If you love beat ‘em ups from the late 1990s, then Limited Run Games has just the compilation for you. I'm talking about the Fighting Force Collection, which will feature both the original Fighting Force from 1997, as well as its 1999 sequel, Fighting Force 2. Fans of this classic franchise will be able to pre-order their copies starting this Friday. That's cool news, but are either of these games worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Next Generation and more classic magazines that reviewed these games back when they first came out. Get ready to pound the low-polygon streets in this bone-breaking episode of Fighting Force Review Crew!


For a brief moment towards the end of the 20th century, beat ‘em ups were the next big thing. From Double Dragon to Final Fight to Streets of Rage, it looked like the 1990s would be dominated by brawlers. And then Street Fighter II smacked us upside the head and largely sidelined the traditional arcade beat ‘em up. In 1997, the developers behind Tomb Raider attempted to inject new life into the ailing genre by creating what amounts to Streets of Rage 3D. That's not an accident, as Fighting Force was originally developed with hopes that Sega would pick it up as Streets of Rage 4. They didn't, so we're given a knock off game that takes all of the brawler cliches and brings them kicking and screaming into a 3D world.

While Core and Eidos may have wanted to take gamers back to the days of beat ‘em ups, not every critic was along for that ride. In fact, I would say that the reviews skew negative, largely due to brawler fatigue. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game an average score of 7.6 out of 10. Fake ninja Sushi-X seemed confused: “Much hype has been surrounding Fighting Force for months now, but I'm not sure why. Sure, it's a decent game, complete with 3D Final Fight action. So what if there are secrets on each area, like the bars you can rip off the doors to use as a weapon. When it comes down to it, the gameplay becomes repetitive in about one minute. I was disappointed with the overall number of attacks available for each character.” Kelly liked the game a little bit more, giving it a 7.5 out of 10, and concluding that “it's fun to run around, smashing the skulls of men in black and throwing them into oncoming traffic. The peripheral objects in Fighting Force are much more interactive than they are in other games in this genre. Although Fighting Force has cool moves and combos, the control is a little floaty and the 3D camera occasionally blocks the view.”

Game Fan largely agreed with EGM's score, giving Fighting Force an average of 71%, which is just a little bit better than the 3.5 out of 5 it received from PSM. Edge ended up giving the game a low score of 6 out of 10, concluding that “for about five stages, this is all great fun, but Fighting Force's major drawback soon becomes apparent. There is no lack of action, yet there is little change in gameplay. Players simply fight group after group of enemies until they move on to the next stage and repeat the exercise against new backdrops. Plug in a second joypad and the experience is more enjoyable, but it ultimately suffers from predictable monotony. In its efforts to reinvent the scrolling beat ‘em up, Core has overlooked the need to update the genre's gameplay.

Edge wasn't the only magazine to be down on Fighting Force, as Computer & Video Games gave the game a 3 out of 5. That's the exact same score you saw in Next Generation, who explained that “despite its derivative nature, Fighting Force is a very fun game. Yet, it's just not the same huge leap forward for the Final Fight genre that we might have expected from the creators of Tomb Raider.”

If you want to end this episode on a positive note and see the highest score, then look no further than GamePro. Giving it a 4 out of 5, Johnny Ballgame said that “despite its few flaws, Fighting Force delivers the fierce fun and beat fools silly action that PlayStation gamers are looking for. Take it for a rumble if you have the guts to bash the bad guy and save the world.”

While I probably like this game more than Edge or Next Generation, there's no question that it's both derivative and repetitive. That can be said about a lot of games in the genre. As somebody who has gotten over brawler fatigue, I'm excited to see this game find new life on modern consoles.

When Eidos released Fighting Force in 1997, it was an attempt to drag the classic beat ‘em up genre into the world of 3D gaming. While not a huge hit with the critics, it apparently sold enough units to warrant a sequel, this time with a larger emphasis on high-powered weapons. The result was a much more explosive game, featuring an even crazier story, more varied gameplay and vastly improved graphics. But would that be enough in a year filled with some of the biggest PlayStation games of all time? Let's see what the critics said.

