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The Spikeout: Battle Street Thread

God, it's hard to believe that the team who made F-Zero GX, possibly combined to some degree with the developers of Gunvalkyrie, Panzer Dragoon Orta and JSR, made a game that looks like this.
 
yeah, i got that same email, mox. from the website i thought it had shipped. :/ who knows. maybe i'll try calling them tomorrow.
 
I played through the first level. The game is fun, and I can see 4 players being especially fun, but why are the controls so overly convoluted. Pressing X + Y + Down to pick up an item... geez...
 
I ordered the game at about 2pm this afternoon and it already shipped out to me from EBgames, if that means anything.

Maybe the rumor about limited quantites and only at EB really is true?

Speaking of Sega, did anyone see Iron Phoenix in stores yet? Gamestop.com has it in stock, but it didn't ship out from EB today.
 
BTW, I saw a preview on X-Play tonight where they stated it has upwards of 50 characters to unlock. And I bet they all have that dumb running animation, too! :D
 
50 characters? Wow. SamGoody better not fuck me over.

EDIT: Uh oh drohne, we might be screwed. I just checked my Doom 3 status at samgoody, and even though it doesn't ship till 4/5 or so, it's listed as shipped, just like spikeout. Ugh. :(
 
Do you have to play the single-player mode to unlock everything? I hear it's pretty tough, no continues.

And the controls are not configureable?
 
I can't even make it through the first stage, so far :lol

Of course I really just jumped right in. I couldn't even figure out how to pick up weapons. Is it really D+X+Y? How retarded...they should have just mapped it to the black and white buttons.

I'm not sure how I feel about all the moves being simultaneous button presses -- seems like the game was made for a joystick rather than a control pad. How am I supposed to do X+Y+B reliably...or X+B?

Presentation issues abound, as well. You hit a "Loading" screen like every 3-4 minutes....they didn't even try to optimize this for the Xbox. It loads the first level as it plays this really hokey cutscence, and you can't skip the cutscene until the level is completely loaded. So I am going to have to watch the same 20 seconds of the same stupid teen-angst melodrama hundreds of times over.

All that said, it still seems like a pretty solid brawler.

Anybody want to meet up online?
 
Border, you can use L and R in place of some of the buttons to make things easier. :) You can also just do your super by hitting all four face buttons.

You only get the story in the story mode. Play the Battle mode to get the same game without any story crap.

Teddman said:
Do you have to play the single-player mode to unlock everything? I hear it's pretty tough, no continues.

When I beat the first level of story mode, I got a new character unlocked. There's something like 8-9 levels total, so unless you get a ton of characters after finishing story mode, you probably get the rest by playing through the Battle mode (same as story but you can play co-op up to 4 players and use any character on any level).

After getting a game over several times in a row, the game asks you if you want to switch to easy difficulty, BTW.
 
Was this a four button arcade game or three? I'm thinking four.

I'm gonna fast-track my X-Box pad project box for this game; playing with an S-Type feels wrong on so many levels.
 
ArcadeStickMonk, I've seen you play this tonight and I hate you.

Screw Canada and our "always-one-day-late" launch of games..... especially when it's easter and we don't have any boxes coming in before tuesday (I think)....
 
Hellraizah said:
ArcadeStickMonk, I've seen you play this tonight and I hate you.
Believe you me, I wasn't too thrilled about my lil trip onto Live either.

I play through three levels, die, then go online just in time to watch two shitheads beat the last boss.
 
Hmmm it seems like the more I figure out about the game, the worse I do. When I was just mashing my way through the first level I could at least get to the final boss with full health. Now that I am trying to use the full moveset I seem to be getting plastered a bit more often. So, yeah...I'm still struggling with the first level :lol Any tips? It's really just the boss that is the problem. Is there any benefit to taking out his henchmen? It seems like they just keep dropping from the helicopter.

Oh, and like 90% of this generation's beat-em-ups, there are camera problems. No, a radar doesn't excuse it =\ When will developers learn not to pull the camera in so damned close? It's not as bad as over-the-shoulder beat-em-ups, but still a bit frustrating not to be able to see guys that are often standing within striking distance.
 
