Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance

An intriguing idea, but it deserves a better game than this.

Fans of repetition or the beat-em-up genre may be interested, but the game is likely to disappoint—even as a rental. Avoid, if possible.

Beatdown is a solid fighting themed action role-playing game brought down a notch by too much area transition loading and some limited promised features (like the ability to interrogate every character in the game).

Sadly, the open world and one-on-one fighting engine lack the proper execution, and the copious loading times just get in the way.

Building up a powerful gang from nothing under the watchful eye of the man sounds like fun, but the process in Beat Down is shallow and tiresome.

It's an engaging scrap that just about manages to keep you hooked. Worth taking a chance on if you like fight-heavy action adventures with a seedy, skuzzy undercurrent and plenty of face-smashing. [PSW]

Ultimately, though, it’s all about how well you wield a crowbar.

Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance is a really strange game; a mixture of ideas that comes across as extremely hit and miss. The amalgamation of traditional beat-em-up gameplay and one-on-one works really well; but on the other hand the disguise system seems flawed, who wants to buy a beat-em-up when the aim is to avoid confrontations?

Great in concept but ends up being a slow-loading, profanity-laden action game with subpar graphics.

Beatdown is a choppy, shallow and tedious experience, despite a few cool features being thrown into the mix.

Been there, done that.

A dumb, forgettable game and nothing else. [Sept 2005, p.100]

Despite offering a laundry list of moves and button combinations, the game's complicated controls feel shallower than the three-buttoned Capcom arcade classics like "The Punisher" or "Alien vs. Predator." Group battles feel too constricted with the auto target locking mechanics, and the simplistic one-on-one fights are somewhere on the level of "Pit Fighter."

There's still just not enough incentive to repeatedly play through the game. [Oct 2005, p.90]

A game that is certainly violent, absolutely profane, but also acceptably playable and filled with enough replay value and customization to warrant a purchase as opposed to a rental. But in terms of sheer polish and finesse, "Def Jam Fight for New York" is still the standard bearer against which these sorts of games should be judged.

A game that feels half-baked and suffers from terrible pacing.