Burst Limit is the most recent entry into the long running Dragon Ball
Z fighting series. It released in early June right in the middle of such
releases like Ninja Gaiden II and Metal Gear Solid 4. It's a tough time
to release a game, but I feel Atari has done something good with the
Dragon Ball Z name, however unfortunately it's not all that different
from the previous Dragon Ball Z games, and really doesn't have staying
power. There's a lot in the game to talk about, so let's get to it.
The single-player consists of the Z Chronicles, which is basically the
re-telling of the Dragon Ball Z story. It takes you through the Saiyan,
Freiza, and Cell Sagas. If you're new to the Dragon Ball story, you
will no doubt be confused and sometimes even frustrated with how weird
it will be. This is due to 2 reasons. The first, is that it doesn't
even introduce the characters. You'll probably be saying, Who is this
and why am I fighting him? a lot. The second reason, is because you
also play as the villains in the story, and unlike traditional fighting
games, they seem to keep coming back and you keep switching sides. This
is not a problem for me, as I know the Dragon Ball story, and I know
what's going on. But to a new Dragon Baller, it could end up ruining
the experience that many Dragon Ball fans will enjoy.
When I say that this game isn't all that different from the previous
entries, I mean it in the sense that yep, it's a Dragon Ball Z game.
Obviously there are changes to the game, most notably in the online
addition and the camera angles. There are two things I must say about
the game. The voice acting is both good, and bad. The English dub has
some stellar voice acting as evidence in characters like Goku and
Picollo, but it also has some truly cringe-worthy voice acting from
characters like Vegeta. The Japanese voice acting is solid generally,
but Goku sounds like a little kid. I'm not a Dragon Ball Z aficionado
who watches it with subtitles, so I don't know if that's how he's
supposed to sound. My second point is the music. It's cheesy, but it
fits the series well. The sound effects are done well and the sound
overall is great.
You'll unlock 21 characters in the game throughout your completion of
chapters and sagas. It's not the largest roster for a Dragon Ball game,
but it fits the bill well, especially if you're into Saiyans and all
that crazy, over the top Dragon Ball stuff. I should also add that it
doesn't have the original theme song, which makes me cry inside because
it's so lame, yet iconic. Who wouldn't be excited to hear the theme?
Moving on. The online is buggy and lags quite a bit unfortunately. It's
a nice touch that they added it in, and it's fun, but the lag is
sometimes unbearable. The graphics are awesome, though. It's
beautifully tropical in a way. I'm a sucker for Cel-shaded though.
There are also some framerate drops, but those are very minor.
Burst Limit is definitely a game for the fans of the series, not for
anyone more or anyone less. If you've never played a Dragon Ball Z game
before, I personally recommend you rent it before you buy it. The
campaign will last around 5-6 hours, and if you can handle a bit of lag
online, you'll probably enjoy it's craziness, but definitely not the
story. If you're somewhere in the middle with Dragon Ball Z, check it
out for sure. It's really fun and easy to get into. If you're a
hardcore fan of the game series and the TV show/Manga, you've probably
already made up your mind. This game's for you, so enjoy it.
