Urban Reign Review

There are a lot of noteworthy weapon based combat games in the 3d beat em up genre but aside from God Hand, most hand to hand combat games tend to get ignored by a lot of people. It’s weird how hand to hand beat em ups used to be really popular in the 90’s with games like Streets Of Rage and Final Fight but when they became 3D, people lost interest for some reason. Now I’ve played numerous 3D beat em ups and I can safely say that Urban Reign has the greatest hand to hand combat in a 3D beat em up I have ever experienced and yes I even think that this game manages to surpass even God Hand in this department, yet unlike God Hand which has a dedicated cult following, Urban Reign gets ignored. Maybe it’s because the story of Urban Reign is so forgettable due to the fact that there are barely any cutscenes, just a narration before every fight to explain the context but who on earth cares about that, I wanna see some action!

So let’s cut to the chase and get straight into the combat mechanics, they’re so simple that anyone can pick up and play the game with ease but believe me, you’re gonna need to learn them fast because this game doesn’t pull its punches in its difficulty. You have a decent variety of strikes and grapples on offer as well as an evasive maneuver to avoid enemy attacks but utilizing these abilities properly is essential if you want to survive in the later portions of the game. At first you may find the game to be pretty straightforward in difficulty but after about 5 missions, the difficulty escalates a ton and you really have to start thinking more carefully about how you want to approach enemies. The good news is that there are plenty of tools at your disposal and crowd control isn’t as difficult as you may be led to believe as when you’re surrounded by multiple enemies at close range, the grapple attacks you perform will differ from attacks you perform against a single target to allow you to better control the crowd with a double attack. These crowd control moves are very flashy and satisfying to pull off but you have to time them well because if you do happen to get surrounded, it’s likely that you’re going to get beaten down quickly. So you can’t just button mash your way through this game, you have to strategize when and where you perform your attacks.

Face rearrangement is on special offer, buy one get one free.

Some stages have environmental objects that you can knock enemies into for extra damage so you will usually want to position your enemies around them. You can also run up walls to get behind enemies quickly or follow up with an aerial attack to take them off guard. You can pick up weapons and batter your worthless enemies till they can no longer walk. This is just the beginning of the intricacies that make up the game’s wonderful combat system. Eventually you will unlock new abilities like the ability to perform grapple attacks against airborne enemies and these are my favorite moves to pull off as they are considerably more rapid that the usual grapple attack, plus there’s nothing quite as satisfying as powerbombing an enemy after an uppercut juggle combo. It’s important to take note of what moves you are using in battle as certain moves will damage certain body parts, kind of like in some of the modern wrestling games out there.

Damaging each body part makes it easier to deal more damage when hitting that body part, so you are encouraged to attack the same body parts over and over again to further weaken them. I can’t say that I’m personally a huge fan of this since it encourages you to use the same moves over and over again but believe me, you’re going to need to do this a lot because certain missions require you to damage a specific body part until it is red. These missions are the worst part of the game and really get on my nerves. Fortunately this system can be overlooked for the most part, I mean if you want to exploit it then by all means do so, however I find that mixing up my moves is not only more fun but is also necessary since depending on where your enemy is and what they are doing, certain moves may be favored over others. For example, an enemy attacking you with high attacks will miss you if you hit them with a low strike. Low strikes do not deal half as much damage as middle strikes though as they don’t allow for air juggling. High strikes tend to knock enemies further back a bit but other than that, I don’t find them to be too different from low attacks and can be harder to connect. Ultimately with grapples, none of this matters, just pick one and stick with it, just be mindful that enemy body parts have varying levels of resistance so you will need to vary up which regional attacks you use for maximum efficiency when fighting against numerous enemies and it’s important to pay attention to which body parts have received the most damage so that you can use the correct move against them.

