Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus

Other products 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: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00007KUUC
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,352 in Video Games (See Bestsellers 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

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, not worth the hype, April 4, 2003

By	Rikonius - See all my reviews

The game is ok, but certainly not what the hype would have you believe.
It's the Jeepers Creepers Semi-Star of fighting games. It's not all that good, but it's not all that bad.

First: The Good:
The graphics are amazing.
The contusion modeling (that's bruising, for the vocabulary-challenged) is very nice. Clothing damage is cool too.

The Mediocre:
The controls are average. Not great, not all that bad. Limb damage is ok, but not all that amazing a feature

The Bad:
BLATANT FALSE ADVERTSING:
We all saw the ad. They show the fighters going at it, then one of them hits a shoulder, or does a throw where they pull their oponent's elbow down hard on their shoulder, they cut to that animated skeleton model, and the announcer goes "bones will break!" Not like that at all. Basically, the limb damage is just a hit damage penalty and a slight animation difference. And they can still use the limb. It's really more like you just gave the guy a charlie horse. Also, you can only damage one limb at a time.
The computer cheats in Quest mode. Combos are supposed to be unblockable if the first hit lands, but I lost count of how many times I'd land a couple hits in a combo, only to have the computer fighter block and dish out a punishing countermove. The amount of damage a move does also depends on whether it's you or the computer controlling the fighter. Master Sage's wheelbarrow, sliding "butt"-kick move (not the moves real name) takes off a sliver when you do it, but if the computer is Master Sage, then it takes off about a quarter of your life bar. It only seems to do this in Quest mode. the other one-player modes have not been cheating, as far as I can see.

What would make this game better?
First off, a true skeletal model for the fighters, where you could break limbs and have them flop around. Dislocations would be cool too. And something where you could dislocate jaws with real powerful punches. Maybe have a full body X-Ray of each fighter as an after-match bonus feature.
Second, the computer doesn't need to cheat.
Third: I know the programmer is trying to get away from Mortal Kombat, but this is a game that's hyped for its brutal moves, so is a "crippler" style finisher too much to ask?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Beleive The Hype!!, April 16, 2003

By A Customer

First off the only plus I can find in this game is the Graphics. Although every character has their own moves + combos, they are very basic and easy to learn.There will be no strategy guide for this game. The games replay value even with friends over is very little. Worst of all the camera angle changes the game makes while fighting will cause you to throw a controller or two. I was highly dissapointed in this game becasue I looked forward to playing another good fighting game on Xbox besides Dead OR Alive 3. Not!!Still waiting!! Still playing DOA3.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tao Feng--the next big thing?! :D, March 12, 2003

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

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