Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus

by Microsoft

Product Features

• The Pale Lotus and the Black Mantis are two clans fighting for control of the West Coast colonies of New China, while searching for an ancient artifact. This dispute will only be settled with combat amongst the most powerful warriors of each clan.
• Experience bone-crushing realism as you watch clothes rip, blood spill, bones breaking and bruises swelling
• Fully interactive environment -- punch holes in walls, throw opponents through glass and more
• Use your Chi to unleash awesome special attacks that devastate your enemy and his surroundings
• More than 100 unique moves, throws and combos for each fighter

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00007KUUC
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches ; 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,365 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

From a few of the guys who gave us the 2-D classic Mortal Kombat comes Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, a gorgeous full 3-D fighting game that dares to be a bit different from the norm.

In the world of Tao Feng the Pacific Northwest is called New China. Two rival factions, with six members each, fight to gain two mystical tablets that grant awesome power. On the side of the Pale Lotus we have the 90-year-old Master Sage, the attractive Jade Dragon, a hothead appropriately named Fiery Phoenix, the cat-like Fierce Tiger, levelheaded cop-by-day Divine Fist, and the enigmatic and metallic Iron Monk. The bad guys, called the Black Mantis, are: Wulong Goth, looking crazy in a praying mantis costume; the mystical Fatalist; the alluring Divinity; the scary Geist; and a hulking brute named Exile. Each fighter has his own fighting style, powers, and core strategy, and the game design is such that you have to relearn the game with each new fighter.

The slower pace of the fighting in Tao Feng might put off genre fans looking for something more frantic. The controls are simple and include a few innovations. For example: pushing back on the gamepad blocks, but too much blocking might result in losing the use of your limbs. The rest of the buttons are two basic punches, two kicks, all modified by the direction you press and the use of the shoulder buttons and jumping attacks. You can even taunt your foe, which, like hitting them, charges your Chi bar. Chi can be unleashed in a devastating attack with the white button, and this attack is also modified by how you use the direction pad. The result is a fluid game of blocking, striking, and stringing combos, and occasionally taking advantage of your Chi powers to take out your opponent.

The game looks great and features arenas filled with hazards and breakable objects. The only problem with the game is that some animation bugs didn’t get squashed before the game shipped--when executing attacks, characters sometimes instantly jerk into a new stance. Fortunately, the underlying gameplay is strong enough that a player can forgive such faults, and concentrate on the gory action instead. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

• Great graphics
• Limb damage
• Well-designed arenas

Cons:

• Animation quirks

Product Description

In Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus you'll battle for dominance as you seek an ancient secret that bestows immortality!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tao Feng--the next big thing?! :D, March 11, 2003

By 

franklin grimes (i'm somewhere where i don't know where i am) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus (Video Game)

I'll admit it, I've got a bias toward this game. That said, I hope this doesn't come across as being dishonest or too one-sided.

Despite the disadvantage of being the first game for a brand-new company, Tao Feng holds its own amongst the many existing fighters. Microsoft clearly raised its standards for its 1st-party games since Kakuto Chojin crashed and burned, and the team at Studio Gigante worked hard to bring a fresh game to the Xbox's exclusive library.

Tao Feng uniquely rewards aggressive gameplay with its chi system, which helps to vary gameplay in a few ways. If a player continuously lands attacks (blocked or successful), the chi meter builds up, resulting in either a special move ("chi attack") when full, or the chance to heal a damaged limb resulting from excessive blocking. Attacking off walls and poles is a fun new feature as well, eliminating the `trapped' feeling found in fighters with invisible walls. Preset Long- and Short-Form Combos give both veterans and newbies a chance at exploring the game's combos and juggles, some of which range up to 12 hits.

To me, the fighting game genre's `big 5' franchises (Tekken, DOA, Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur, and Mortal Kombat) have become irritatingly similar in the last few years-nearly identical aquarium and cage match levels pop up in DOA3 and VF4, Mortal Kombat's weapon system and large quantity of unlockable content mimiced the Soul Calibur of three years ago, and the differences between Tekkens sequels are far from staggering. While not as technically big and bright as these more well-established titles, the mere fact that Tao Feng was built with innovation in mind from its inception deserves a chance from Xbox owners and fans of the genre alike.

Lastly, if on the off-chance you're a parent reading this and your younger-than-17 year-old wants to pick up Tao Feng-don't be too alarmed at the 'Mature' rating. Sure there's some blood and the point of the game is to beat up your opponent, but there's no offensive language, sex, or nudity common in other 'Mature' games like the infamous Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. So if your kid is threatening to stop loving you if you don't buy him Tao Feng, remember that he's probably seen blood and fighting before and there are plenty of worse things he could be watching or playing on TV. :D

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars don't listen to the haters, December 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus (Video Game)

Fun well executed fighting game that tries to do something different. The people who hate this game obviously just want the same old same old all the time. Don't listen to them, this is a very fun game, especially against another player.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tao Feng, April 11, 2003

By 

CURTIS L. WILSON (TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus (Video Game)

As fighters go, this one isn't a stand out from all the rest except in a few very small ways. The visible damage to body and clothes is cool and the very best part is the damage to the environment from the fighting, not to mention the extra damage caused by certain danger zone areas. Being able to do attacks off of walls and swinging from poles is a plus too. And I couldn't forget to mention that the grab attacks are pretty neat. Now for the bad news. First of all, it lacks a good training set up. The one it has is so annoying that I quit using it 5 minutes after I bought and used the game. Secondly, it's misleading that you can actually break bones when all that really happens is a player can badly bruise their limbs from too much blocking making your punches weaker until you heal them. Third, the controls and button combinations are a little difficult in some characters and the characters aren't too unique, quite boring actually. Fourth, the game sometimes has a habit of switching camera angles in the middle of a fight at some pretty bad moments. More than once, I've tried to block an attack only to have the camera angle switch and I was facing the opposite direction. In a game that has no block option other than holding back on the pad, this is a major design flaw. What would have made this game the penultimate fighting game would have been a better comprehensive trainer, better fight controls, maybe the ability to do some kind of killer or nice finishing move a-la-mortal kombat, actual bone breaking moves that makes the other persons limb unusuable until healed, and some better thought out characters or maybe even more characters than what is offered. With all that said, this game has the makings to be the best fighter out there, the designers just fell a little short of the mark. The graphics and environments are first rate and in my opinion better than any other fighter out there. With a little more work and cleaning up on it's flaws, this could possibly take the lead as the best if the programmers take all of this into consideration and make some serious design changes for Tao Feng 2. If so, I'd be the first one at the counter buying my copy.