Somebody set us up the bomb

What makes Urban Reign so challenging is that enemies are capable of pretty much everything you can do but they often outnumber you which can make for some tricky engagements. I often find that mixing up a combination of low kicks and short regional strikes is a good way of keeping the enemies at bay at first but eventually they’re going to overwhelm you and at this point you will need to utilize your special attacks. By pressing triangle and circle simultaneously with any directional input you will perform an attack that gives you temporary I frames at the cost of some of your special gauge which charges up as you receive or deal damage, this is a great way of getting back up off the ground when surrounded but can also be fantastic at dealing heavy damage to enemies. You do have to be aware however that enemies can do this to you as well and they often start with more special gauge than you at the beginning of a fight, which can be a tad aggravating as it can be hard to punish them when they have the clear advantage since they can counter you with a special attack at any time. If you see the enemy glowing white then you know that they’re going to counter you so it can be a good idea to move out of their way, though this can be difficult to do, especially when you are surrounded. The evasion system isn’t exactly the easiest to get used to as deflecting attacks requires you to press the direction that represents the region of which you are being attacked, though if you time it well you can instantly evade an attack with the single press of the square button. This can be tricky to do however when faced with numerous enemies but it becomes essential when fighting a single enemy as they will relentlessly bombard you with attacks which is why crowd control is so essential. The good news is that most attacks in Urban Reign do not completely stagger you, allowing you to deflect at attack right after being hit and this has a huge impact on the defensive play, you rarely ever feel as if you don’t have control of what’s going on in game which is one if the game’s biggest strengths.

Later on you will find yourself tagging along with allies who will help you against overwhelming odds. Therefore you will want to assist them as much as you can. I find that spreading out isn’t often the best strategy, especially since you can perform unique attacks with your partner when they are close by. Using low strikes to crowd control definitely helps in these fights, as they usually hit multiple enemies at once, giving your teammate more breathing room and giving you an opening to assist them by further damaging whomever it is they are fighting. Of course you still have to be aware of the enemies you have knocked down and be ready for when they come back. Depending on the mission, you may want to focus on just one of the enemies but in a lot of missions, you will want to spread out the punishment, particularly missions where you have to take everyone out since you don’t want to get attacked from behind. It’s all about trying to get that vital opening to begin delivering heavy damage to an enemy and hopefully wipe them out before the others catch up to you.

Who ordered a second helping of Diamond Cutter?

As you can probably tell by now, the combat is extremely frantic but the combat is so buttery smooth, responsive and flexible that you never feel too weak. There is always a way to bounce back and unlike God Hand, you won’t find yourself fighting any health sponges in this game, plus the controls are vastly superior. Sure the game lacks the flexibility and customizable aspect of God Hand’s combat but it feels considerably less clunky and more polished by comparison. I was so engaged by this game’s combat that I played 30 missions in a row none stop and had to force myself to stop playing, this rarely ever happens in most games and unlike God Hand where I get disengaged due to fatigue, Urban Reign never gets tiresome, you just keep wanting more and part of that is due to the fact that it is considerably less button mashy.

The controls aren’t perfect though and do require a bit of getting used to. If you’ve played any of the older wrestling games released in the 5th console generation then these controls may seem familiar though I personally dislike how the strike button is on the opposite side of the evasion button and while there are different button configurations in the options, none of them are intuitive but over time you’ll get used to them. It should also be noted that the game doesn’t have fixed camera angles so you may find yourself being attacked from off screen at times. While it can’t always be helped in team fights, it’s often a good idea to lock on to enemies in one on one encounters to keep them on screen at all times. The pacing of the game’s combat is so fast that you barely get the chance to even touch the right analogue stick but at times you may want to if you are at a safe distance, just so that you can get your bearings when your back is turned to your enemies. Sometimes running away is your best option as it can not only give you breathing room but you may find a dropped weapon on the ground nearby that you previously were too close to the enemy to pick up. Some enemies also drop items that restore your health and special gauge so bear that in mind as well.

During the games later missions, you’ll often find yourself in seemingly impossible encounters against multiple strong opponents. In addition to this, some boss fights from previous stages may end up returning with a buddy to give you a hard time. While some of these missions let you bring in a teammate, others do not. At times I found myself in situations where I had to play dirty, spamming dash attacks on a single target just to stay mobile and knock them away from their teammates who would otherwise maul me to death with their weapons. The enemy AI often do a fantastic job at working together to take you out and when you’re on your own, this can be a real pain. Thankfully, upon completing a mission you are given skill points to upgrade your character however you please, allowing you to increase damage from certain attacks as well as regional resistances to protect you from certain attacks. Because of this, you are always growing stronger but so are the enemies, so it doesn’t really feel like you are getting stronger. Therefore the skills you choose to increase will ultimately impact what your strengths and weaknesses will be in later fights.

