2019-04-01 PC Gamer

Jump Forceis sort of a fighting game.

It’s a 3v3 arena brawler based around

a simplistic, button mashing combat

system. You repeatedly hit the light

attack or heavy attack

buttons to string

together some

impressive looking

strikes, which you can

guard against or dodge.

Special moves are tied

to a meter you fill

through combat or by

charging it yourself,

which leaves you vulnerable.

There’s no execution barrier

• special moves are all performed by
  button presses. Dragon Ball FighterZ
  proves that a great fighting game
  doesn’t need complex combos, but
  Jump Force’s approach has an
  unintended side effect. Every
  character feels identical to play.
  They each have their own unique
  animations and special moves, but
  you’re triggering them in exactly the
  same way no matter which character
  you’ve picked. The basic attacks and
  special moves feel disconnected from
  one another, too.
  Traditional fighting game
  techniques like ending a combo of
  hits with a special move rarely works,
  and there’s no reason to not just see a
  chain of strikes through to the end
  once you’ve landed that initial one.
  Although these flashing lights and
  sounds are authentic enough to
  entertain fans of the source material
  for a while, the canned animations
  eventually outstay their welcome.
  The story also turns out to be a bit of
  a means to an end too. A typical
  world-ending crisis has come about
  as a hackneyed reason to put all of
  these characters together in one
  place. You create a silent avatar who

is killed during an attack on New

York City by an enemy force called

‘Venoms’ and is brought back as a

Shonen Jump hero, all super strength,

energy blasts and air

dashes.

You join one of

three teams, headed up

by Goku, Luffy or

Naruto and take on

missions that either

progress their storyline

or generic ones that net

you experience points

and unlockables like costumes.

Experience points increase health

and damage output, and you can buy

new special abilities, one use items to

help you in battle and skills that give

you perks like attack buffs or

elemental resistance.

LOOSE CONTROLS

The characters themselves, as iconic

as their source material may be, are a

mixed bag. Goku, for instance, looks

like a bad action figure – a far cry

from his appearance in the gorgeous

Dragon Ball FighterZ. In cutscenes

movement is stilted and awkward

with some unintentionally hilarious

moments like characters sliding all

the way across the screen.

The way fighters move during

combat lacks the tightness of control

you’d want in a fighting game. This is

such a missed opportunity – many of

these characters have made the jump

from the printed page, but here

they’re strange, soulless avatars. It’s

not all bad, as the various worlds

these characters hail from are

represented by some excellent arenas,

as well as a handful of ‘real world’

ones thrown in for good measure.

The camera gets lost in amongst

the action from time to time, making

for some confusing situations.

Online, Jump Force is functional,

allowing for ranked and casual battles

against others, unlocking titles and

currency for you to spend on items in

the singleplayer game. Unfortunately,

battling another human being doesn’t

make the combat any more

interesting, instead highlighting how

limited and simple it is. It’s like a

match against an AI opponent who

might actually block and try to use

some semblance of strategic play

against you, but that’s about it.

Jump Force finds itself in a weird

place. Cult characters in a genre

known for attracting a hardcore

following and yet, doesn’t deliver on

the promise of the concept to either

party in a satisfying manner.

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?

An anime brawler with a

cast of famous

characters

EXPECT TO PAY

£50

DEVELOPER

Spike Chunsoft

PUBLISHER

Bandai Namco

Entertainment

REVIEWED ON

i5-7300 2.5ghz, 8gb

RAM, GTX 1050

MULTIPLAYER

1v1

LINK

http://www.bandainamcoent.

com/games/

jump-force

55

An epic clash between

the some of manga’s

most legendary

characters shouldn’t be

this dull, frankly.

VERDICT

Special moves

feel

disconnected

from one

another

J

ump Force lifts from Shonen Jump magazine’s 50-year history, a

publication that has been the home of some genuinely legendary

manga series, including Fist of the North Star and Dragon Ball.

These are all stories that revolve around their protagonists

getting in fights, so you’d think Jump Force would be an easy

win. A Smash Bros-esque big brawl featuring them all should be easy to

recommend, but this won’t leave devotees of any series jumping for joy.

JUMP FARCE

In JUMP FORCE, the characters of Shonen

Jump magazine have dull fights. By Andi Hamilton

SIX OF THE BEST

Ripped from the pages of Shonen Jump

SUPER SPIRIT

BOMB

Goku creates a

massive orb of

death to throw at

his enemy.

DIABLE JAMBE!

CONCASSE SPIN

Shinji leaps into the

air dropping his

heel onto his

opponent’s head.

BATTLE GRIEF

Kenshiro draws

upon his

internalised rage

and mastery of

Hokotu Shinken.

TAKEMIKAZUCHI

–NO-KAMI

Takemikazuchi is a

god of thunder AND

swords in Japanese

mythology.

GODSPEED

FLASH OF THE

HEAVENLY

FLYING DRAGON

Creates a sword

from pure energy.

X.Y.Z.

Ryo hits his enemy

with a rocket

launcher then drives

into them in a

classic Mini Cooper.

Jump Force

REVIEW