Product description
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The game comes in plain plastic black case, disk is in very good
condition and works perfectly.
.com
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With a fighting mode, four mini-games, and a stand-alone
role-playing game (RPG), Ehrgeiz is essentially six games for the
price of one. First, duke it out as one of 10 playable characters
(3 of which are from the popular RPG Final Fantasy VII) in
hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat. There are 11 different
fighting environments to tackle, including a moving train and a
hovering airship. Ehrgeiz scores points for diversity. The
arsenal of warriors is comprised of various ages, nationalities,
and sexes--all of whom are eager to win the ultimate fighting
championship. The prize is a mysterious weapon (the strangely
dubbed Ehrgeiz). There are a gazillion moves to memorize, and the
fluid movement and fantastic secret weapons provide great eye
candy.
In addition to fighting, players will also encounter mini-games,
such as the foot race "Battle Beach" and strategy game "Battle
Panel" (think Othello). This game also contains several elements
that will be instantly familiar to RPG fans. Ehrgeiz may not
satisfy gamers who want a dedicated RPG or fighting game, but it
does offer a diverse range of gameplay for the casual gamer with
a limited attention span. --Carrie Bell
Pros:
* Fighter movement animation is impressive
* Final Fantasy connection will appeal to RPG fans
* Diverse gameplay
Cons:* Numerous special moves impose a steep learning curve, and
demand a good memory
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Review
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Ever since its announcement in late 1997, Ehrgeiz has been one
of the most eagerly awaited fighting games for the PlayStation.
The collaboration of Squaresoft, Dream Factory, and Namco was a
formidable pool of talent that could have rocked the fighting
game genre. An earlier marriage of Square and Dream Factory had
produced two of the best-looking and innovative 3D fighters for
the system, while Namco's prolific console and coin-op record
continues to speak for itself. If there ever was a dream team of
developers for any one platform, this was it. Unfortunately, by
the time Ehrgeiz was officially released in the arcades, much of
the graphics, gameplay, and control mechanics did not live up to
expectations, and a lot of fighting aficionados found themselves
spurned and disappointed.
One of the advantages in having the creative forces of Squaresoft
behind the design of Ehrgeiz is the accessibility of popular
franchise characters such as the protagonists from Final Fantasy
VII. Often dubbed "Final Fantasy Fighter," Ehrgeiz allows you to
duke it out with Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, and the enigmatic
Sephiroth. All things considered, Squaresoft and Dream Factory do
a fair job of integrating elements of Final Fantasy into the
storyline of Ehrgeiz, which stands alone as an ambitious and
intriguing premise. In the distant future, a containing an
unknown material (hint: materia) was unearthed amidst the rubble
of an ancient German castle. The weapon became known as Ehrgeiz,
a symbol of power that would represent the strongest fighter in
the world. Meanwhile, a sinister organization known as Red
Scorpion was assiduously excavating the ruins of an old temple in
hopes of finding ancient technology that would give them the edge
in biological weapons development. The key to this locked temple,
of course, lies with the Ehrgeiz and the mysterious materia
engraved on its handle. Like Tekken 3, the subplots for each of
the characters are beautifully rendered in high-quality
motion-captured FMV during the intro and endings. While the
notion of a fighting game with a storyline may seem trivial, no
one can deny the impact that plot has had on games like Tekken 3
or any of SNK's family of fighters. The more ed out the
characters, the more likely gamers will become attached to their
identities. Unfortunately, none of the Final Fantasy characters
has its own unique FMV ending sequence. This makes their
inclusion appear somewhat haphazard and irrelevant.
When Ehrgeiz was first announced and subsequently beta-tested, it
was safe to assume that its gameplay was going to be based on
Dream Factory's Tobal series. And indeed, as the game took shape
and form in the early days, Tobal's trademark stood dominant in
the design of Ehrgeiz's fighting system. The developers also
added extras to the fray including the strategic use of boxes for
offense and defense, multitiered 3D arenas, and weapons that
could be picked up during fights. By moving the controller,
players could run freely about the stage in an attempt to gain
higher ground or just avoid a corner trap.
While all of these innovations made their way to the final arcade
release and subsequently the PlayStation version, much alteration
was made to the heart of Ehrgeiz. For one thing, emphasis was
taken off the boxes and items on each of the stages in order to
make gameplay more straightforward. Furthermore, a puzzling
modification was made to the game's blocking system. By some
bizarre twist of design that flies in the face of commonsense,
Ehrgeiz requires you to leave the joystick neutral in order to
block high, while pressing guard makes your character crouch and
block low. This is by far the game's biggest and most glaring
control issue. Be prepared to spend the first hour of the game
just getting used to this incredibly unintuitive way to block
incoming attacks. To make matters worse, since the game stresses
movement in 3D space a la Bushido Blade or the Tobal series, you
will find yourself constantly facing away from your nents and
caught with your guard down since the "auto-block" is only
effective when facing your foe. Luckily, an easy technique to
quickly face your nent is to just tap the guard button.
Holding down the guard button and moving about with the
controller will allow you to circle your nent while facing
him at all times. This is useful for getting some distance from
your nent by walking backwards or sidestepping without
leaving your back open for any attacks. --Chieh Chou
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot
logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
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- Fighter movement animation is impressive.