Hardware Geeks

Today we take a look at the latest game in the ever so popular Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.  Released for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, this is the first Dragon Ball game to be released on next-gen consoles.  We will be taking a look at the PS3 version.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is an ESRB T-rated fighting game which lets you take control of memorable characters from the series, both the good guys and the bad guys, and battle it out against their respectable foes.  The game includes four playable modes; Z Chronicles, Versus, Trial, and Training. 

• Z Chronicles: This is the main single player mode of the game, which lets you relive and play through important battles in the series.  Covering three sagas, you’ll be able to play through memorable moments such as Goku’s first Super Saiyan transformation or Gohan’s fight against Cell.  This mode includes many cutscenes with scenes from the show.  Overall, the story mode provides a lot of battles.  Also included are several “what if” scenarios not seen in the TV series.
  
  
  Playing through this story mode allows you to unlock a plethora of things such as characters, stages, and attacks.  Also unlockable are things called Drama Pieces, which are aids to assist you in battle that can increasing your health, up your defense, etc.
• Versus: This mode lets you select a character and play a quick fight against either the CPU, a friend, or against someone online.  The characters, stages, Drama Pieces, and Ultimate Attacks you can select from are limited to what you’ve unlocked from the Z Chronicles mode, so if you want everything at your disposal, you’ll have to play through the main single player mode.
  
  
  Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit includes something fairly uncommon for a fighting game; an online multiplayer mode.  From what we’ve experienced, there was not a great deal of players online, but from the people that there were, they were extremely skilled!  The servers are worldwide, so you can play against people from other countries.  What’s nice is that there is a connection indicator, so you can select matches with minimal lag.
• Trial: If you’re up for a challenge, the Trial mode lets you put your skills to the test and play matches with main objectives such as surviving the longest or winning in the shortest amount of time.
• Training: If you need more practice, this mode is for you to practice your moves and combos in a mock battle.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is essentially a game for fans of the TV series.  If you have not watched the show, you’ll be quite lost when playing through the Z Chronicles mode.  Although there is a brief explanation of each battle in the Z Chronicles mode, it’s not enough for people who have not seen the show to follow along.  The gameplay itself is catered more for fans of casual fighting games.  The combos and move sets are not as in-depth as other hardcore fighting games, such as Virtua Fighter.  Realistically, you’ll be able to get by in this game by just mashing buttons.

In terms of difficulty, the game is very adaptable.  The game has an extensive tutorial that will show you the ropes and make even first-time players feel welcome.  The tutorial goes over every move, so you should be ready to fight in no time!  In the Z Chronicles mode, you can select from six different difficulty settings to accommodate for your skill level.  Overall, the game has an easy learning curve.

Graphically, the game looks very impressive.  Presented in 720p high definition, Dragon Ball Z looks better than ever!  The vivid colors look great and the animations look smooth.  Even the menus themselves look impressive; the menu system for the Z Chronicles features a clean 3D layered interface.  Sound in this game is good as well, making use of real dialog from the TV series.

This game has a great deal of unlocks, so you feel a sense of accomplishment with every battle you fight. Even after our first play through of the game, we only had less than half of the Drama Pieces unlocked!  Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit was released before Trophies were announced for the PS3, so unfortunately the game does not include them.  While it may be possible for Dimps to add Trophies in a future patch, we wouldn’t hold our breathes for them.  If Trophies for this game is something you really want to see, it wouldn’t hurt to drop Dimps a line.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is available in stores now!  Playable demos are also available for download from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace.

Pros:
-Polished, bug-free game (from what we’ve experienced).
-Easy learning curve.
-Sense of accomplishment due to frequent unlocks.
-Good use of rumble as an indicator for when you’ve been hit.
-Multiple modes and difficulty settings for replay value.

Cons:
-No support for Trophies.
-Lack of motion control (although we can’t really see how it would be used anyways).
-Minimal stat tracking

Allen’s verdict: As someone who has never watched the Dragon Ball Z series, I can definitely see that this is a game that has more meaning for actual fans of the show.  Without Sri there to explain things to me while we played through the story mode, I would have been pretty confused.  However, seeing some of the battles and hearing about them made me genuinely interested in the show at times, so this game might be a good way for newcomers to break into the world of Dragon Ball Z.  As someone who is also not a huge fan of fighting games, I felt that this game was easy enough to play, while still being enjoyable.  Overall, I think Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a great game for its intended audience.

Sri’s verdict: I think this game accomplished what it set out to do, which was to please the fans of the series. I am a casual fighting game fan who enjoys Tekken, Virtua Fighter and Soulcalibur. Unlike those games, this game is much easier to master. After playing for a couple of hours, I felt I knew most of the characters.  It doesn’t require much learning, but at the same time, the small learning curve allows for instant satisfaction. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a solid fighting game made with fans in mind. It was much easier for me, being a fan of the series, to enjoy the memorable fights featured in this game. That being said, casual fighting game fans and Dragon Ball Z fans alike will find this game enjoyable. With the inclusion of online multiplayer and Trial mode, this game will keep you busy for awhile (unless you’re already playing Soulcalibur IV).

Post Tags: review  gaming  ps3  burst limit  dragon ball z 

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