Urban Reign pushes players to their limits and this makes performing cool combos and well-timed maneuvers all the more satisfying. Even though the combat does suffer from some minor flaws, the flexibility and challenge of the game’s combat will keep you coming back for more. You will get beaten up a ton in this game and will often end up doing the same mission 5 or 6 times till you get the win but the game is never unfair in its difficulty, after all, the enemies you fight are only as capable as you are and while they do occasionally get a head start in some missions, once their special gauge runs out, they will be just as vulnerable to a beat down as you are. It can be pretty damn satisfying to toss around that one guy who kicked your ass so many times.

Say hi to the floor for me

Every mission can be restarted at any point, including after failing a mission, so the game never feels too punishing, nor does it waste your time. There’s never a moment when you aren’t fighting people in this game as there’s no emphasis on exploration in this game whatsoever and since the story is just a brief narration before each mission, you probably won’t pay any attention to it. This strangely makes the game feel all the more engaging as there’s never a moment where you aren’t doing anything and after every fight, you just want to get back in the action. The pacing of Urban Reign is so damn good that you just can’t put the game down.

Visually speaking, the character models and the environments are exactly what you would expect from a 2005 release. They look detailed enough for the time but don’t stand out as being amazing. The animations are arguably the best part of the game’s visuals as they look fantastic. Many of the game’s attacks have that cinematic flair to them which makes you feel like you’re playing out a scene in an action movie. It’s hard to find hand to hand combat that looks as intricate as this in a 3D Beat Em Up.

The music is best described as being hardcore. I hope you like metal because there’s no shortage of it in this game. It fits the nature of this game so damn well that I honestly cannot imagine it having any other soundtrack. It certainly does a fantastic job at keeping players engaged in the action. While it may not be the sort of soundtrack you’re going to listen to outside of this game too often, it certainly does a fantastic job at getting you pumped for the action.

If you are a fan of any kind of action game then you are going to absolutely adore Urban Reign. It is without a doubt the most definitive beat em up experience there is as it is just raw combat throughout. If you are a fan of classic wrestling games then you will definitely feel right at home with Urban Reign’s control scheme and movesets. It’s a game for people who just want to get straight to the action as it cuts out all the fluff that other games in the genre have, for better or for worse, allowing the game to focus exclusively on its combat. Now because of this, many would compare this game to fighting games and quite frankly, they aren’t wrong to think this way as the game was developed by the people who worked on the Tekken and Soulcalibur games. Unlike those games and other fighting games however, Urban Reign doesn’t rely on adding needless input complexity to add artificial difficulty to the game, essentially making it the greatest fighting game ever created and will always be the greatest fighting game ever created because game developers are still continuing to make fighting games needlessly complicated.

Everything that makes fighting games fun is here in Urban Reign, the challenge, the mind games, they’re all there. The only difference is that the game is arguably more accessible than any fighting game ever will be and yes it does have a multiplayer mode to enjoy with friends. This is why fighting games are full of DLC nowadays, because fewer people buy them nowadays due to the fact that they are too complicated and are stripped down due to developers pandering towards the e-sports community, so they need to recuperate the sales losses each year. Perhaps if they made another Urban Reign instead of Tekken 8, it might actually appeal to a broader demographic, while still being just as fun to play. You don’t need a billion moves to have a fun experience and Urban Reign proves this. This is the biggest reason why I have grown to dislike fighting games, they’re focused too much on their competitive nature, not enough on their fun factor. They need to play more like Urban Reign. Heck can we just eradicate the entire fighting game genre from history and direct these people to Urban Reign so that developers can actually learn what good game design is?

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Story/Plot: Who the hell cares!?

Visuals: Good

Gameplay: Exceptional

Music: Good

Lifespan: Decent Length

Difficulty: Hard

Would You Replay? Yes

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Overall: Excellent

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Video Review