Games : Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (PS3)

This 3D fighting game can be enjoyed by newcomers to the DBZ universe and Super Saiyan wannabes alike.

Specs: ESRB: Teen; Genre: Action; Number of players: 1-2 Players
CNET Editors' Rating 7.5/10 Very good
Released on: 06/10/2008

by Robert Workman

"KAMEHAMEHA!" Goku, Piccolo and the Dragon Ball Z gang return for another round of non-stop fighting action. Burst Limit marks the current-gen debut of the franchise, featuring the same overflowing fighting action seen in previous Atari games. It doesn't bring anything significantly new to the table, but it handles well enough to satisfy current fans – and draw in a few new ones as well.

Burst Limit's main draw comes from its Z Chronicles mode. Here, you'll follow a storyline that goes across three popular sagas from the animated TV series – Saiyan, Frieza and Cell. You'll alternate between various characters in this mode, starting with Goku and eventually cycling through a number of super-powered heroes and villains. Over the course of each fight, you'll find a large amount of unlockable content, such as playable characters, "drama scenes" (more on that in a second), character transformations (Goku's evolving into Super Saiyan, for instance) and other goodies. The mode takes only a few hours to finish – but it's fun to return to, if only to achieve a higher star rating for each individual episode.


Following the completion of the Z Chronicles mode, there's still plenty to do. Trial mode offers three separate challenges to test your Dragon Ball skills. Survival Mode throws a hundred opponents your way, requiring you to stay alive as long as you possibly can. Battle Point Mode grades you on your fighting performance and the various number of moves you use in battle. This mode is particularly fun, as it lets you explore the multiple techniques in your arsenal. Finally, a Time Attack Mode requires you to pummel 10 people in a certain time limit.

However, Burst Limit would be useless if you couldn't face competition. In Versus Mode, you can challenge a friend using the unlocked combatants you earn in Z Chronicles. There's a variety of characters here, some of which are more fun to play than others. (Racoome, for instance, is just too weird for his own good.) Burst Limit also offers online play, although the sessions were too laggy for their own good. At least the option to match up against other fighters of equal skill is a nice touch.


Although Burst Limit isn't the most original DBZ fighting game (it copies most of the stuff that worked in previous games in the series), it still works reasonably well. You can knock around opponents with combos, super moves, throws and other techniques, either running around on the ground or skyrocketing several hundred feet in the air. There's something immensely satisfying about knocking someone out of the sky and watching them slam into the earth like a meteor.

Presentation-wise, Dimps does a serviceable, if not overwhelming, job porting the DBZ universe to this advanced hardware. The animation is impressive, particularly when an opponent flies through the air uncontrollably, waving his limbs about in an attempt to regain consciousness. The backdrops look cool, both on the ground and several hundred feet in the air. The anime sequences are right on the money, particularly the button mashing sequences when you try to fend off a merciless multi-hit combo. As for audio, it consists of cheesy background music, bone-crunching sound effects and two channels for dialogue. One features the original U.S. voice cast, while the other is in Japanese with optional subtitles.

Overall, Burst Limit doesn't quite reach the next level of Dragon Ball Z euphoria that fans might expect, but it still holds up nicely. The fighting action is frantic and exciting, the presentation does its job (for the most part) and the multiple modes will keep your days filled with lots of fireball throwing and opponent-taunting. It doesn't go the Limit, but at least it won't "Burst" beneath your expectations.

Taken From : http://www.gamedaily.com