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The 3D trend seems to be making a comeback lately, with 3D versions being made of movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline and My Bloody Valentine. It was only a matter of time before game developers joined the party. At a recent press event, Namco Bandai along with developer Blitz Arcade showed themselves to be in the vanguard of this trendy resurgence with their new action-adventure title, Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao.
The Legend of Han Tao is about a once-celebrated kung fu master who has pledged his life to protect a mysterious artifact, the Star of Destiny. When it is stolen by the ubiquitous Evil Overlord, it's up to Han Tao to sober up enough to get it back. The demo I played was shown in an (optional) 3D mode that required a pair of 3D glasses. Namco's PR says they're working to make the game compatible with all kinds of 3D specs, even the cheapie ones, but at the event they let me use a fancy pants battery-powered pair. Yeah, 3D is gimicky, but it was pretty cool watching the screen go from ugly and blurry to so believably 3D I nearly had my eye poked out by a cherry blossom branch.
The demo started with Han Tao sleeping peacefully in the courtyard of a historic Chinese building. When confronted by an enemy, he jumped to his feet faster than any drunkard ever should, and dug in to face what game industry professionals call "a whole boatload" of enemies. Inspired by games like Double Dragon and Kung Fu Master, The Legend of Han Tao aims to be an action-packed, hand-to-hand combat game. From what I saw in the demo, things are looking good. The game plays like a side-scroller, with controls that are straightforward and easy to pick up. Han Tao moves using the left analog stick, hits with the square, kicks with the triangle and uses the circle button to interact with doors and other objects.
Combat felt best when Han Tao got into a lethal, almost dance-like groove, gaining combo points by killing enemies in quick succession. The unexpectedly poetic quality of the violence was enhanced when dead enemies floated away in a flurry of cherry blossom petals. There wasn't much time between waves for Han Tao to take a breather but during the few seconds of downtime, I replenished his health by having him meditate using the directional buttons. In addition to his base combat moves, Han Tao can pick up and use enemy weapons, learn new combos and finishing moves, and spring up walls like a caffeinated Jackie Chan. I used this last ability to great effect when going after a group of ninjas perched atop the courtyard wall.
The demo unfortunately wasn't a long one and I didn't even get to fight the boss at the end of it, but what I did see I enjoyed. The Legend of Han Tao isn't only indebted to the spirit of great action games past, it's also an homage to past action movie masterpieces. Joining what's starting to look like a nostalgic trend in gaming of adopting a 70s film look, the game looks a lot like a grainy Bruce Lee movie, minus the big hair. The graphics also have a dreamy, fluid quality to them like a Chinese brush painting.
Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao will feature both single-player and multi-player co-op story mode but so far, no versus play. Namco at this point is still keeping mum about a few important things such as the storyline specifics, the identity of the second player co-op character and how players who want to use the 3D mode will get the necessary 3D glasses. These are minor issues, considering how well the game is shaping up now. Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao comes out this fall on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.
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