The Bouncer

 PlayStation 2
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
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  1. PSX Nation
    40
    One hell of a disappointment and one of the worst experiences I've ever had to endure on my shiny DVD-playing black box.

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2001
21
#21 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2001

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 56 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 56
  3. Negative: 8 out of 56
  1. plotlesviolence
    Feb 23, 2015
    7
    The Bouncer is a beat-em-up game with mechanics that would have been revolutionary had they not been buried behind idiotic design choices. ItThe Bouncer is a beat-em-up game with mechanics that would have been revolutionary had they not been buried behind idiotic design choices. It reminds me of "Die by the Sword," in that the precise hit detection should have spawned a new genre of sequels and copycats with procedural action gameplay, but was instead lost and forgotten.

    REVOLUTIONARY:
    1) The game has PERFECT hit detection. It feels pixel-based, and it's better than what we have 15 years later today. What this does is it really makes the differences between each attack stand out so you can apply them to the situation, shifting strategies as enemies cluster, or flip. It keeps everything feeling procedural and organic, because the impact angles are always different.
    2) Rag-doll physics for all human and cat characters (but not robots). Some beat-em-ups today do this (not enough), but the ragdoll in this game is probably the best I've seen, and at the time any real physics was novel, and they actually affect gameplay.
    3) Enemies knock each other over when they collide. In combination with the perfect hit detection and rag-doll-physics, this opens up a world of strategy and replayability.
    4) Two NPC allies stay with you almost the entire game and help in fights, although they can knock you down when they're hit.

    IDIOTIC Design Choices:
    1) No cooperative gameplay. The only multiplayer was the versus mode (up to 3-on-3 with 2 computer-controlled allies per, or free-for-all with 4 players). I would have killed for coop gameplay in the survival mode especially.
    2) Encounters are way too short (3-5 enemies) before a frequent, overly-long cutscene and another upgrade/save/character-select point. The plot is so insipid you skip cutscenes on the first playthrough, but even that takes time. The characters are dressed for Final Fantasy, meaning they all universally look stupid aesthetically.
    3) Walking movement in 3D was stiff, constantly arrested by an auto-lock-on mechanic that made it difficult to position yourself with the precision that the hit detection required.
    4) Characters have 8 basic attacks (and paltry few combos) from 4 face buttons; this was one of the only games ever that distinguished between light and hard press on the PS2 controller. Picking attacks like that, rapid-fire in sequence, is just too much to ask from a player in a fast-paced beat-em-up.
    5) There are no environmental hazards, ring-outs, or destructible/interactive objects in the environment. It's like the entire game takes place in one room where the background art shifts.
    6) An RPG upgrade system, which never works in action videogames because it's always hard to calibrate how upgraded you need to be. So if you save up to buy new moves (which is my bias because I want to see everything...at least get the throw because it looks cool with the ragdoll effect) or switch characters midway to upgrade them, the game becomes impossible.
    7) Then there are a few pointless sections without enemies or puzzles, just corridors with only one exit and literally nothing to do but proceed there; it's bizarre.
    8) There's no "continue" option when you die (you have to load a save from the main menu) which just aggravates the steep difficulty curve and cheap bosses that begin appearing at the halfway point.
    9) The game lasts 3 hours, although only 1 hour is actual new gameplay, the rest is cutscenes and restarting the same section over and over because of a super-cheap boss.

    The upshot is a relatively fun game (worth a playthrough or two) with enormously squandered potential. In the 15 years since, only dinky indie games have attempted procedural/organic beat-em-up gameplay, and not nearly as well.

    What probably went wrong is too much of Square's traditional Final Fantasy RPG influence. It's a shame, "The Bouncer" could have fixed itself into a superb 9/10 game just by adding cooperative play and deleting "features": delete the cutscenes, delete the RPG mechanics (spawn every character with all his moves), delete the robotic enemies, delete the invisible wall that keeps enemies from "ring-outs."
    One more step beyond that--add in environmental hazards, make the arcade (not "story"; literally zero cutscenes would be better) mode longer, and maybe design characters that didn't look like they were caught inside a Lisa Frank warehouse explosion--and we're talking a perfect 10/10 game.    … Full Review »
  2. mattcd42
    Apr 30, 2016
    10
    This is one of the greats! A game you can blaze through, Play the action movie as it were. But the fighting is unlike anything else.
    Grab    This is one of the greats! A game you can blaze through, Play the action movie as it were. But the fighting is unlike anything else.
    Grab this game play through it I am sure you'll have a blast.    … Full Review »
  3. Nerpco
    May 6, 2014
    5
    I used to love this game when I was a kid, but I was kind of disappointed when I picked it up to play it again after so many years. This gameI used to love this game when I was a kid, but I was kind of disappointed when I picked it up to play it again after so many years. This game is good actually, for its graphics. This game was made back in 2001... Back then this, this was pretty revolutionary to me and some other people, but graphics was not the only thing that was good; the sound was also great. With all that said, this makes it a decent game, but does that make it a great game? NO. The gameplay was definitely awkward and not entertaining, the game felt really fun back then, but now I think it was not really enjoyable... And I see that some people agree. I think the gameplay is mediocre, which is disappointing being that this game could've been great if the actual game was... What a shame.… Full Review »
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