Spikeout: Battle Street (Xbox)

Punch, kick, punch, kick …sigh….. (-_-)


Spike Out: Battle Street is a beat'em up side scrolling fighter that takes you from the bays of a nice small town beach, into a mall made in the shape of a Ferris wheel and lastly, but definitely not least, a big lighthouse tower with a statue of Sonic the Hedgehog as tall as the eyes can see. What? Yeah, that’s what I said when I played this game for the first time. Let the disappointments begin.



Story

The story is about a young man named Spike Jr. Spike Jr. is a relaxed type of guy just enjoying life with his girlfriend until one day a group of small time thugs take over his town and tries to kill him for no apparent reason. Turns out Spike Jr.’s father owes this gang's leader some moolah!!! He’s a backwater drug dealer. However, Spike is nowhere to be found thus leaving Spike Jr to fight for himself in a game of kill or be killed.


Music


Music in this game consists of mostly electric rock and sometimes embedded trance type tunes. Some parts in the game actually sound ok, but the effect is messed up by the fact that the music has no form to it what-so-ever. It repeats, and quickly wears on the ears. None of the music is remembered at all after the game is completed. To tell the truth, cutting the volume down really makes the game more enjoyable. Sadly that’s just how dull, uninspiring, and boring the music is in Spike Out: Battle Street. Let’s not even get into the voice overs...


Controls

The controls are plain and simple, nothing hard at all to understand what each button does. It’s what the controls do that brings both the game play and the replay value all the way down. First off, punch, kick, and jump are pretty much all you will usually end up doing. There is a special button, but to use it you have to hold the button down while this bar at the top of the screen moves from levels 1 through 5 and depending on when you release the button that is what special move will be preformed. While doing all this you will more than likely get punched, kicked, and body slammed multiple times. This is a horrible way to use specials as most of the onscreen enemies are way faster than you. Instead of you charging up to kill them, it usually ends up working the other way around.


Graphics


Well the graphics are not that bad, it’s the animations that make them seem just awful. When the character walks, runs, or does any movement at all, it will make the character look as if its leg goes completely behind it, bending into a disfigured horrible looking mess. This alone turns the visual aspects of the game totally off. The background graphics are also recycled in some of the later stages, making for a somewhat bland fighting field. I’m sure the Xbox game console is capable of much much more than this .

Overall


Overall what can I say? Well you definitely get what you paid for. When this game was first released it retailed for $29.99 new. Today this game can be found for less than 4.99 new. I’d say pick up a copy for a good laugh at just how horrid this game is and for that sole reason alone. There is no action or adventure to be had in this game. Nor will there ever be.. . .. .. . (-_-)

 

[WitchDetective]

I can taste the 00's radiating off that box art. It's practically screaming that it's gonna keep rollin', rollin', rollin' WHAT!

 

[Walker973]

I actually bought this game at launch.....very accurate review. It was fun trash....but trash nonetheless

 

[UnDubious]

I haven't played this game since I never had a Xbox, but the arcade prequel is actually a good game once you learn how to play it. Sounds like it uses the same system. SpikeOut was created by Toshihiro Nagoshi, who later created Yakuza. There's SpikeOut, SlashOut which is a fantasy hack-n-slash spin-off, and Spikers Battle which is a 4-player VS fighter.
btw, it's not a side-scrolling game, it's 3D. Side-scrolling means you go from right to left, or left to right only.
I encourage people to try them out with an open mind, look up some gameplay concepts (there's a FAQ on GameFAQs that explains a bunch of useful things), and not just take a negative review's word for it.

