Review - Way of the Warrior

Have you recently played a 3DO Multiplayer game? Want to write a review? Post it here!

Moderators: Devin, Bas, 3DOKid

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Review - Way of the Warrior

Post by Trev » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:07 pm

Image

Fact - Way of the Warrior was one of the best selling games for the 3DO platform. Fact - This game brought much attention to developer Naughty Dog (who later went on to make the popular Crash Bandicoot games) Fact - Way of the Warrior is a great game ... ? Well, perhaps not.

Both gamers and critics seem to have a love/hate view of this title. This is no myth ... I've read numerous reviews supporting both sides. Will I join the masses in my review, or be one of the few to straddle the fence? Lets see...

To start, the graphics in this game are great! :) I can't deny that this is a very attractive title to look at (I'm sure even the game's harshest critics would agree on this point) Although all the stages take place in the same mountain temple, there is some good variety among them. I am sure that the impressive visuals were one of the big selling points for this game.

Image
Image Image

How does the audio fare? That really depends on your view of the band White Zombie, which make up the games soundtrack. I don't care for this style of music at all, but was surprised that it didn't get on my nerves. It certainly seems to fit the game's style. The potential to offend though is present (3 magazine called it "...strikingly, harshly vulgar.") Truth be told, between all the on screen action and the sound effects, I couldn't make out much of the lyrics (probably a good thing)

Image

Gameplay ... umm. Honestly, this area does not fare that well. A huge blow (no pun intended) since this is the biggest factor. When you compare it to other great 3DO fighters like 'Street Fighter' or 'Samurai' it just doesn't come close. I'll explain a few reasons why.

One - Control. I found it tough to pull off some of the regular moves in this game, never mind special ones! I've played with multiple controllers too, and none were very satisfying. I should note also, that I am not a newbie when it comes to fighting games. If I struggled, I can only imagine how more casual players fare.

Two - Artificial Intelligence. I had to set the handicap very low to beat this game, and frankly I am not motivated to try and progress on a harder setting. The computer characters alternate between stupid play, and frustrating play. Sometimes I can stand and lob projectiles at them for the whole match (no attempts to jump, block, etc... :roll: ) Other times I am fortunate to get a shot in, my character being tossed all over the screen. There seems to be a serious lack of balance, and the AI fares poorly as a result ... it just isn't very good.

Three - ... well, it's a bunch of little things really. The story line in this game is so stupid in my opinion, and reminds me of bad Atari Jaguar fighting games (no offense to Jag owneres, but Kasumi Ninja, Fight for Life, c'mon) Samurai Shodown proves good fighting games don't need ridiculous story lines. I also hate the games's animation. I don't care if 3DO gave this title an award, the animation is indeed "clunky" (3DO Game Secrets, vol 2) I really dislike the way the characters jump in particular. The demo mode features the same two fighters and background, Kontori's stage is much too dark, objects drop on the screen at random, magical elements feel tacked on and are not needed, etc... Again, much of these things are small, but they add up to make the game a poor package. :(

Image

Overall, while my original intent was to fall squarely between the love/hate views of this game, I can no longer do it. After spending enough time playing this title (for quite a while I might add), my mind is made up. It is not that good. Naughty Dog should have spent more time on fixing the gameplay, and less on other less important things ... graphics, picking up a popular music licence, character bios in the manual, etc... What we have here is a poor Mortal Kombat clone (make no mistake, this is very much a clone, right down to some of the characters and the "fatalities") Only for graphic lovers, collectors, and those who purchased the 'Maniac Pack' in which it was also bundled. I'm bracing myself for the backlash ...

-Trev
Last edited by Trev on Wed Feb 08, 2012 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

Benny
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 4:22 pm

Post by Benny » Sat May 26, 2007 5:41 pm

I see no one has posted anything on this game. So I'll take a stab at it. I personally liked the game, in fact it was my whole reason which turned me one to the 3do system in the first place, beside the overall graphics of many games.

