The Bouncer (PlayStation 2, 2000)

Release date: Saturday 23rd December 2000

Platforms: PlayStation 2

Published by: Squaresoft

Developed by: DreamFactory

Genres: Action, Beat 'em up

Story Drive📖 14/20
Accessibility🚪 17/20
Depth🤿 7/20
Challenge💀 10/20
Duration⌛ 9/20
Freedom🌎 7/20
Review Scores
7xDA9
Fouttaf Score
Dimension: 7
Leaving aside the final product, we believe The Bouncer aimed to be a big title that showcased the PS2's potential and with a lot to offer in terms of gameplay and content as well. Brawlers tend to be light-packed but in this case both the story and the in-game mechanics had some tricks up their sleeve to make for a more bountiful and heavyweight experience.
The Flair: D
The graphics were truly phenomenal by 2000's standards, it's hard to come up with a video game that could brag to have better graphics at the time. The soundtrack is great too, but the voice acting is a bit cringey - at least the English version - which to be fair is hard to ignore with such a cheesy script (we'll get there).
The Feel: A
In terms of gameplay, there are some interesting things that the game tries to pull off, and quite successfully so, such as the level-ups and the experience points. It was a new flavor of a Brawler since it introduced RPG concepts, and they help to keep things interesting throughout the adventure. However, although certainly having the capacity to produce some fun and exciting moments, the combat itself is not nearly as satisfying as it should be, as connecting blows feels slightly sluggish and inaccurate.
The Fuel: 9
It's cool to be able to play the story as three different characters with their own set of moves and small plot variations. The story mode is extremely short, but the ability to play "new game +" and the survival and versus modes - which allow you to control even more characters - are key to provide quality replay value, plus there are also bits of nice unlockable content. On the other hand though, the story and script are terribly bad. The plot is absurdly rushed and heavy at the same time, resulting in a bizarre, shallow story that barely manages to get your attention at the opening stage. On another note, both the level design and the enemy variety are rather uninspired and dull, especially the latter.
Decent
69
Classic Score
Conclusions
The Bouncer is a very special game in every possible sense, and it's really one of those hit or miss titles; it's as likely for it to gather fans as to gather detractors. It's most certainly lightyears away from being a perfect game, but at the same time it pulls off some very unique and cool twists within the brawler genre. The poor and uninteresting story is somewhat countered by its amazing visuals that inaugurated the great capabilities of a new generation of consoles. All in all, love it or hate it, it's a very unique piece of gaming history.
The Bouncer
The Bouncer (PlayStation 2, 2000)
Badge Cabinet
Release date: Saturday 23rd December 2000
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Published by: Squaresoft
Developed by: DreamFactory
Genres: Action, Beat 'em up
Trait Chart
Story Drive 📖 14/20
Accessibility 🚪 17/20
Depth 🤿 7/20
Challenge 💀 10/20
Duration ⌛ 9/20
Freedom 🌎 7/20
Review Scores
7xDA9
Fouttaf Score
Dimension: 7
Leaving aside the final product, we believe The Bouncer aimed to be a big title that showcased the PS2's potential and with a lot to offer in terms of gameplay and content as well. Brawlers tend to be light-packed but in this case both the story and the in-game mechanics had some tricks up their sleeve to make for a more bountiful and heavyweight experience.
The Flair: D
The graphics were truly phenomenal by 2000's standards, it's hard to come up with a video game that could brag to have better graphics at the time. The soundtrack is great too, but the voice acting is a bit cringey - at least the English version - which to be fair is hard to ignore with such a cheesy script (we'll get there).
The Feel: A
In terms of gameplay, there are some interesting things that the game tries to pull off, and quite successfully so, such as the level-ups and the experience points. It was a new flavor of a Brawler since it introduced RPG concepts, and they help to keep things interesting throughout the adventure. However, although certainly having the capacity to produce some fun and exciting moments, the combat itself is not nearly as satisfying as it should be, as connecting blows feels slightly sluggish and inaccurate.
The Fuel: 9
It's cool to be able to play the story as three different characters with their own set of moves and small plot variations. The story mode is extremely short, but the ability to play "new game +" and the survival and versus modes - which allow you to control even more characters - are key to provide quality replay value, plus there are also bits of nice unlockable content. On the other hand though, the story and script are terribly bad. The plot is absurdly rushed and heavy at the same time, resulting in a bizarre, shallow story that barely manages to get your attention at the opening stage. On another note, both the level design and the enemy variety are rather uninspired and dull, especially the latter.
Conclusions

The Bouncer is a very special game in every possible sense, and it's really one of those hit or miss titles; it's as likely for it to gather fans as to gather detractors. It's most certainly lightyears away from being a perfect game, but at the same time it pulls off some very unique and cool twists within the brawler genre. The poor and uninteresting story is somewhat countered by its amazing visuals that inaugurated the great capabilities of a new generation of consoles. All in all, love it or hate it, it's a very unique piece of gaming history.

Decent
69
Classic Score