5-point Rating System
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