During Sony's State of Play stream on February 25th, Absolver developer Sloclap announced Sifu, a brand new martial arts action game coming soon to PlayStation platforms. The trailer was brief, but featured enough snippets of footage showcasing the impressive hand to hand combat system to engage fans of kung fu, or gamers generally interested in punching digital characters on the nose.
The action packed tale of revenge in Sifu is due out sometime this year. In the meantime, however, any and all greatly anticipating the title should dust off an old PlayStation 2 and track down a similar title released way back in 2004. Action star Jet Li's contribution to gaming was the somewhat underrated in Jet Li: Rise to Honor, a rather impressive showcase for motion capture technology and graphical prowess, and loving tribute to martial arts films as a whole.
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More often than not, attack moves in action and fighting games assign specific buttons to a particular skill, as seen in some of the best combat systems in video games. Jet Li: Rise to Honor opted for a different approach however, in an attempt to make the fighting feel as fluid and realistic as possible. Punches and kicks were not assigned to buttons like square and triangle, as would be expected, but rather combat moves were controlled by the second analog stick.
This means, that if an enemy were positioned to the left of Jet Li's character in the game, the player would swiftly move the right analog stick in the appropriate direction to attack. If the player was surrounded, the combat system was designed to be so responsive that the player could quickly chain together combos by consistently changing the direction of where they move the second stick. It all culminated in a sense of fluidity and seamlessness, which should be familiar to those who experienced the combat system in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
Considering the last game that Sloclap delivered was the aforementioned Absolver, a similar martial arts inspired adventure with a solid combat system as well, its no wonder interest is already high for Sifu. While awaiting the future of this kind of gameplay experience, players can dive into the past to see one of the earlier incarnations of realistically depicting martial arts in gaming.
Even with its unique approach to controlling the martial arts movements, Jet Li: Rise to Honor was just an excellent action title in general, with a high production value that resulted in tons of flair and style. For any gamers with a love for cinema, instantly getting Oldboy vibes with the martial arts showcased in the trailer for Sifu, should feel right at home with Jet Li: Rise to Honor.
The PS2 title pushed the envelope of what the hardware could do at the time, placing the player smack dab in the middle of huge fist fights against multiple opponents at once, just like a climactic showdown sequence in one of the films starring Jackie Chan, or in this case, Jet Li himself. From smaller character moments to more wild set pieces, the game captures the right tone and essence of some of the greatest martial arts movies,
It seems like gaming may be ushering in a new era for this kind of title, and with martial arts games on the rise in popularity, it is an exciting time for fans of the genre. Going back to play Jet Li: Rise to Honor will not only just provide a fun thrill ride for players, but also give a good point of comparison for how far technology and combat mechanics have come over the years leading up to the release of Sifu.
Sifu releases in 2021 for PC, PS4 and PS5.
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