Zeno Clash Review: Put Up Your Dukes, Rooster-Type Thing?

It’s easy to see how a game like “Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition” could get lost in the fold on the X-Box 360 Live Arcade. A beefed-up port of a relatively unknown PC game, this title sneakily found its way on the console. However, possessing some of the coolest graphics and intuitive control, this download will provide hours of gaming goodness, and is only hampered by a terrible storyline that often makes you wonder why you are still playing.

Right off the bat, “Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition” will remind many hardcore gamers of Namco’s “Breakdown” on the X-Box, as it is a first person puncher, that at times, has you using weapons. However, that’s where most of the similarities end, as this title’s lackluster story, one which forces you to fight enemies in order to find out the truth in a mystical story, is, at times, completely brain-dead.

As a matter of fact, more times than not, you won’t have a freaking clue what’s doing on.

All you’ll know that is that there’s some beatings to be given out.

It’s not that Gnat, the game’s main character, isn’t cool, with his black fohawk and hot chick by his side, it’s just that you don’t learn enough about him through the course of the game to make the events that take place meaningful. Unable to attach yourself to the characters emotionally, its hard to play this game for long periods of time, as you can only get in what feel like meaningless fist fights for so long. In the end, you won’t care what happens at the end of the story and with a limited amount of replayability, in spite of the added co-op mode, it’s obvious why this game was released on the Live Arcade.

Nevertheless, with excellent character models, some of the best on Live Arcade, you’ll enjoy kicking the crap out of the myriad of enemies that come your way. While the control isn’t exactly pinpoint, the handful of tutorials will help you master the plethora of moves, such as throws, punches, kicks and counters at your disposal, creating a game that is legitimately fun. For that reason, the game is great in short bursts or for gamers that don’t need a story to enjoy a title.

Again, it may be brainless, but there’s something to be said about the unique environments and atmosphere. Say what you will about the story, but it is original and tries hard to be different. As well, there aren’t many first person games like this around and it’s a treat at times to see how much work went into polishing the combat system here.

Regardless, it’s often too much of a distraction fighting for something you don’t believe in or understand.

In the end, like a film with a host of redeeming qualities that ends up missing the mark, “Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition” is a game that should be judged on its graphics, solid gameplay mechanics and at times, challenging difficulty- and not the haphazard story that encompasses it.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14229 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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