Jet Li Rise to Honor – PS2 – Preview

E3 2003 –
First Look

His
triad boss, the one he was sworn to protect, has been assassinated. Now the
warrior must travel to
San Francisco
to find the estranged daughter of the dead boss. Does all this sound like the
plot of a Hong Kong action movie? Well, if it does, there is a good reason.

The
name of the game is Rise to Honor, a Playstation2 release, slated for an early
2004 release.

The
concept for the game started in 2002. Jet Li, the action star, wanted to be
involved in a game and the concept behind Rise to Honor was born. Not only did
he have input into the story, but motion-capture allows his in-game character to
look and move like the action star.

Jet
Li’s character is not a one-man wrecking crew. Sometimes you have to avoid the
fight through defensive modes of play, and at other times you have to run. In a
nice twist on the combat genre, plays can’t take the approach that the first one
to hit wins. On the contrary, Jet Li uses defensive skills to avoid taking the
hits. The more proficient he is, the better he stands a chance at avoiding the
blows.

With
strong character animations, including actual facial expressions and that
general attitude inherent in a Jet Li character, the game should manage to find
a solid niche in the combat console arena. The environments are also
interactive.

Rise to
Honor promises a skilled combat challenge, but players of lower experience in
the genre will also be able to compete rather well in this environment. The
game, while interrupted for cutscenes, takes place in a seamless world.