But like you said it is a love/hate thing with this one. I think it was a good choice having White Zombie for the soundtrack. A heavy metal beat I thought was a lot better than the drum beats of Mortal Kombat or the melodies of Street Fighter 2. It more or less for me got me into the mood.
The A.I. that is imbedded in the game is great. Although some do not prefer the hardness of games. I do prefer the challenge. For some that don't understand this, Naughty Dog designed an AI system for this game, so the character would show a little aggresion with the opponents. This means a character you could not beat would get harder and more aggressive with their skills. this is a love/hate thing, with hate waying out more than anything. For me, it really made me want to discover the moves, which like all fighting games seems to be the movement of Street Fighter 2. After sometime with the game, I did beat it on one level below hard.
The movement I will have to agree is very choppy and not smooth at all. I believe this is due to Naughty Dog designing every charater with many different moves and numerous fatalities. But once you get adjusted to the movement of the game, you can do so much with the characters.
Overall the game, IMHO, is something that was designed to compete with the other fighting games, by adding the popular qualities of most fighting games such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter 2 and possibly Art of Fighting ( Remeber the games pans in and out depending how close you are to the opponent), with there own uniquiness. As far a plot goes, it is similar to any other fighting game out there.

Still to this day in age, you take any fighting game that was made any play it, I bet you would agree that WOTW, puts up a good fight.

Benny

User avatar
bitrate
3DO DEMI-GOD
Posts: 944
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:35 am

Post by bitrate » Sat May 26, 2007 7:54 pm

It's funny how polarizing this game is on people. I don't think I have ever come across another game with so many on either side of the fence and no one actually ON the fence.
I appreciate certain aspects of the game, but the whole "use your family and friends as the characters" bit really turns me off for some reason.
And, as stated, the character animation is poor.

Benny
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 4:22 pm

Post by Benny » Thu May 31, 2007 5:51 pm

I can see where lot of people hate the character animations in this game, But why dislike the fact they used family and friends for the actors? I have read this issue somewhere else and don't understand. Would it have made a difference if they used non-related actors in this game? probably not and the same would go is the Mortal Kombat series used family and friends for their actors.


BTW: did anyone noticed the that book of warriors is a knock off the the "necronomicon" from the Evil Dead series. I just noticed that the other day.

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Post by Trev » Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:17 pm

It's funny how polarizing this game is on people. I don't think I have ever come across another game with so many on either side of the fence and no one actually ON the fence.
The only other 3DO game I can think of that comes close is Immercenary. Opinions are all over the place on that game too. I personally dislike it but I know of others who love it. Close 2nd to WOTW I think.

User avatar
3DOKid
3DO ZONE ADMIN
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:21 pm
Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Contact:

Post by 3DOKid » Sat Jun 02, 2007 11:59 pm

Way of the Warrior is rat pooh. Seriously. Unpleasant to see. Unpleasant to hear. UNpeasant to play with.

User avatar
UnholyTancred
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 437
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:49 am
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Contact:

Post by UnholyTancred » Sun Jun 03, 2007 1:19 am

Way Of The Warrior is too bad to describe in words. Even Primal Rage is better.

*shudders*
"Democracy for an insignificant minority, democracy for the rich — that is the democracy of capitalist society."
-Vladimir Lenin

User avatar
3DOKid
3DO ZONE ADMIN
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:21 pm
Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Contact:

Post by 3DOKid » Sun Jun 03, 2007 8:14 am

UnholyTancred wrote:Way Of The Warrior is too bad to describe in words. Even Primal Rage is better.

*shudders*
i thought i was harsh

User avatar
bonefish
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 351
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:22 pm

Post by bonefish » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:40 pm

But, is it better than Rise of the Robots? That is the question.

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Post by Trev » Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:20 pm

But, is it better than Rise of the Robots? That is the question.
For 2 player games, WOTW is certainly better. ROTR made 1 player always choose the Cyborg character. Foolish!

User avatar
Vance
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 727
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:58 pm
Location: Cal-e-for-nie-ay

Post by Vance » Sun Dec 09, 2007 3:46 pm

bitrate wrote:It's funny how polarizing this game is on people. I don't think I have ever come across another game with so many on either side of the fence and no one actually ON the fence.
This would be the first time I've ever heard anybody say a damn thing nice about the game, actually. What fence are we talking about, a concentration camp's?
Benny wrote:I can see where lot of people hate the character animations in this game, But why dislike the fact they used family and friends for the actors?
Because it made badass ancient ninja warriors look like the dorks who looked forward to high school calculus class?

