Rise To Honor - PlayStation 2

Out of all ps2 games I have played, I remember this one wholeheartedly as one of my most favorite games to play during that generation. I was glad to have came across it looking at old ps2 games and sntached it up for the price it was and still is currently ($6). It's a precursor to Sleeping Dogs, which is also a game I love dearly. Jet Li is my favorite martial artist and a game with him in it will always remain legendary.

Mine does not work, what a waste

I really am very happy and I love this game it is a must have very fun to play and the price wasn’t too much

Great game but i wasnt aware of it not being the english version but thats what my anime sub training has been preparing me for, but that aside it brought back a bunch of memories of me playing it as a teenager. Worth the money

Best game ever

Wouldn’t work, if you want a game go to dkoldies

The disc was in good condition as well as the box and manual and it works great!

The PS2 has a lot of great games; and a lot of obscure titles as well. Chances are if you're looking for PS2 games, you're bound to stumble upon a game you've never heard of altogether.And while I'm certain many people have played this game, it almost makes me want to kick myself in the head for not knowing this game existed.Enter- Rise to Honor for the PS2.What a game!This game gives you control over Martial Artist Jet Li who's aptly named Kit Yun in ROH. This game is totally reminiscent of John Woo's Stranglehold for the 360; except it features hand-to-hand combat, gunplay and some nifty quick time events.The first thing I noticed about the game would be the life-like appearance of Jet Li. In fact, he looks exactly like himself only in 3D.Graphically speaking, this game supports progressive scanning, but the very first level looked really "dusty", while every other level looked just fine. The graphics are pretty smooth and "jaggies" aren't as noticeable here as is the case with many PS2 games. The backgrounds weren't particularly imaginative; ranging from back alleys to rooftops or bars. However, the fact that most of the backgrounds are interactive or destructible was a plus in my book. I really liked the slow-motion camera cuts when you pull off a combo or perhaps toss a chair in an enemy's face. The close ups are smooth and look fantastic. While playing, I'd have to say that I haven't encountered any framerate issues or slowdown.But the one part this game was lacking in at times would be the sound. I loved the voice acting (which actually features Jet Li's voice) and tossing someone into a window sounds awesome, but the sound effects used for punching and kicking seemed weak, lacking dynamics altogether. Still, for the most part, the sound in this game is pretty good. Music is kept to a minimal which is another problem being that at times some cutscenes sounded a little too quiet for comfort.With that said, this doesn't say anything against the gameplay.Rise to Honor is a beat em up, with some on-rails platforming elements and quick time events that progresses the in-game story in the tradition of a 70's kung fu movie; but with some modern twists thrown in. Namely, some sections in which you'll use a gun.The combat is handled by an innovative but satisfying analog control which replaces face buttons. In fact, you won't be using the face buttons at all. Instead, you're given a block button that's mapped to R1, adrenaline which is mapped to L1 and the right analog stick takes care of all the hand to hand fighting while R2 is simply used for shooting. The control scheme may not be ideal for hack and slash/platforming enthusiasts, but it feels quite comfortable considering all the combinations you're able to pull off with such a simplistic control scheme.Rise to Honor also tosses in "interactivity" which is along the lines of being able to grab weapons such as chairs, garbage cans, lobsters amongst other background goodies and use them against enemies. This comes in handy considering Rise of Honor tosses the usual odds of 6 on 1 at you. The problem with this is while the enemies do attack you, there are times they'll simply stand and wait to be attacked, while other times enemies will pull off flashy kicks or martial arts katas that rival your in-game character's moves.Still, I can't deny the fact that this game is quite a charming offering, especially for fans of martial arts movies. It seems the gaming world offers so little in this genre and unfortunately, Rise to Honor will stand as a unique example of innovative gaming though perhaps the last of it's kind.There are plenty of unlockables ranging from concept art to "the making of" and so on.Rise to Honor is definitely worth the buy for any PS2 fan or perhaps someone who wasn't familiar with the PS2 last gen would definitely find this game ideal.One of the best games on the PS2; period.