Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic review

Fists of Plastic is a bit like Smash Bros. after it had a wander around LittleBigPlanet, but without a mind for constructing anything – and a lot more pain. Not all on screen, unfortunately. Four players, one arena and a physics model that provides a near infinite amount of collisions and hurt between shiny marionettes is what Rag Doll Kung Fu is about. It’s initially all a bit ‘floaty’ much in the way LBP was (it’s from the same people, originally) but with a few dabs of kick and punch buttons and a liberal amount of leaping practice any ‘noob’ can get their basic Kung Fu on, although only Zen masters, and those who enjoy shaking the Sixaxis controller, will be able to keep up with niftier moves.

This four-way brute pounder is a treat. Direct punchy-kick blows flow into leaps where shuriken and crockery can be thrown with 360 degree laser precision, quarter-staffs and nunchucks can even be chucked between teammates and if you’re good you could (maybe) win an entire round without your feet ever touching the ground as you swing between platforms and fly through the air like a heat-seeking ninja.

Minigames add high scores to beat but merely ask you to score using certain moves, playing dodgeball or dunking haddock in a basket, and character customisation is ace. We wish we didn’t have to shake the pad to do a flying attack or fireball because chaining them together by keeping the analogue stick pointed at a target and repeatedly shaking, hurts our arms and kills our pride.

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Apr 9, 2009