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Posted by @ 7:17 AM, EST
Squaregamer kicked up a review of Square’s RPG-fighter, The Bouncer:

You'll be jumping right into the action as soon as the intro is finished, and fighting your way out of the bar Fate where Sion and the gang are employed as bouncers. The character models are all very detailed and movements look realistic. The bar area is well detailed with stuff like a red car and a juke box scattered around the room. I noticed that as you progress through the game some of the battle areas are left with less detail compared to others. After feeling so drawn into the story, a plain looking area detracts from the overall experience. There really isn't much to complain about in the graphics department, but a little more detail in some places and Yu Suzuki would be eating his shorts and cursing at Shen Mue after a few fights with the bouncers.

The animation of the players, for example, is exemplary. EA has really gone to town to create physically impressive players who flip between moves and feints with a degree of smoothness that even Des Lynam would envy. Despite the occasional awkward moment, passes are made and players slip their defender with incredible turns, while blocking and shooting are equally well realised. These skilful moves are also highlighted by slick-looking camera work worthy of a US pay-per-view event. Close-ups are used to show off the facial detail that now graces the recognisable NBA pros featured in the game, while intercut scene-setting sequences reveal a very detailed crowd and work to create the atmosphere of an important game - the players even talk to each other during free shots. With an unobtrusive musical score and sound effects that recreate the roars of a happy or disappointed crowd and the ever-present squeak of trainers on wood floor, EA's reputation for stunning presentation remains intact.

The primary difference with the PlayStation 2 version of WinBack are its much-improved visuals – the difference is stunning, with W-Force Omega putting many of its tricks seen in DW2 to use here. As you move throughout the game, one can easily see distinct cloud cover slither across the skies – an effect that hasn’t been implemented to this degree before. A variety of special effects complement the weather, including smoke, fire, shadows, and a laser sight that can "see" far into the distance. Bullets almost always stream past the camera, instead of simply disappearing several feet after being fired. The hero (Jean-Luc) is also represented quite nicely; while there aren’t any changing facial expressions to speak of, his static face is seemingly both very realistic and complex regardless of the on-screen action.

Konami has created quite a cool "cinematic action game" here(I prefer this genre name to your typical beat-em-up) Here is how it works: Basically, you start the game with a choice between two characters. You can choose a samurai with the ability to wield all sorts of various swords and bladed weapons, or the chick whom can equip various firearms. The game takes place in Feudal Japan, and features you taking on an army of ninja's and demon-possessed goons that could have crawled out of most typical smurai anime flicks.

While the basic idea of the game seems simple in nature, it's actually quite complicated and very difficult to master. And when you combine the game's wide array of pieces and items that must be managed, its relatively hectic pace and the fact that it has some control issues that must be dealt with, which come in the form of camera problems and some difficulty with placing pieces exactly where you want them because of the camera problems and the imprecise control, Aqua Aqua is a game that might turn off a lot of first-time players.