Sega
Force Vault
Reviewed
06.25.1999
Publisher
Sega
Developer
Scarab
Format
1x
GD
Origin
Import
Available
Jun.
21, 1999
(Japan)
Exclusive
Yes
Difficulty
Normal
Dimensions
3D
View
3rd
Person
Genre
Sports
/ Wrestling
Player(s)
1-4
Options
Arcade
Stick
Backup
VGA
Box
VMS/VMU
Requires
n/a
Importable
90% |
| Intro |
|
> While I admit I'm not the biggest fan of All Japan Pro Wrestling
Featuring Virtua Fighter (phew!) for Saturn, I was
looking forward to the sequel, Giant Gram 2, for my little
Dreamcast. Was it worth getting excited over? Lets
see.... |
| Graphics |
|
> This game looks really perty. Super high-res and a blazing 60 fps rule
this game. Each wrestler is highly detailed even coming down to the
ring wearing awesome Japanese traditional robes. When Wolf
from Virtua Fighter
3tb comes down, he's wearing this totally cool indian feather
hat that just reeks Sega style. The wrestlers faces
are super detailed also. Vader's face looks unbelievably cool, he
looks like the real wrestler is on the screen. The motion capturing on
this game is too good to believe, I swear I'm looking at real wrestlers
on the screen. While the pros far outweigh the cons there are a few
problems with the graphics.
> First off, the crowd looks pretty weak, pretty much there is no
crowd. Its basically a ton of 2D backdrops setup not moving at all.
I understand they did this to keep the polys and stuff in the ring but
a little crowd movement would've been nice. Other problem, although quite
minor, is a small amount of clipping with the wrestlers; sometimes when
there's a move like say a headlock, you'll see the wrestlers arm clip through
his opponents shoulder. Once again, a minute problem considering everything
else is absolutely beautiful. Going back to the crowd, the people are constantly
taking snapshots with their cameras, which really adds to the atmosphere. |
| Control |
|
> Giant Gram 2 features arcade inspired handling, which is
really REALLY fun to play. The moves are pulled off with great ease
and has a perfect grappling system. It does tend to be more arcade-ish,
though, than simulation. The L&R triggers pull of taunts too,
which is really cool. Control is what you expect from Sega,
pretty much perfect. |
| Sound |
|
> Hell Yeah!! The sound in this game rocks!! From the thunderous sound
of a wrestler hitting the mat to the constant and nearly never repetitiveness
of the announcer, the sound is pretty much flawless. You hear the
wrestlers grunting and yelling every time they pull off a move and the
crowd never shuts up which is great. They really go nuts too when
a devastating move is pulled off. The wrestlers all have their own
intros too and theme music. It's great and Jeffrey
even has his "Coral Grove" track from the godly VF3. Go fire
up VF3 and play Jeffrey's stage to hear his
music. The Dreamcast's sound chip is sure as hell BITCHIN'!! |
| Fun |
|
> What you have here is the Dreamcast's first party game
with 4 player tag team (yeah, you read correctly), along with some other
cool extra modes like Edit Wrestler, Watch Mode, and of course the standard
Vs. Mode. You can also take your wrestler all the way to the championship
in the Title Run Mode.
> Amount of wrasslers? Like 16 or so, including the infamous Virtua
Fighter characters, Kage Maru, Jeffrey McWild,
and my favorite character so far, Wolf Hawkefield. |
| Bottom
Line |
> Heh heh, simply the latest step in Sega's quest towards
market domination. Sega needs to bring Giant Gram 2
over to the states; it will sell on graphics alone. This is a MUST
HAVE for wrestling fans, and even a must have for fighter fans. I'm
in heaven with my Dreamcast, and this game just adds to the
pleasure. Now excuse me while I go powerbomb someone -- it's Vader Time!!!
Note:
I will be rating DC games tougher from now on since standards are higher
for me with this system. |
| Ratings |
| Overall:
8.8 | Graphics: 7.5 | Control: 9.0 | Sound: 10 | Fun: 8.5 |
~
Edge ~
|
