Fight Club

12/12/04

1999's Fight Club was a fantastic surprise of a film that took a blood-soaked machismo fest and turned it into a film about America's obsession with consumerism and fanatical subcultures. For the videogame adaptation of the film, Vivendi's developers threw that all out the window and has given gamers a fighting title that makes the absolutely miserable Kakuto Chojin look good. The game is such a mess of poor combat options, generic graphics and wasted storyline, it's not even worth talking about. Honestly, you'll get more enjoyment playing bloody-knuckles or rock/paper/scissors with a friend. This is a game that could have been good, if the developers actually understood their source material. Instead, they thought they were making a fighting game. As I've said, this game is so bad, it's barely worth talking about. So let's keep this review short. First off, there's the storyline, which is completely disposable. In it, you try to become a member of Tyler's Project Mayhem, an anarchist group. How do you do it? You fight, and fight and fight. Nothing else matters nor is required. It's lame, and won't waste more than a few hours of your time. Fighting, the core of this game, is weak and wasteful. Characters move like they are swimming in syrup, button response is sluggish, and don't get me started on the generic fighting system. I've seen dozens of games with a better combo system than this. Couple the basic fighting with dumber than dirt AI, and you've got a recipe for a big fat yawn session. Music from the original film is the audio's only saving grace, which is a mix of bad voice acting and otherwise bland music. Fighting sounds are so-so, with most hits sounding like someone being pimp-slapped. The visuals fare slightly better, with good character models, nice environments and a solid frame rate. Being a huge fan of Fight Club the film, I expected more of this game, and was sorely let down on every level. It makes no sense as to why the game feels like a part-time project, since the developers couldn't have been hurried to finish it (after all, it was licensed four years after the fact). It's just a waste of a strong license. I really hope Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the book this mess is based upon, had nothing to do with ok'ing this game. Avoid at all costs, even if it's in the discount bin.
Gameplay: 4
A throwaway story and poor fighting mechanics do not gameplay make
Graphics: 6.5
Good character models and environments..
Sound: 6
Well, at least they licensed some of the movie's music.
Replay: 3
You'll be hard pressed to play through it once, much less again.
Overall: 4
Fight the urge to purchase this.
--Craig Falstaff
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