This game is a big title for the Playstation 2 and the entire world is thinking...is it good? Is it worth the hype. You know what? It is and it isn't. Read below.

Gameplay --- 90% (out of 100)

The most important part of an action game is how it moves and works. The truth about The Bouncer is that it moves and works rather nicely. When you do get the chance to fight it is pretty cool. You get to master the basic moves and start to work on the more advanced things by the end of the game. Works out nicely. The bad thing is the layout. While it succeeds in the "play the action movie" thing it is kind of annoying as a game. You watch a 5 minutes cut-scene and then you fight for 20 seconds. Then you watch another 2 or 3 minute scene and fight for another 40 seconds. The time you spend actually fighting does increase as you go on but it's only because you are fighting tougher people. As a "play the action movie" experience it passes with flying colors. As a video game, there isn't enough freedom to find things out and do mini games and get into massive fights that really, a game like this should thrive on. The rating above is based on the "play the action movie" experiment. As a video game, put it down to around 70.

Sound --- 97% (out of 100)

This is where the game brings it home. 5.1 audio on a video game is now a reality. I've heard it, folks. It's awesome. The draw back is that the 5.1 action is only during the cutscenes. The in-game fighting is not. No big whoop. As an action movie is is pretty aggressive, using a lot of base for crashing airships and trains and stuff like that. The really cool thing is that your vibration feature works while in the cut scenes. Someone hugs or punches another and you feel it on the controller. That's a neat touch. Surround action is pretty good here too. The intro credits do use the rears speakers quite a bit as do the train wreck and finale. They are split, too. I didn't think they would be but something flies over your left shoulder and then something over your right. I want to see more of this in a video game.

Graphics --- 99% (out of 100)

This is one of the really amazing things about the game that I saw before it came out. Really nice graphics. When you play it, you'll know what I am talking about. The detail and beauty of the cut scenes in this game are truly amazing. The only reason that it doesn't get one hundred is that when you are fighting there is this weird blur thing going on. You move from here to there (and in some cut scenes) and a blur follows you. Not sure what's up there. I just know that if they'd cut the fighting you'd have a cg movie that would rival Toy Story for realism.

Overall --- 87% (out of 100)

The game is really cool but it is seriously hindered by a single player mode (I don't do too much multiple player stuff) that is really one-note. No real freedom and not much else to do but fight. No puzzles, no mini-games. You just fight. Playing the game over depends on how much you like the plot of the movie. I hear that the 3 characters you choose from have different endings but I didn't check it out as the movie is good but I wouldn't want to watch it 3 times in the couple days I rented it. I like the idea they were going for but it's not the kind of thing you play more than once.

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