When it comes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, they were far less impressed with this sequel than the original, giving Fighting Force 2 an average score of 4.25 out of 10. Che absolutely hated the game, giving it a low 2.5 and not beating around the bush when he said “Fighting Force 2, like its older sibling Fighting Force, sucks. If the first Fighting Force was a mediocre venture into Die Hard Arcade territory, then Fighting Force 2 is an attempt to cash in on Syphon Filter's gameplay and success. Fighting Force 2 fails on so many levels it's embarrassing. After playing Fighting Force 2, you'll want to karate kick your PlayStation too. Argh!” Shawn, on the other hand, was much more generous, doubling Che's score and giving the game a 5: “Hearing what sounded like cries of pain coming from Che's cubicle while he played Fighting Force 2, I wondered what the big deal was. Frankly, I don't understand the utter disgust with the game. Granted, Fighting Force 2 is far from being the year's most innovative title, but it's much better than the first Fighting Force. Maybe I'm a little strange, but I found the game to be fun at times.”

EGM wasn't the only magazine down on Fighting Force 2, as the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine went with a low 2 out of 5. That's the exact same score as Incite, who put it this way: “After four Tomb Raiders, you'd think the folks over at Core Designs would be looking to try something a little different. A nice casino game, or maybe a white knuckle, thrill-a-minute train simulator. But they've stuck to the action/adventure format with the sequel to the uninspired 3D brawler, Fighting Force. Fighting Force 2 sports impressive graphics and hand-to-hand combat, but gameplay is seriously flawed. Expect to spend as much time busting up random office equipment as you do taking out the bad guys.”

Moving back up the scale, we see PSM give the game a very middle-of-the-road 2.5 out of 5, while Game Informer went a little higher, giving Fighting Force 2 a 5.5 out of 10. This leads us to Next Generation, which gave the game, believe it or not, one of the highest scores of any English-language magazine. “We just can't shake the feeling that the game isn't finished. The engine is solid and you can control your main character just fine as you beat the heck out of thugs or take them out with the large variety of weapons scattered around each level – but that' all there is. The storyline never enters more than the periphery of the player's vision, and it certainly doesn't affect gameplay at all. It's better, but without some reason for the fighting, we're still not satisfied.”

When it comes to the highest score, that belongs to GamePro, but don't get your hopes up. Giving the game a mere 3.5 out of 5, GamePro praised the cool explosions, the game engine and the well-balanced mix of stealthy tunes and slick weapon effects. “Ultimately, Fighting Force 2 is battered by meager controls and lacks the fast action of other games in the same genre. At best, it's worth a rental for those who desire a night of fist-in-your-face gameplay.”

As you can no doubt tell, the critics were largely disappointed by this sequel. When it comes to Fighting Force 2, the overall average sits at 51%, a steep drop from the original's 68%. Now, you may be inclined to blame this on the PlayStation, a system that was starting to show its age in 1999. The good news is that a Dreamcast version came out just a few months later, so we can see what the critics said about the game on far superior hardware.

There's no need to go through all of the reviews, but let's at least tackle the game's highest and lowest marks. Starting with a 3 out of 5 from GamePro ... which is also the highest score of the bunch. “The controls are fine, but enemies are mindless and threatening only in numbers. Worse, falling 20 feet hurts you more than a grenade does. The best part of the game is spraying bad guys with submachine guns or blasting them with bazookas – but, for some reason Fighting Force 2 emphasizes punching and kicking combos. Though it delivers some enjoyable mayhem, Fighting Force 2 doesn't offer much to separate it from other Dreamcast titles.”

When it comes to the lowest score, that prize ends up going to Electronic Gaming Monthly, who gave the game an average score of 3.4 out of 10. This time around Che got some back-up, as more EGM editors agreed with his original take: “It's official ... Core Design really isn't the hotshot developer that we've been duped into thinking they are. Fighting Force 2 is conclusive proof. It's unimaginative, cliched, tedious and badly presented. A real cookie-cutter action game if ever there was one.” Dean liked the game more than most, giving it a 5: “All video games should be like Fighting Force 2. If the plot gets boring, or non-existent, simply walk around and destroy stuff. That's basically what fighting Force 2 boils down to. And I have to admit it's fun for a little while. Soon, however, the novelty wears off and you're stuck with a weak, no-substance game.”

With the range of scores trapped between 34% and 60%, it should surprise nobody that the overall average is a mere 45%. That's down six points over the PlayStation version, conclusively proving that better graphics can only get you so far. No matter which version you play, the critics simply did not like Fighting Force 2.