Review: Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

Atari and Namco Bandai Games return us to three seasons of the Dragon Ball Z T.V. series with Burst Limit developed by Dimps Corp. for 1 to 2 players.

As many of you know, I am one of the older of the game reviewers in the business. My sons always thought it was pretty cool to have a dad that played games with them. But there was one thing that I often avoided doing with them, and that was watching some of their cartoons with them. Hey, if Bugs Bunny was on, I was down for that in an instant, but you wouldn't catch me watching an episode of Captain Planet or Even Dragon Ball Z. And if you are like I was and have avoided even the Dragon Ball Z games, then I'm here to tell you that Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a really good game to start with. I have played many of the Dragon Ball Z games and thought many were okay, but this one shines a little brighter with me.

First thing I noticed was that Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit made it easy for newcomers to the game and series alike as well as fans to be able to pick it up and easily start to understand what was going on. It walked you through the controls with a tutorial that went through each step-up in an easy-to-accomplish sequence. You would just keep working on the button sequence until you got it right and then it would take you on to the next level, and it all seemed like a natural progression. The tough part is that all of the trigger and shoulder buttons tend to have multiple uses, but there aren't a bunch of special attacks to memorize for each character which makes it less daunting.

Some practice will be required to get down the timing needed to block your opponent's attacks and return with attacks of your own. But after the time spent in the tutorial, most people will at least be partially ready. If not, don't worry because you can always go back and practice again.

Initially you will be facing off with three enemy as you progress through the Z-Chronicles story mode. Progression through this mode will unlock all 21 combatants. You'll play through three sagas in the Z-Chronicles and enjoy some of the best of the battles. I have to admit that my sons were telling me about the battles all the way through as I was playing it. You'll battle the through the Saiyan, Frieza, and cell sagas, and though there are two more and this is only a small part of the whole anime, at lease the storyline is told with some consistency here keeping you on track.

There are more than fifty battles in the Z-Chronicles, and this will allow you to unlock most of the games drama pieces. These are cutscenes during the fight that add to the storyline and benefit the character by adding health or calling a partner for help. They really make the game feel more like anime rather than just playing a fighting game. You can unlock and equip three drama pieces, but to unlock then all, you'll need to play through Z-Chronicles several times. This will unlock new attacks, different partners, and even new character transformations that will also help you when you are ready to go online.

Speaking of online, though the AI in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is very good, nothing beats fighting a real thinking and completely irrational human being. Like my sons for example who just love any opportunity to kick their pop's butt in a video game battle. Well the old man doesn't go down that easily, but he can be beaten. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit has Versus mode that allows you to play with opponents in the same room with you which is my favorite, or you can play with other players from all over the world. And I can tell you that there are others from around the world who are looking for a little "kick Maverick's butt" action too, and they tend to gloat as much as my sons do when they win too. The one problem that we ran into was that on the online games we had some major problems with lag. Sometimes if we found someone from a proximity close to us it was better but that was rare.

Another of the game's interesting modes is a training mode that has three different trial modes. These are kind of cool in that they can kind of hone your skills. One is called Survival mode and you have to defeat 100 opponents, one right after the other and you only get a small portion of your health restored between fights so you really have to get good at blocking and evading. Time Attack mode challenges you to beat 10 opponents in the shortest time possible. Then Battle Point gives you points based only on the different special moves and attacks that you use to win a series of battles. Each of these modes keeps you on your toes and all together gives you a complete workout.

Ultimately, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a decent fighting game. Yes it does have its limits, but it has a good story line, excellent fighting moves that are fairly easy to learn and is a fun game over all. The environments are deep and rich and the player models are well done and designed to appear just like the anime series characters did, which I believe is the objective here. the voice acting was decent though I think the Japanese was better. And if you haven't ever picked up a Dragon Ball Z game before, I again would suggest that this could easily be the first one you could pick up and it would be a wise move on your part. I think you will find this a fun fighting game that is more fun with a friend. After all, what is more fun that beating up your friends, than beating them up with anime characters? Nothing I know of. Cya in there!