Customer Reviews

Rise To Honor

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Any enjoyment you might derive from this game is from playing as Jet Li in an old-school fight setting. When the novelty of that wears off, what you have left is an incredibly repetitive game with a godawful camera and an ill-advised control scheme.

Yes, bonus marks are in order for using Cantonese in Hong Kong with subtitles. (As a native Hong Kong person I can say the dialogue is less stilted than usual, though still flawed) Though I might add that international espionage games like Syphon Filter has been doing that for years. The settings are authentic enough, with the battles in the Hong Kong settings being especially evocative of kung fu films.

But is it worth the very problematic gameplay? Just barely. If you've seen/played the demo already, you'll know that the entire fight system consists of slapping the right analog stick. While the array of moves you can unleash is impressive, motion-captured well from Li's own silhouette, this system is very ill conceived from a fighting-game perspective. Worse still, the camera is so restless that you could be in the middle of a combo against an enemy, and then the perspective shifts so that you're suddenly hitting at air and the enemy's to the side. So many game designers have misled notions about being filmmakers, not realizing that the best perspective for gaming is a fixed perspective. This problem came to a head during the ludicrous "escape from capture" stage where the camera actually cuts you off, preventing you from seeing what's behind you, even though there are guards sweeping flashlights that way that you're supposed to avoid! This is simply a moronic use of the camera.

Aside from this, the fighting gets tired awfully quickly, especially since the designers committed the ol' "this level never ends" sin. This game alleviates this problem by having lots of checkpoints where you can continue the game, but during some of the "one against 14" stages, the endless brawling still gets tired. And whose idea was it to have enemies pull off 18-hit combos, where if you get hit the first time, you get to watch your character get pummelled for 10 seconds straight?

I actually find the gunfight segments of this game more fun than the endless, endless hand-to-hand stages. This is where the dual analog sticks truly shine, allowing you to smoothly run from spot to spot forwards and backwards while your hands can aim independently and a top button allows you to do Time Crisis-style ducking. There's even a crazy level where you fight off about 100 enemies with two nailguns!

This game would probably remain tempting to Jet Li fans because of the role-playing aspect of it. And I wouldn't blame them -- this was my reason for buying this game, and there are a few levels that I truly enjoyed. The overall game, however, is really not that great, and I would recommend only playing it in small doses. It will get tired mightily quickly if you sit with it for more than an hour.

I am currently playing Rise to Honor, it is definately a different kind of adventure/fighting game. I know of no other PS2 game that doesn't use the triangle, Square, Circle, and X button.

This game uses only the Right and Left Analog, R1, L1 and R2, L2 buttons. For fighting you simply push the right analog towards your enemy.

The plot moves along briskly and there is alot of fighting.
I sincerly hope that you aren't looking for a great story with the game. This story is merely the excuse for fighting and shooting) Get ready for some tired fingers particularly during gun fights when you have to push the R1 button and push right analog forward everytime you want to fire. Diffculty wise I found it not too bad I've played a total of maybe 5 hours and am 80% finished.

Graphics are okay Jet Li looks a little fat and if you are looking for realism, remember this is like a remake of a Hong Kong action movie. (Where reality takes a back seat). But on the bright side your dual handguns, ala Chow Yun Fat, will never run out of ammo. However your stamina, and blocking ability will drain if over taxed. I hope I gave you some of the answers you are looking for.

i love fighting games, and in this one you fight, you shoot alot. not much of a story, just enough to give you a reason to kickass, the game has great graphics, and sound, although it is strange not using the gamepad buttons, o button etc, you use the l1 r1 and analog buttons, it is a different, not bad thing.

pros: good graphics, lots of action,

cons: the controls get screwed up, you opponent will get you in a place where you can't turn or block, very frustrating. the game should also have a way to roll away, or straf

all in all i suggest you give it a try.

This game is fun as hell. About 2/3 of it is hand to hand and 1/3 is with guns. It's pretty challenging towards the end, and all the bosses are really fun to fight. However, it is very short, and a good gamer can probably beat it in a day or two. Nevertheless, its worth buying as there it is fun enough to play over

First of all this game rocks and you should really consider checking it out. It isn't worth the 40 dollar price tag but if you can get it for around 20 that's well spent money. The gameplay is awesome how you use the right analog stick you can do some really cool combos. The environments are totally interactive like throwing someone in a fish tank and see the fish tank break. The bosses are hard but the levels themselves aren't that terribly hard untill you get towards the end then it's really hard. The game is a tad short but don't let that fool you it's still a good game with great graphics. There's probably going to be a better game like this eventually but this game just set the bar for this new crazy genre.

