Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao Review

A fight in the kitchen? No wonder our food's taking so long.

If you’re a fan of the old-school Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee flicks, then Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Tan Hao may entertain you.  In the game, you portray a legendary warrior, using the power of kung fu to knock out enemy ninjas, fat guys and other baddies en route to the “big boss”.  There’s a ton of style, but the gameplay comes up short.

You’ll spend a huge amount of time beating up bad guys.  They constantly climb down from rooftops and burst through doorways, chipping away at your health bar.  Thankfully, you can fight back with a series of light and heavy attacks, while using the right analog stick to evade incoming moves.  You also have the power of the Yin Yang, which you can use to restore your energy or unleash Hyperstate, where your speed and power temporarily increase.

The gameplay is good for a few minutes, but you’ll run into two problems.  First, the relentless enemies prevent you from regaining health.  You’re also surrounded, having to roll out of harm’s way.  That would be fine, except that if you evade too many times, you become dizzy and leave yourself wide open to attack.

Repetitive gameplay is the second issue.  It’s fun to chain combos and occasionally use something in the environment, such as a huge gong or a hanging branch, to swiftly take someone down, but it’s all basic stuff.  You’re still mashing buttons from beginning to end, with very little techniques to master.  This may be enough to satisfy some players, particularly those who grew up on arcade stuff like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Kung Fu.

Invincible Tiger has a couple of extra modes, including Time Trial, where you kick bad guys in as few seconds as possible, and Endurance, where endless waves of goons attack until you’re history.  The game also has two-player action, with a friend helping you kick butt either online or off.  However, this mode feels tacked on.  Only the first player is shown during the game’s cinemas, and the second doesn’t have a signature fighting style.

One thing that really works, however, is the presentation.  The graphics are pure 70s kung fu schmaltz, complete with scratchy lines that run along the screen (like a really bad film) and occasional color fade-outs; it blends in with the game’s gorgeous Japanese backgrounds.  There are moments when the zoom-out option (regulated to the left trigger) is pointless, as it goes too far out to be of any use.  Overall, though, the game looks wonderful. 

Sound effects are limited to “whaaaa!” and other battle cries, along with punch and kick noises taken straight from old-school fighting games.  That’s fine by us, since they add to the game’s tone.  The music is equally cool, with groovy 70s disco playing in the background.  We almost expected “Kung Fu Fighting” to start any second.

Had Namco Bandai incorporated a more evolved gameplay system and better multiplayer options, Invincible Tiger would be right up there with the year’s best downloadable games.  Unfortunately, the frustrating combat and repetitive gameplay won’t be for everyone, nor will its cost ($15, or 1200 Microsoft points).  Still, if a goofy beat-em-up is what you’re after, step up, grasshoppa.