2nd Op By

Gene Park 8.0 RATING

One of my favorite memories with my Playstation was replacing the game CD with music CDs during a level that's already been loaded. The futuristic racer WipEout XL had a fantastic soundtrack featuring Prodigy, but the game was even more fun playing to the entire Music For The Jilted Generation album. Warhawk's sea battle level suddenly had more urgency when I would put in a Type O Negative or Napalm Death record. And because the system's first racer, Ridge Racer, had zero loading times, I was able to play the game to De La Soul uninterrupted.

Sadly for reasons unknown to me, later games in the Playstation's life disabled that feature, and the only way I could enjoy my music was to play an obstructive stereo alongside the TV, drowning out the game's sounds. Fortunately the Xbox came along with a feature enabling you to rip your albums onto the hard drive, where they can be loaded up without having to load or reload the game. Too bad not many games take advantage of it. Even though it's a novelty, it's one that I want to take advantage of at every opportunity.

Here comes Deathrow, a little buried treasure of a game that utilizes one of my favorite features of the Xbox. There's something amusing about playing tackle Frisbee to the Rolling Stones' "Rip This Joint" and Wu-Tang Clan's "Shame on a Nigga." And thanks to the competent controls and camera, it's a joy to play.

Mike mentions that the sports view is somewhat of an odd design decision, and I admit I didn't use it at all besides to just try it out. But I can see the practical application of the view. Action view works great, but often times an enemy would come out of nowhere and kick me in the back of the head. It's frustrating to turn around and meet the opponent. The game sometimes auto-aims your attacks, but it doesn't always seem to work and feels very awkward. Thankfully there is a quick-turn feature that alleviates this problem somewhat.

Another thing is the game's premise, which I feel is a bit skeletal. Here is a game about a fake sport based on real sports. Even with drawing on the influence of football and rugby, making up a new sport for a videogame is a difficult thing, and the game could've been fleshed out in that department. The reason why Sega and EA's sports series are so successful is because a lot of their work relies on execution, as opposed to innovation. Deathrow offers a good command over the player and the team, and is a deceptively deep game. Still, it's not nearly as rewarding or fleshed out as a good Madden installment.

Despite that, Deathrow is a solid action multiplayer experience that is already largely ignored on the mainstream radar. It's a shame, because this game possesses attributes for mass appeal. Cuss words, violence, good control, serviceable graphics and a variety of multiplayer options. Also there aren't many games that let you have Ol' Dirty Bastard say "Hut one, hut two, hut three, HUT!" on time with your brutal tackle on an opponents shins, making you buckwild with the trigger, R trigger that is.

Public Opinion

Evilsmevil 9.0 Rating

I do not think you gave the game much credit for very succesfully combining the fighting and sports genres in such a way that the best way to play the game was to do equal measures of both. Also, all the features of the game needed to be combined to be succesful. I also thought the game deserved credit for its hugely enjoyable co-op camapign experience.

Deathrow doesn't get nearly enough credit from gamers (even though critics recognized its potential). Excellent graphics, controls, and music combined with an edge-of-your-seat-style sport that involves violence, taunting, and throwing discs--what more could you ask for? Also included are many teams, maps, and extras that are all unlockable, adding immensely to the replay value.

This game is not flawless, though. Excellent controls they may be, there are still a few issues that a player needs to learn to work with, and the sport itself is fairly simple. Deathrow's biggest problem lies in its use of violence, though, where the rule is that if your team can kill off the other team before the end of the game, you win. This results in a lot of cheap wins, but it's still tons of fun.

Easily one of the best under-the-radar types of game I've ever played, I recommend Deathrow to anybody looking for a good, violent time.

Reader Second Opinions