Now that I'm done ranting (see previous post), it's time to share what
I've learned from the game so that hopefully owners can have fun,
because it's still a fun game, just frustrating unless you have good
reflexes and spacial judgement (something I need to work on).
Basic moves:
Direction pad move
Triangle(T) back-fist/grab
Square(S) kick/discard object
Circle(O) jump (aka combo button, since I have
yet to find a good use for jumping)
Cross(X) punch/pick up object/use object
L1 camera zoom out
R1+move run
Specials:
XXX(X) punch combo
SS kick combo
TT backfist to punches
T grab (up close) -- push any other button
to throw
S+X scuff kick (may stun)
S+O jumping attack
X+O 360-degree attack (takes life, so far as
as I know unblockable)
While running:
S aerial attack
X low attack
While holding an object:
X(X)(X) use object(can get two or three hits out of
hand weapons)
forward+S(S) kick/kick combo (hold forward)
S throw object
Individual characters:
Hawk
----
Your more average Joe-schmoe, he's got some nice moves, not much
finesse.
XXX 2x punches, roundhouse
Simple punch combo. The first two punches are medium speed, the last is
slow. I generally find the third to be more trouble than it's worth,
except to nail a second person, since you can pivot considerably between
punches.
SS double spin kicks
About as fast as the punches, the kicks have more range, but move you
forward a bit, so don't walk Hawk into the middle of a big group.
S+O rising kick (aka Virtua Fighter lift-off)
Hawk does this ridiculous-looking rising kick. At least he doesn't
float as high as VF people did. ;) Not too much damage, and just not
rough enough for his style. It does give you some respite, though --
until he lands. This my stun at times.
X+O flying spin kick
Jumps up in the air and spins with foot extended. Not bad, and it has
some range.
Throws (after grabbing):
T headbutt
Pretty neat, as the screen flashes when he connects.
forward+T suplex
I don't know if this does the same damage as the headbutt, but it does
move Hawk much farther out of harm's way.
O shoulder throw
Doesn't sound as painful, but has the advantage of being a little
faster, I think.
S knee to the abdomen
This is pretty sweet, since, unlike the other characters, Hawk doesn't
let go of the enemy. Therefore, until the poor mook wakes up and breaks
the hold, you can just keep doing this. The damage isn't bad, either.
Just don't do it when there's others nearby, as it's slow. Now if I
could just get a hold of a boss...
XXXX 3x gut punches, headbutt
Now this one I like! Painful looking, and the headbutt is a nice touch
at the end. The total is a large amount of damage. What's nice, too,
is that you can stop on the third punch and tag something else on, since
Hawk doesn't let go until the headbutt (and sometimes not even then).
Running moves:
S flying boot
Hawk jumps and violently sticks his feet out. It's an interesting
method of travel, and will knock down, but doesn't hit very often, since
the area of attack is small. Many times you just end up flying by
people.
X sliding kick
Just like sliding into home base. Low attacks in general are good,
since they aren't blocked as much (and the enemy can't do them).
However, the price of missing is high. Hawk, after stopping, will jump
_back_ from his sliding position. This is great if you are still in
front of someone or you finished knocking people down, but if you
whiffed, many times you're just persenting yourself to the person you
just slid past (and believe me, they like that).
Mace:
----
The requisite hot babe of the game. It's possible to have fun just
watching her walk. Fortunately, those long legs have some practical
game use.
XXX 2x punches, spinning backfist
Unlike Hawk, the three punches come out in rapid succession, so there's
not as much of a penalty to do all three, although there's not as much
mobility. Sometimes, however, the third punch doesn't knock down, which
leaves Mace open for a bit.
SS whip kicks
Mace brings her foot up quickly, then cocks her foot and brings it right
back the other way. Since she doesn't really move forward like the
others and stays put, It's possible to vary the direction of the second
kick considerably. Good luck judging the direction to hit two people...
But they still work just fine in the same direction.
S+O jumping pedals
Mace jumps high in the air and does two quick pedaling kicks around the
head area. This works okay as an attack, and tends to knock down/stun
more than Hawk's take-off kick.
X+O spinning sweep
Her 360 attack, however, isn't as hot. Since she doesn't do an extended
sweep or jump in the air, the area of the sweep is smaller compared to
the other characters' attacks.
Throws (after grabbing):
T leg takedown
Not bad, since she moves and drops out of harms way for a time. Looks
neat, too.
forward+T forceful push
Not sure how to name this; it's a lot like Chun Li's old
deposit-you-on-floor throw. Not too impressive, but rather fast.
O neck throw
Takes her victim and flips over the person while holding on to the
neck. Cool.
S rising knee
Pops the enemy in the air with a knee to the stomach.
XXXX bitch slaps (pardon the language)
Geez, is she Mace or Nina from Tekken? They do a lot of the same
stuff... Similar to Hawk, you can stop on the third, and she'll keep
holding on to the person.
Running moves:
S flying boot
Same as Hawk's.
X sliding kick
Same as Hawk's.
