Back in 2005, Namco released a game called Urban Reign, which was something like a streets-of-rage style brawler-meets a watered down version of Tekken. To put it in a better light, the game used all of the resources from Tekken 5 (animations, textures, etc.) to make a more technical brawler -basically what The Bouncer has tried to be. While the basic structure of the game (one-off mid-sized 3D arenas instead of a sprawling linear scroll) doesn't quite match the old 2D brawlers, it keeps their spirit very much alive (variety of recurring pallate-swap style enemies, the final boss is a businessman in his penthouse office with a gun).
The game would become something of a cult classic - widely derided and panned by critics for its sometimes unnerving difficulty (ironic, considering Contra 4 released two years later to much fanfare), but loved by fans of niche action games (The Bouncer, DMC, Anarchy Reigns, etc.). Urban Reign greatly benefits from quick load times and addictive gameplay - lose a level? Hit retry, and you're back in action within seconds. The stages are short enough that you really feel that "just one more level..!" vibe.
Besides all that good stuff, there was one more thing that made this title stand out - it paid homage not just to niche action games, but niche action movies as well. The characters are bruiser-ized versions of all your favorites - Brad Pitt from Snatch, Jason Statham from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Tony Jaa from Tom-Yung Goong, Michelle Yeoh from Super Cop, Sonny Cheeba, Billy Blanks.. even some weird stuff from the "Urban obsessed" late 90s early 2000s like Romeo Must Die (Jet Li), 8 Mile (Eminem for no apparent reason), Xzibit (?????), and so forth. On the whole, much of the battle system and choreography seems to be directly inspired by French cult hit District 13 - released a year earlier.
But one dude is missing. Despite having a training/multiplayer stage that mirrors the famous, "I know Kung Fu" scene from the Matrix, Keanu is nowhere to be seen (unless you count the emo-inspired Korean dude in all black leather). Having put in insane work, and basically giving America 3 more action flicks to be proud of, we need a new Urban Reign with John Wick. Also get some Raid: The Redemption in there.
The game would become something of a cult classic - widely derided and panned by critics for its sometimes unnerving difficulty (ironic, considering Contra 4 released two years later to much fanfare), but loved by fans of niche action games (The Bouncer, DMC, Anarchy Reigns, etc.). Urban Reign greatly benefits from quick load times and addictive gameplay - lose a level? Hit retry, and you're back in action within seconds. The stages are short enough that you really feel that "just one more level..!" vibe.
Besides all that good stuff, there was one more thing that made this title stand out - it paid homage not just to niche action games, but niche action movies as well. The characters are bruiser-ized versions of all your favorites - Brad Pitt from Snatch, Jason Statham from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Tony Jaa from Tom-Yung Goong, Michelle Yeoh from Super Cop, Sonny Cheeba, Billy Blanks.. even some weird stuff from the "Urban obsessed" late 90s early 2000s like Romeo Must Die (Jet Li), 8 Mile (Eminem for no apparent reason), Xzibit (?????), and so forth. On the whole, much of the battle system and choreography seems to be directly inspired by French cult hit District 13 - released a year earlier.
But one dude is missing. Despite having a training/multiplayer stage that mirrors the famous, "I know Kung Fu" scene from the Matrix, Keanu is nowhere to be seen (unless you count the emo-inspired Korean dude in all black leather). Having put in insane work, and basically giving America 3 more action flicks to be proud of, we need a new Urban Reign with John Wick. Also get some Raid: The Redemption in there.
