PixlBit

A rift of mediocrity.

As the first fighting game appearing exclusively on the Nintendo 64, Dark Rift is expectedly as barebones as they come. Perhaps if it took advantage of the system's added power it could have made a name for itself, but instead it's practically no different from the fighters on previous systems. In my case, it may be a good thing the game lacks content; I'm no fan of the genre so at least I don't have to play this one much.

The game offers up only three base modes, which are tournament, versus, and practice, all self-explanatory. At the least, one nice thing is that the practice mode displays the buttons as they are pressed, which makes it easier to figure out moves and see what the button combo was. The options menu contains the basics, such as number of rounds, time per round, and custom controls, but I just popped in to set it to Easy. I'm still waiting for an “I don't play fighters” difficulty setting.

The game features eight characters, each with an assortment of moves. They are pretty much the likes of which one would expect, such as the big muscular brute, the acrobatic sword-wielding lady, the person composed entirely of one element (in this case fire), etc. There are at least as many arenas as there are characters, but since they serve as nothing but a platform to fight on and have no special gimmicks, they're forgettable. I decided on Gore, the huge greenish dude wielding a large axe, figuring that perhaps sheer power can overcome my lack of button-pressing prowess.

The game plays mostly as a 2D fighter, using the D-pad to move towards and away from the opponent, crouch, and jump. The only time the third dimension comes into play is when the sidestep is used, a move done with the shoulder buttons which can evade most attacks if timed well. Using it too much can result in the fighter's back facing the camera, providing an awkward angle on the action. The C buttons are for various strengths of attacks, which can be stringed together if pressed in the proper order, and the A button appears to be used for special attacks. There's nothing more to it than that.

One complaint I always have about these games is that easy mode never stays easy, and it's no different here. Eventually, the opponents became too quick and block-spamy for a casual player such as myself. Perhaps it gets so tough because there are only three difficulties, but in that case, at least add one more; call it “n00b mode” if it must. Commendably, each round did have the AI adding one technique to their arsenal, such as strong moves, jump, blocking, etc., slowly building up to a competent opponent. But save something for the next difficulty up!

The game at least offers up a decent presentation. The arenas are decidedly bland, with a flat plain making up the ground and a big sprite displaying the background. To make up for it, the character models are quite detailed, and have good animations to bring them to life. The framerate is also consistent and smooth, which seems pretty important for a fighting game. Sound effects are a bit scarce, though convincing, but there is little in the way of voices.

With no real interest in the genre, Dark Rift is a tough game to score. On the whole, there is nothing outwardly bad about it, it just offers nothing to set it apart from the pack. All of the basic fighting game mechanics are here, and the game runs smoothly, so some fighting fans may find some enjoyment from the title, even if it is short-lived. As for me, I'm just relieved that I reached my minimum word count.