Smasher:
The requisite big strong oaf, he's actually sorta neat. I normaly don't
play the big guys since they're so slow (and he is), but he's got some
effective moves.
XXX 2x punches, roundhouse
What can I say? Slow, the last one even slower, but he has good range,
and lotsa power.
SS marching kicks
While looking dumb, they are as effective as everyone else's kicks,
except that his punches may have just as much range.
S+O jumping knee
Here's a particularly strange move. Since his legs are so short, the
move effectively has zero range. Now, it probably does lotsa damage,
but to get it to hit... It is one of his faster moves, however.
X+O slamming hammer
Now, it may not really have more range than the others, but this just
_looks_ neat.
Throws (after grabbing):
T body lift
S back breaker
X two-hand toss
True to big-guy form, Smasher has a variety of big throws. Chief among
them is the lift, which leaves you with a struggling baddie over your
head and nowhere to go. See, you can't actually go anywhere until you
deposit your find. Then again, the other enemies seem to lose their
will to fight while you have one of them in your hands. Go figure.
There doesn't seem to be that much difference between the two
extensions. I've never been able to hit someone with the toss. The
back breaker has that nice crunch sound going for it, though.
O rag toss
No finesse, but it's quick.
S uppercut
Smasher's hand goes up, and so does the body. Ouch.
X face smash ("return to sender")
The setup for this is long, and it doesn't always work, but it's still
fun to watch him smash someone's head into the neck area.
Running moves:
S two-fisted dive
Here's where Smasher gets fun. He does a flying dive and extends his
fists halfway. It covers a lot of area, looks great when it connects
(especially one opponent for each fist), and recovers by rolling
forward, so it's much safer than the other character's running aerials.
X barrel roll
Smasher curls himself into a ball and bowls over his opponents. This
one's nice too, since it's fast, hits multiple times (if you roll
directly over someone you get a free hit as you roll over the person
again!), and recovers by roling forward.
Alana
-----
Counterpart to Smash, we have fast, does-no-damage young girl. She's
got some nice-looking stuff, and actually looks better than the renders
(she's got a ponytail that just never seems to show up).
XXXX 2x punches, 2x spinning backfists
Yep, due to her lack of damage ability, she's fast enough to tack an
extra backfist in. They're all fast, and the last backfist has an added
advantage of some mobility so that you can sometimes maneuver to the
side of your opponent.
SS whirlwind kicks
Similar to Hawk's ('cept she's got longer legs).
S+O flipkick
This is, IMO, the most useful of these jumping moves, since Alana has
range, and the kick hits _behind_ her as well. Plus she's the only one
with the trailing flare. ;)
X+O spinning bird kick
She flips over, sticks her feet out, and starts spinning... sound
familiar? While it has range, it seems to need the most time to set up.
Throws (after grabbing):
T launch kick
Similar to Lei's throw from Tekken (which is taken from a certain action
film star), Alana uses the opponent's body as a spring board to jump
off. Pretty neat.
forward+T jumping uppercut
Dragon punch, anyone?
O vault kick
Alana flips over the enemy, then drop-kicks 'em in the back while diving
forward. My favorite of her throws; not only does it look cool, it gets
you out of sticky situations.
S rising kick
Same as Mace's.
XXXX head trauma
Alana climbs on top of your head, which might not be so bad were it not
for the beating she's also giving it. Note, however, that while it does
do more damage than her other throws, it _does not knock down_. If the
opponent doesn't die, she will step down right in front of him or her.
Running moves:
S jumping 360 kick
Looks similar to Hawk's 360 move. It does have more area than Hawk's or
Mace's boot, but it seems to have lower priority and a longer set-up
time. I frequently get hit out of it. Works best when you side-swipe
opponents instead of trying to kick them head-on.
X sliding kick
Same as Hawk's.
General playing tips:
Never, ever, ever get caught in a group of enemies. If you don't use
your 360 or run away, you _will_ get beaten into a pulp.
Items are good. Large objects are good from far away to medium,
bludgeoning are great for close range, and guns are as good as your
marksmanship. Remember that you can kick if you hold forward. One of
my favorite things with a gun is to kick an opponent first; then, while
he or she is reeling from the kick or blocking, shoot 'em in the face.
;) Works with everyone except Smasher, who knocks down with his kick a
lot. Besides, he looks so idiotic with a gun...
If they block, and there's no one to hit you out of it, grab. Make sure
to just hit T once. This will do a backfist if you whiff. If you hit
it twice, you'll do three punches and turn around! Not good.
Incidentally, if you hold back while hitting T the second time, you'll
turn around first, then backfist right back in the same direction you
were facing.
Use the enemy's stupidity to your advantage. Try to maneuver so that
thrown boxes will hit others, motorcycles will mow over pursuers ,then
hit the wall they can't turn to avoid...
Try to kick enemies on the ground. This is free damage, and many times
they will take longer to get up. Or, if you're Smasher, roll over them.
;)
Use the zoom button. There's a lot you miss up close.
Try to break everything!
And try to have fun, too!
Sherwin Tam s-tam@students.uiuce.du
