''GoDai: Elemental Force'' is a video game released by The 3DO Company for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

in 2002. Initially the game was scheduled to release in Fall 2001.

Gameplay

''GoDai'' is a 3D

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...

with emphasis on melee combat. The game's environments are displayed through fixed camera angles. The player controls a ninja named Hiro, who starts the game unarmed but can collect a variety of Asian weapons throughout the game. These include blades such as swords and knives, spears and axes; all of which can be used to execute combo attacks. Larger weapons such as polearms have a longer reach, allowing Hiro to attack enemies without getting too close. Two weapons that the player has previously collected can be taken into each subsequent mission, more appear throughout the missions themselves, allowing Hiro to increase the amount of weapons he is carrying. Ranged weapons including shurikens and smoke bombs, and several types of ranged magical attacks like fireballs, can also be employed in tandem with close-quarters weapons. Hiro possesses the ability to glide through the air by willpower alone, during which the player retains full control of Hiro's movement as he descends. The effect has been likened to

wire-fu Wire fu is an element or style of Hong Kong action cinema used in fight scenes. It is a combination of two terms: " wire work" and "kung fu". Wire fu is used to describe a subgenre of kung fu movies where the stuntmen's or actor's skill is augm ...

movies and takes the place of jumping in the game, allowing the player to bypass combat and traverse the game world. Some enemies are able to use this ability too, and will pursue Hiro through the air. Hiro also has the ability to roll, a dodging move, which is accompanied by a ''

Max Payne ''Max Payne'' is a neo-noir third-person shooter video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment (''Max Payne'' and ''Max Payne 2'') and Rockstar Studios (''Max Payne 3''). The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York Ci ...

''-like

bullet-time Bullet time (also known as frozen moment, dead time, flow motion or time slice) is a visual effect or visual impression of detaching the time and space of a camera (or viewer) from those of its visible subject. It is a depth enhanced simulation of ...

effect.

Reception

The game received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Pong Sifu of ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' said, "Though the game's gliding feature is an inspired concept, trying to execute it, as well as most other moves, can be incredibly irritating due to extremely temperamental and unresponsive controls. Skip this one and watch '' The Swordsman II'' instead." The game was nominated for the "Worst Game of the Year on PlayStation 2" award at '' GameSpot''s Best and Worst of 2002 Awards, which went to '' Gravity Games Bike: Street Vert Dirt''.

Notes

References

External links

* 2002 video games Action games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games The 3DO Company games Video games about ninja Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Ashif Hakik {{Action-videogame-stub