Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle :PS 3 Review

Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle :PS 3 Review

Released by Namco Bandai
Platform: PS3

There are some games where you're a little clueless as to what exactly is going on outside of what you can see on the screen.

Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is one of those as far as I'm concerned.

Essentially, it's a Street Fighter style beat'em'up with anime overtones (and reading up on it, I see it's a massive anime fave in Japan) and around 32 characters, ripped from the comic's arcs. Like most fighting games, the aim is to simply beat the HP out of your opponent and progress to the next level with most of your health intact.

As ever, with these games, each character has their own extra special power which is fuelled by combo hits and can be unleashed when the meter's full to devastating effect. Opposition have powers too - from vampirism which drains you to others; there's certainly enough to keep you amused here if you're of that ilk. From story mode to campaign mode (which operates online), there are enough levels to power through if you're that way inclined - though it has to be said, the repeat value of this game is a little pondrous and lacking.

The thing with Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is its extra elements which are powering on around the background that are so hard to comprehend and follow. During fights other characters occasionally float in and out and pages of a comic appear in the middle of the screen without any warning or for any reason. It's confusing and confounding - though I'm guessing if you're a fan of the arcs, then it's fine. Otherwise, casual gamers will be completely lost as to the subtleties of it all.

The big thing going for Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is its look. The characters are visually stunning - 3D anime beasts ripped from the pages of a comic and thrust into a 2D world - they're gorgeous to look at and give the game a feel that's unique to the fight em up genre. Plus they fight fluidly - there's no jarring and no flickering of the animation as they power into each other.

Overall, Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is an odd beast of a game. While it's left me a little lost as to the overall concept and some of the subtleties within, it's certainly a solid enough fighter for its genre.