ManAndDjinn
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:53 pm

Post by ManAndDjinn » Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:09 pm

I really liked WotW, but it's something you can't really take serious. It's really fun after a bit of drinking and playing against friends who are equally terrible at the game.

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Post by Trev » Fri Oct 31, 2008 2:02 am

It's really fun after a bit of drinking and playing against friends who are equally terrible at the game.
Perhaps this is why I did not enjoy it :wink:


Btw, welcome to the forum.

ManAndDjinn
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:53 pm

Post by ManAndDjinn » Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:08 pm

Trev wrote:
It's really fun after a bit of drinking and playing against friends who are equally terrible at the game.
Perhaps this is why I did not enjoy it :wink:


Btw, welcome to the forum.
I recommend it!

mosul210
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:41 am

Post by mosul210 » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:33 pm

Way of the Warrior was one of my favorite games on my 3DO. The graphics were fantastic, and the audio is still one of my favorite video game soundtracks of all time. The White Zombie tunes really get your blood pumping - which is great when you're trying to pummel your opponent.

The game play I feel lacked some depth, and originality. That being said I don't think it was too bad. The overall experience of the game is top notch, definitely recommend.

User avatar
GeneStealer
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:17 pm

WOTW

Post by GeneStealer » Tue Feb 16, 2010 12:15 am

i really liked WOTW... i found th controls to be a bit daunting at first, only because i'm so used to the Street Fighter series and the Mortal Kombat series. after i got used to the controls, it was quite fun especially with multiplayer. i don't take it too seriously... i don't think it was meant to be a serious game, but it is quite fun once you learn how to use the magic and do all the moves.

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Post by Trev » Fri Oct 22, 2010 3:29 am

Thought I'd bump this old review of mine in light of this recent thread ...

http://3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1919

Nearly 3 years later (wow, has it been that long?) my opinion of WOTW has actually gotten worse. Still is a good looking game though ...
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5

User avatar
Tatsumaru
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:53 pm
Location: Brazil

Post by Tatsumaru » Wed Jan 19, 2011 2:08 am

I still had not played this game yet, but from what I saw on youtube videos, this game looks pretty terrible.
I'll download it and play to see for myself.

ATARI5200
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:05 pm
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Post by ATARI5200 » Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:31 am

After reading the reviewing authors comments, I can not help but to say that there is an apparent loathsome type of underlining bias within the reviewer commentary. Leave me to wonder.... he must get his a-handed to him even when playing against an actual opponent.

Is there any self respecting, genre leading games that hasn't seen its share of clones? Ummm! Don't bother answering, the response is obvious. Just as obvious as the games influence on its parent games ie MK evolution. It you don't follow play WOTW again (it won't hurt you, that bad). Or just read a couple of older in depth reviews of this game, attention to the noted "split", regarding the games original similarities to the former.

Then, play the former! Obviously must would prefer to anyway. Now, take another look at the third best 3do US released fighter. WOTW is more of a fighting simulation, thats why its so hard! The AI was designed to be challenging, jus as the opening audio would suggest... WOTW was intended to be the end all in the legacy of digitized fighters.

Do any of you recall a sequel to WOTW? Again, the question needs not to be answered. What is available for us to question and theorize is what happened in the wake of the "WAY". Midway, decided to step there game up and come with a slew of incorporations to keep it's game viable in the dominant genre of the day.

Obviously the MK series was more popular then the WOTW, but that's like (comparing) adidas competing w/ nike! (or apples to oranges) Just as Nike is the leader in its market, so to was MK (or was it?). However this doesn't make adidas any less viable or sustainable then the former. Friendship, babalities etc. are obviously (big budget), Midways response to the "WAY".

If there are any that would like to negate these statements, I welcome the challenge! Not opinions, but credible facts or other valid points of reasoning, thank you.

