Sotenga
04-30-2005, 01:02 AM
Brutal: Paws of Fury is not a conventional fighter in the sense that all the characters are animals. No, I don't mean that they're all like Blanka. I mean they have somewhat unorthodox names like Kung Fu Bunny, Kendo Coyote, and Rhei Rat. I know, it sounds cheesy, but Brutal is certainly a unique fighter.
I've only played around with the Genesis version (and from what I gather, the Sega CD version is the best of the lot, and the SNES version is absolute poo), and it's actually not that bad. Sure, the balls-cheap AI is unmerciless (I stood a better chance in Eternal Champions, thank you very much), but the unique fighting system is somewhat realistic. See, you're rewarded greatly for counterattacks, which seriously drain the opponent of much energy. Normal hits that connect while the opponent does nothing do not help you that much, but if you strike at the right time, WHAM.
In the one-player mode, you aren't able to use any special moves on the offset, but learn more as you beat more opponents. It just blows that you have to rely on the basics while your opponent is shooting and flipping around the screen like a mofo, which adds to an already intolerable AI. Thankfully, special moves are all accesible in two-player duels, so this game's pretty fun against a friend, but with the CPU... damn.
So why am I, a lone wolf gamer, talking about Brutal? I just wanted to highlight a forgotten fighter. It's certainly not the cream of the crop of this genre, but it is a good diversion from Street Fighter every now and then. If you can get over the slightly ridiculous animal motif among the characters, then you'll find an enjoyable fighter that can be a good way to blow some hours.
I hear that the Sega CD version of Brutal is much, much better, and improves on many of the flaws of the Genesis version, such as somewhat sluggish control and weak-ass music, and from what I gather, it is a much more competent fighter than its cart-based counterparts. I just wanna know if anyone's played the SCD game to confirm this.
Furthermore, I have a rom of the 32X version, Brutal Unleashed, which has quite a few new characters up for playing and awesome looking backgrounds, but I don't think this game was officially released! See, after the fighting is over and I'm prompted to either skip the replay or watch it, the game freezes on me. I must ask, what happened to Brutal Unleashed? My guess is that it was planned around the time that the system started to crash and burn, and production was halted when Sega decided to call it quits with the 32X.
I've only played around with the Genesis version (and from what I gather, the Sega CD version is the best of the lot, and the SNES version is absolute poo), and it's actually not that bad. Sure, the balls-cheap AI is unmerciless (I stood a better chance in Eternal Champions, thank you very much), but the unique fighting system is somewhat realistic. See, you're rewarded greatly for counterattacks, which seriously drain the opponent of much energy. Normal hits that connect while the opponent does nothing do not help you that much, but if you strike at the right time, WHAM.
In the one-player mode, you aren't able to use any special moves on the offset, but learn more as you beat more opponents. It just blows that you have to rely on the basics while your opponent is shooting and flipping around the screen like a mofo, which adds to an already intolerable AI. Thankfully, special moves are all accesible in two-player duels, so this game's pretty fun against a friend, but with the CPU... damn.
So why am I, a lone wolf gamer, talking about Brutal? I just wanted to highlight a forgotten fighter. It's certainly not the cream of the crop of this genre, but it is a good diversion from Street Fighter every now and then. If you can get over the slightly ridiculous animal motif among the characters, then you'll find an enjoyable fighter that can be a good way to blow some hours.
I hear that the Sega CD version of Brutal is much, much better, and improves on many of the flaws of the Genesis version, such as somewhat sluggish control and weak-ass music, and from what I gather, it is a much more competent fighter than its cart-based counterparts. I just wanna know if anyone's played the SCD game to confirm this.
Furthermore, I have a rom of the 32X version, Brutal Unleashed, which has quite a few new characters up for playing and awesome looking backgrounds, but I don't think this game was officially released! See, after the fighting is over and I'm prompted to either skip the replay or watch it, the game freezes on me. I must ask, what happened to Brutal Unleashed? My guess is that it was planned around the time that the system started to crash and burn, and production was halted when Sega decided to call it quits with the 32X.