I am currently playing this game it rocks.You are a bodygaurd
of a man who dies his last wish is to deliver a envelope to his daughter in San Fransisco.The hong Kong levels were a bit boring but the San Fransisco levels rule.Watch how the small Jet Li takes on people twice his size.Buy this game.

This a well balanced action game that should appeal to all action fans. Particularly unique is the fighting system where you use the right analog stick to both fight and aim, it's a welcome change from the standard mindless button mashing action gamers have been subjected to for decades. This new system tests your skills and reflexes and it will be interesting if future games follow this formula.

For die-hard Jet Li fans, once you complete the game, you can replay any scene using a Wong Fei Hong skin and Chen Zen skin (from the movie 'Fist of Legend') it would have been great if they included the skins from the movies 'Tai Chi Master', 'Swordsman 2' or even 'Black Mask'.

I played a demo of this game and it is alot of fun. You really do feel like your in a hong kong movie. Really fast paced fighting and the fact that you can interact with almost everything is cool. It's impressive how they blend alot of moves on the fly, and there is alot of moves. Good visuals, good audio, good gameplay, good story, good game.

Jet Li Rise to Honor awesome to say the least. As for the fun factor, I've had this game for 2 or 3 years and I STILL play it.
Pros:
This game is almost too fun because of the motion capture technology. It captures the very essence of what his fighting style really is and just how fast and agile he can really move. The Graphics aren't all that great but hey, for 2004 it could be worse. One of the greatest things about it is that is uses the analog sticks instead of the square or circle or triangle button. Also, because the analog can go in any direction, Jet Li can attack in all four directions. Another thing that's very innovative is the use of the R1 and L1 buttons, R1 being block, holding R1 and L1 to counter attack, and hold down L1 for Adrenaline. The cool thing is when you block you just dodge any incoming attacks that an enemy/ies throws at you. Then you just hold down L1 and flick the analog to Counterattack. The catch is that you can only dodge and do counters for so long, which is indicated by two bars right under your health. Also, Counterattacks deplete your Adrenaline bar, so use them wisely. Oh yeah, Adrenaline. Your Adrenaline bar fills up with the more attacks you get on an enemy/ies. (Usually they start you off with full Adrenaline) Getting to use weapons was a very nice touch. Although the Gun Controls are a little tricky at first, once you get the hang of it it's not long before you start gunnin' down enemies with ease. You also get to use swords, pipes, bats, bats with spikes, and even a chicken in one level. Another awesome feature, is that the levels are all split into Chapters. I know, you're probably thinking as in a lot of big levels. But it's not. The chapters are all little things like some of the small stuff that you do. Kinda like if you were in one spot for a while you can go there. Finally, the best thing is that when you beat the game, you can play it on hard mode, and you get two outfits (one is from "Once Upon a Time in China" and the other is from "Fist of Legend" or something closely related). Ok now for the Bad.

Cons:

This game was a little iffy on some of the levels. Most were very easy. Even the Final Boss is easy (but very fun). Some of the missions were so hard I can't believe that my brother and I got to the final boss. The Controls may be very well done, but the only thing is that there's no leveling up or anything that you can add to Jet. He just has the same 5 hits in each direction (which isn't bad, but it gets really annoying). The Weapons weren't really all that varied. The weapon was always the same type. In other words: it's always related to a sword (i.e. a crowbar, bat, a chicken...)so it was always the same length. It would have been nice if they could have added a Bo Staff or something... Another thing, was that the new outfits aren't all that great. Because they each have their own little perk which is either speed or more adrenaline (actually that's it) their health goes down easier which is not all that great.

All in all, this game may have had room for improvement, But it's still one of THE best martial art games out there. BUY IT NOW!!!! STOP WASTING TIME ALREADY!!!

I've read all the reviews of people saying this game is horrible. I'd say I have to disagree. The controls are kind of weird, and the camera views aren't always the most helpful. But without that right analog stick control it would be very difficult for those multiple opponent fights. I did find the unlimited ammo kind of odd, but the dive moves are pretty cool. I wish it was longer.
To make the game more interesting, try to figure out all the possible moves you can do. You're not going to do it in one sitting. Try using different characters once you unlock them; they have some different moves and abilities.
Overall, it's a very good game and worth buying.