If Jackie Chan were a videogame (other than his own upcoming
Stuntmaster), hed be Power Stone. Much like Chans renowned style of comedic martial arts filmmaking, Power Stone is a two-player
competitive fighting game that allows players to freely roam about the stage with the ability to pick up, hurl, swing, or
hang from nearly everything in it. Players can still slug it out traditionally via punches, kicks, and throws, but the real
innovation of the game is to utilize ones surroundings against an opponent. This includes recovering the Power Stones that
magically appear during play. Since acquiring all three Stones will enable a player to do advantageous Power Fusion attacks,
its always a frantic cat and mouse chase where the hunter can quickly become the hunted (and vice versa) in their desperate
attempts at recovering the stones. Unlike most two-player fighting games, where mastery of skill and technique can ensure
victory, guile and wit are
of supreme importance in Power Stone to steal the stones first or cause your opponent to cough up the stones in their possession.
Even more shocking is how much a player is able to do in this game considering the simple joystick and three button (the
Dreamcast controllers extra buttons are used to simulate two-button combination presses) format. Anyone will be able to pick
up Power Stone in minutes and once a player is able to grasp the fundamentals, performing the more advance techniques isnt much
of stretch. No extensive studying or learning of elaborate directional motions or sequential button presses is necessary in
order to perform the moves in Power Stone. Even the special Power Fusion attacks and grab functionality is easily executed
by pressing different pairs of the three buttons available at the same time. Consequently, the simplistic controls cause the
game to lack a little depth as far as the interface goes, but what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in good production
values (graphically and aurally), intense pacing, and constant outwitting. Few games require players to be this crafty in order
to be victorious. Power Stone is an fine example of such and I had a riotous time playing it.
- Published January 16, 2000
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