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Breakdown of Dark Rift's Game Elements:
Graphics:
4 out of 5: Dark Rift's animation is simply awesome. The framerate is silky smooth. The Arenas are varied and many are very nice. The reason Dark Rift gets a 4 for graphics is that it doesn't seem to use Z-buffering, resulting in occasional Playstation-like polygon flickering. Also, the actual detail on the character textures is fairly low. Other than these minor gripes, Dark Rift does the N64 proud.
Music:
4 out of 5: Dark Rift's music is dramatic and appropriate. Sometimes it's techno, sometimes it's heroic orchestral, but it always seems to fit the scene and enhance the game. The drawback is the actual sound quality. It's pretty much a notch up from Shadows of the Empire, meaning it contains a slightly scratchy, low-fidelity sound. It's still very good though.
Sound FX:
3 out of 5: The fighting sounds are quite good, but the characters don't speak at all. If you win a fight, you're character will sound their victory with a series of odd grunts. The announcer doesn't say much, and the overall lack of speech makes the game a bit too quiet and takes away some of the game's impact.
Play Control:
7 out of 10: Dark Rift's play control is very good, with the exception of blocking. The block button is difficult to reach in the middle of an attack. Other than that, Dark Rift's controls are pretty responsive, easy to learn and they work well.
Frustration Factor:
6 out of 10 (10 being the worst):
The one-player mode of Dark Rift can be frustrating when facing an opponent with a clear advantage. Blocking can also be frustrating, as can waiting through a ten second countdown to change characters during Vs. mode.
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