Daikatana Review

John Romero (author of the Doom serial) returns to the FPS scene with his new masterpiece Daikatana. The game was designed to be a mixture of different types of FPS (Half-life, Quake etc.) and FRP games (gathering EXPs, organizing groups).

The game uses an enhanced version of the Quake II engine. The author claims that improvements have been made both on visual (fog, lighting) and audio (3D sound support) effects. Enhanced Sky Technology is one of the special improvements that make the sky look as if it was real. The author also states that these effects will make Daikatana run somewhat slower than Quake II did. This is an understatement because when the screen gets crammed with enemies and explosions the frame rate will go down to about 10 FPS.

Rats!? I hate them...

Eat this!

The plot is based on a typical "save-the-world" story. One evening an old man appears at Hiro's door telling him a story of the legendary Daikatana sword that fell into wrong hands and that past had been changed with it rendering present as gloomy as it is. Before he dies, he gets to tell Hiro that his daughter had been captured whilst trying to steal the sword. Being a true hero, Hiro sets off to action... This is where the game begins.

The game consists of four episodes in linear order. In the first episode you get to gather you company (you will be joined by Superfly and Mikiko), and find Daikatana. Once you do that you will meet Mishima, who will send you back through time. The remaining three episodes are concerned with your return to your own time and finding Mishima. It is up to you to decide what to do when you find him.

Single player campaign is more than interesting. You will keep thinking: "What now? What comes next?" until the very end. One of the novelties in this type of games is gathering EXPs. The number of EXPs you gain is proportional to the number of hit points of the enemy you've just killed. Once you gathered sufficient EXPs you gain a level. Your maximum level will depend on the episode you are currently playing (first episode will allow you to reach level two, while fourth episode will let you reach level five). Daikatana is also gathering EXPs and advancing, but when it advances - you don't. Another novelty is the save-game system. You can collect Save Gems during the game, each of them worth one saved game, and you get one saved game free of charge every time you complete a level.

The multiplayer resembles Quake II. There are five multiplayer modes: Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture The Flag (CTF), Death Tag (death tag has been modified from DOOM II, the goal of the game is to bring a BOMB BACKPACK to your team's SCORING ZONE) and Cooperative. Experience grows more rapidly in the multiplayer mode than it does in the campaign. Maximum level can be set in the multiplayer setup menu.

Having sidekicks was a good idea, but that aspect of the game was not sufficiently developed: your comrades will often hinder you rather than help you (they will get crushed by doors, fall into vats of acid and other unbecoming liquids and so on)... You can command their actions and use them when solving puzzles. Sometimes they will ignore your orders and you will have to instruct them several times before they do your bidding.

The game does look better than Quake II, but it also has far greater hardware requirements. Levels load partially, like they did in Half-life. There are about thirty weapons and seventy types of enemies throughout the game, which should provide enough variety.

Sound and music are something really special. All the sound has been packed up into MP3 files so you can listen to the ending sequence if you are too impatient. The music is the certainly the best video game music I have heard. The score can be run separately from the game, but it is most effective in increasing your level of adrenalin in game.

The best conclusion for this "must have" game is Romero's words:

"Thank you for your purchase of Daikatana! I mean that from the very bottom of my heart and I wish I could be right there with you while you're at home opening up the box, smelling the manual, installing the game and getting your first glimpse of the crazy world and insane storyline that I'm about to put you through."