 

[BunnyCbr3]

This game is amazing. I respectfully disagree with everything this review said. Here's why.
It's an arcade beat em up and its a port/sequel to an incredibly popular beat em up in japan that really should have come out on the Dreamcast. Or have been cross platform on the ps2.
The game is hard as balls unless you're playing on the easiest difficulty which you need to die three times to unlock to begin with. Kinda like in ninja gaiden for the Xbox or devil may cry 3.
The part where you talk about how the characters legs seem to move underneath them and makes it look weird is basically this games version of the Dodge system. This system forces you to move around and position yourself in a strategic position to attack opponents while also dodging them all flying at you at once. Think of it as Z targeting in Zelda or side stepping in virtua fighter. There is no parry (as far as I know). Your parry is that weird movement and the game forces you to constantly be positioning yourself for the best offensive/defensive positions. Attacks differ based on what angle you're coming at toward enemies. The charge button is used in conjunction with the Dodge system so that you can time your powerful attacks better.
Enemies basically fly at you at all times and there's no waiting for their turn to fight. It reminds me of ninja gaiden 2 on the 360 in terms of how every enemy is out to get you and how every enemy can kill you. This is where the fun of the game is. You're constantly manuevering yourself around trying to charge a powerful attack, get a few hits in, then sidestepping and maneuvering around three enemies all trying to hit you at once, rinse and repeat. It's great. Very few games pull off this level of engagement imo.
It's pure chaos and the truest example of a 2d beat em up brought to 3d. The music is also great. The game gets shit on and the visuals do look like a Dreamcast game but who cares. In reality it's an amazing 3d beat me up and an all time action great on the Xbox. However to each their own. Personally, i recommend this game to everyone. It's in my opinion on the same S level tier of 3d beat em ups as godhand is. It in fact sits as one of the holy Trinity of 3d beat em ups is consists of Godhand, Spikeout and Urban Reign. Heresy to most I'm sure. But I recommend everyone try it. It's also one of the most expensive Xbox games to buy (at least online). No 4.99 anymore.. try 200 plus. Good times!

 

[Dew Prism]

Weird review.

Spikeout series are amazing arcade games. I've spent countless hours perfecting my technique in this series, and it was all worth it. This review is like worse than IGN level bias. How can you critique a game for being simplistic knowing it's a beat em up? And besides, there are layers of depth in these games that aren't made apparent to the average player. You have to git gud son. FFS my eyballs at this mediocre "review". Bahahahaha.

 

[UnDubious]

Weird review.

Spikeout series are amazing arcade games. I've spent countless hours perfecting my technique in this series, and it was all worth it. This review is like worse than IGN level bias. How can you critique a game for being simplistic knowing it's a beat em up? And besides, there are layers of depth in these games that aren't made apparent to the average player. You have to git gud son. FFS my eyballs at this mediocre "review". Bahahahaha.

That's what I'm saying, it's actually more complex than the average beat-'em-up. You can tell he never learned to play it because he says you can never use the charge moves without getting hit.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

I think you’d greatly benefit from reworking your writing style and structure, your current formatting is a little incomprehensible with how paragraphs and images are spaced and placed.

 

[Sinsic30]

I think you’d greatly benefit from reworking your writing style and structure, your current formatting is a little incomprehensible with how paragraphs and images are spaced and placed.

lol yousef it goes with the way this game makes me feel

 

[Z77]

This is the first time I'm posting here and it's to say that I disagree with this review. Spikeout is a brilliant game, both arcade and Xbox...also the music is by SuperSweep and rules. I suck at it (that first boss in Battle Street UGH) but that doesn't make it a bad game

 

[CobraNightviper]

I've never played this version of Spike Out hell I didn't even know it was on Xbox but I do have Spike Out final Edition on arcade and I really like that game.

 

[kristycocopop]

"Cons

• - I wrote this review (-_-)"

Nonsense! You did good, here's a Cookie!

 

[SonicEcho5]

All you do in Mario is run, jump, run....mediocre graphics, almost no story....

 

[GhaleonUnlimited]

Wow so good to know not to ever check the reviews ever again when I come to this site. It's fine to dislike a game, but if you care at all about the genre this is an awesome game. Not to mention you can link 4 systems together, and that's really the best part of the game, to be played as a Vs. game as it was in arcades.

