“Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2” is not a thinking man’s game.
The game is available for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U, but the PS3 and Wii U versions are only available as digital downloads via their respective online services. I played the PS3 version of the game.
The game is based on one of the greatest Japanese anime shows of the 1980’s, “Fist of the North Star.” The general premise of which involves a post-apocalyptic world filled with horror and savagery where roving bands of super-muscular mohawked mutants terrorize the last remnants of civilization.
Also for some reason there are like a dozen martial arts masters wandering around this vast desert-like wasteland that can kill people in hilariously absurd and gruesome ways. Think “The Road Warrior,” but with kung-fu masters that can make people’s heads explode by punching them.
From this wasteland emerges our hero, Ken, a wandering martial arts master with giant eyebrows who looks suspiciously similar to Max from the “Mad Max” movies.
Ken seeks revenge upon his nemesis Shin, another martial arts master who grievously wounded him, threw him off a cliff and then stole his girlfriend.
The story is so schlocky and clichéd that I can’t help but fall in love with it.
The game’s story generally follows the plot of the TV show, which subsequently, was covered by the the first “Ken’s Rage” game released a couple years ago. KR2’s story is not an exact copy of KR1, as certain plot parts glossed over in the first game have been greatly expanded upon in this one, but it’s still disapointing that KR2’s story wasn’t more different from KR1.
The gameplay in KR2 is similar to that of the long-running 3-D beat-em-up “Dynasty Warriors” series. The player wades through numerous expendable chumps who offer little resistance and can be easily dispatched until he defeats enough of them to then face the boss of the level. The gameplay is shallow and repetitive, but fun in small doses.
This is the kind of game you play for an hour or two after a long day at work, when you just want to relax and unwind without having to think. It’s gameplay mechanics aren’t particularly deep, but work well with the sheer absudity of the game’s plot and setting.
KR2’s graphics are middling for a PS3 game. They look good compared to what has come before, but don’t stand out when compared to other games on the system. The coloring of the game feels bland, with most of the areas I played appearing to be drab and mostly brown, although that is in line with the world established by the game’s story.
The violence depicted in the game is so over-the-top as to become cartoonishly absurd and humerous rather than gruesome.
“Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2” is not for everyone. It’s gameplay is shallow and repetitive, and it’s story is very similar to the previous “Ken’s Rage” game, but for fans of the TV show or absurd 1980’s-style hyper-violence, check it out.