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Post by Trev » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:30 am

Well, I am biased ... I like good games, and I don't care for bad games. :wink:

I thought I articulated my frustrations w/the AI fairly well, and it wasn't so much the difficulty, but what made it difficult which, imho, is that the AI is pretty poor ... was there a particular point I addressed that you were wondering about? (nice shot btw, but I'm actually pretty good at 2d fighters)

As for being a clone, I've no problem w/that ... as long as its a good clone. There are a ton of clone games that I enjoy, including many on 3DO (BattleSport being one example) Even though WOW copies many elements from MK, that wasn't the focus of my review (and indeed, isn't that big a deal for me) Taken on its own, WOW has more than its fair share of problems, even w/o being compared to the more popular title.

I'm glad you've been able to enjoy the game so much. Our opinions just differ (which seems to be the norm w/this game, and is no big deal) Thanks for reading the review, and for the bump.
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5

User avatar
Austin
Master Poster & Pricing Expert
Posts: 1839
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:30 am
Location: Fairfax, VA
Contact:

Post by Austin » Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:50 am

While Way of the Warrior looks a bit like Mortal Kombat in form, it plays far different. And not in a good way, if you ask me.

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Post by Trev » Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:10 am

Linking the current thread for a shameless plug for one of my most viewed reviews. :wink:

http://3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopi ... 50&start=0

Also hate for the last comments to be from some banned user insulting my skillz. 8)
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5

User avatar
Austin
Master Poster & Pricing Expert
Posts: 1839
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:30 am
Location: Fairfax, VA
Contact:

Post by Austin » Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:51 am

You are shameless.

Oh, and you get the "post of the week" award for spelling skills with a "Z". That's some serious l33t speak there.

:lol:

User avatar
Trev
3DO ZONE MOD
Posts: 4036
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: States
Contact:

Post by Trev » Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:19 pm

Austin wrote:You are shameless.

Oh, and you get the "post of the week" award for spelling skills with a "Z". That's some serious l33t speak there.

:lol:
Post of the week? Sweet! :D

Skillz to pay da billz. 8)
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5

elitegamer
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 11:08 pm

Post by elitegamer » Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:46 pm

....snip.

Negativity deleted as it may put off other contributors. Which I am trying to support.

I hope I'm making myself crystal clear.

User avatar
Austin
Master Poster & Pricing Expert
Posts: 1839
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:30 am
Location: Fairfax, VA
Contact:

Post by Austin » Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:19 pm

elitegamer wrote:After reading his work... I'm I right or wrong? Your thoughts, views would be greatly appreciated. There is reason within the madness, if some would be gracious enough to participate.
We are not here to critique others work. Their opinions, perhaps.. :lol: ..but their work, no. This is far from a professional site, nor does anyone get paid to write these reviews. It's a labor of love. If you have any concerns over the quality of the writing, my advice to you is to keep it to yourself.

User avatar
3DOKid
3DO ZONE ADMIN
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:21 pm
Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Contact:

Post by 3DOKid » Thu Jan 26, 2012 9:56 am

Austin wrote:
elitegamer wrote:After reading his work... I'm I right or wrong? Your thoughts, views would be greatly appreciated. There is reason within the madness, if some would be gracious enough to participate.
We are not here to critique others work. Their opinions, perhaps.. :lol: ..but their work, no. This is far from a professional site, nor does anyone get paid to write these reviews. It's a labor of love. If you have any concerns over the quality of the writing, my advice to you is to keep it to yourself.
Totally agreed.

Rust
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 11:45 pm

Post by Rust » Mon Feb 06, 2012 6:09 pm

elitegamer wrote: I hope I'm making myself crystal clear.
Not really.

User avatar
3DOKid
3DO ZONE ADMIN
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:21 pm
Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Contact:

Post by 3DOKid » Mon Feb 06, 2012 6:35 pm

Rust wrote:
elitegamer wrote: I hope I'm making myself crystal clear.
Not really.
It was an edited post. A little warning to the excitable little tyke.

Rust
3DO ZERO USER
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 11:45 pm

Post by Rust » Mon Feb 06, 2012 6:43 pm

3DOKid wrote: It was an edited post. A little warning to the excitable little tyke.
Ah, I see. I'm used to 'snip' being used to trim quotes.

Post Reply