People really like SoR4-style beat-em-ups but pressing 1 button in sequence to do big, exciting combos is not really true to the spirit of the games they're meant to be emulating. Spikeout is a really cool evolution of beat-em-ups that deserves an actual review.

 

[Sinsic30]

Wow so good to know not to ever check the reviews ever again when I come to this site. It's fine to dislike a game, but if you care at all about the genre this is an awesome game. Not to mention you can link 4 systems together, and that's really the best part of the game, to be played as a Vs. game as it was in arcades.

People really like SoR4-style beat-em-ups but pressing 1 button in sequence to do big, exciting combos is not really true to the spirit of the games they're meant to be emulating. Spikeout is a really cool evolution of beat-em-ups that deserves an actual review.

The stage is your's lol - I understand that a lot of people like this game but not I - And I promise I never will ..... - thanks for the comment

 

[UnDubious]

Wow so good to know not to ever check the reviews ever again when I come to this site. It's fine to dislike a game, but if you care at all about the genre this is an awesome game. Not to mention you can link 4 systems together, and that's really the best part of the game, to be played as a Vs. game as it was in arcades.

People really like SoR4-style beat-em-ups but pressing 1 button in sequence to do big, exciting combos is not really true to the spirit of the games they're meant to be emulating. Spikeout is a really cool evolution of beat-em-ups that deserves an actual review.

The best thing that came out of this review is seeing Spikeout has plenty of fans and defenders. I actually remember

I think it was a victim of timing in the West (because as I understand, it was a hit in Japan). The arcades were starting to die out here by the late '90s which might be why the arcade games never got a North American release. I remember seeing a preview in a magazine and thinking it looked so cool, I somehow never forgot about it even though it came and went. Then they didn't get Dreamcast ports either - very few Model 3 games did. Even Fighting Vipers 2, which came out the same year as the first version of Spike Out in the arcades (1998), didn't get a DC port until 2001. Rent-A-Hero's battle system was based on Spikeout, but it didn't come out here either...

And then it got this Xbox release 6 years later, long after the genre had lost its popularity. So it remained obscure. So the whole series barely got any exposure here.

 

[Mork]

Hot take for Spikeout enjoyers, I actually like Battlestreet's character design more than the arcade one. I wish I could play that version one day.

 

[roundtree]

I like this game I think it has some good fast fighting action. I've only played the Naomi arcade version through flycast. Runs very well good for some quick thrills I'm not going to say this is something I would sit and play 12 hours straight like an RPG though. Nice quick punch and kick combos. Seems like the enemies have some good moves but they are easily defeated with combos. I wish this had higher difficulty.

 

[DjQuick2008]

wouldnt mind this collection of games to hit modern platforms

 

[Glossy Cat]

After reading the review, as well as the comments, I'm going to give this a try and judge for myself.

 

[Sinsic30]

After reading the review, as well as the comments, I'm going to give this a try and judge for myself.

lol please do and let me know your thoughts on it

 

[Walker973]

What I find interesting is that mad mofos (who never commented on anything b4) came out the WOODWORK to disagree with this review I low-key think that's pretty lame......but such a place is the internet

 

[Sinsic30]

What I find interesting is that mad mofos (who never commented on anything b4) came out the WOODWORK to disagree with this review I low-key think that's pretty lame......but such a place is the internet

- I felt this way as well but I just kept quiet - at the end of the day it's MY review - I welcome ppl to disagree with me - just don't get all in your feelings about it .... Example - BunnyCbr3 - was very respectful with there comment and made some very valid point - - but hay at least it brought more people to this site

 

[UnDubious]

A lot of people just lurk and don't feel like posting, or just use the site, since the forum isn't actually the most important part. But then you see the link to a review people rarely talk about, and if the review is weaksauce from someone who doesn't get the gameplay at all and makes bad points ("all you do is punch and kick" or whatever), they're going to be moved to post.