ArcadeStickMonk said:
Was this a four button arcade game or three? I'm thinking four.

It was four buttons. Don't remember how weapons were picked up though...been a while since I played it.

Hope the SOR characters are among the locked up party...maybe then people would shut up about not getting a SOR4. Eh, who am I kidding...
 
For those that have played both, how does this version compare to the original arcade release?
 
You can configure your controls in the options screen.

Isamu should be happy since the game is sort of like an update to the original Spikeout. Everyone of the stages from the Model 3 Spikeout that he had pictures of are in the game in an updated form. They even have the Astro Mall stage with the Sonic statue.

I don't really understand the flack the graphics are getting. IMO, it looks like AV updated the look of the original Spikeout instead of doing a graphics overhaul. Considering how the "AGES 3D" updates for the PS2 turned out, I'd say that Spikeout Battlestreet is a more than worthy home release of a Sega arcade game that some of their fans have wanted for a couple of years.

Also, I can't agree with the DC graphics comments. The closest games to Spikeout on the DC (Zombie Revenge, PSO, Dynamite Cop), do not look better than Battlestreet. There is no way that the DC could have kept the large levels, enemies, and the 60 FPS of the Model 3 original without having to make some serious sacrifices. How would the DC have handled the 4 player offline splitscreen mode? In comparing PSO's online mode (DC) to Battlestreet's 4 player online mode, I still feel that AV's job on the Xbox update is beyond the DC's capabilities. You can fit some of PSOs level inside of the Spikeout levels 6 times and the Battlestreet stage would still be bigger.

The Astro Mall stage is huge! You start upstairs, go downstairs, through an annex, to the bookstore, through a revolving room, elevator room, sports shop, and finish up with the Sonic room. This does not include Astro Mall's variations, because some charcaters fight in a Food Court section of the mall in addition to other areas. You've got 4 players and enemies kicking ass in these huge stages, plus the game moves at a much faster pace than PSO. I used to think Mr. Nagoshi was fabricating with his statement about the DC not being able to handle to Spikeout, but he was right on the money.

If you want to find an average Sega Beat'em Up that looks like a Dreamcast game, look over at Altered Beast on PS2. Now THAT is a game which fails to look better than Zombie Revenge. Heck, it doesn't even play as well! The hit detection is busted, the characters lack credible detail, and the game uses FMV's of the ingame graphics which make the game look even more horrid.

Gameplay wise, Battlestreet is tight. The playstyle for Battlestreet seems to be a combination of Virtua Fighter, Vipers, and Rage 3. You have your regular PPP combos, and some charge combos, but you can do variations on these by holding the charge button to kick the charge bar into four areas; Normal, Lift Attack, Stun, and You got knocked the fuck out! Depending on where you stop your regular combo and insert a charge attack, you can do insane juggles to some of the enemies. You can also hit enemies after your partner has sent one flying into the air. In one Battlestreet online session, we managed to get a 32 hit combo going against some poor sap by lifting him up against the wall, hitting a L4C, lift attack, PPP combo, lift attack, CCC combo, L4C, weapon attack, L4C, lift attack, and finish with PPPPPP combo. You seriously fuck people up on this game!

The game also has various throws depending on where you grab the enemies. Left or Right grabs seem to cause lock style attacks (head, neck, chest), front grabs can be turned into 3 hit combos, and the back grabs can be ended with a push attack, jump throw, or a slam. You can also use your special move during a hold in order to do a swinging move that will result in the enemy getting whilred around like a top. Each character may have their on variation on these moves, but they still work in the same way. You can also do the swing move on a teammate and use that extra reach to knock down enemies.

The music of Battlstreet reminds me of the style of music Yuzo tried to do in Rage 3. There seems to be a lot of wild electronica, but I did hear a few of those awful Sega rock style songs in the game. The team I was playing with last night managed to get to the Opera stage last night, and the music for that stage was really cool! The Battlestreet soundtrack isn't as memorable as the SOR tracks, but it does do a good job of making you want to beat people up. It's just videogame techno with a hint of awful Sega rock.

I've managed to have fun with the game and I think was worth 30 dollars. Since Sega is stuck on enhancing their old arcade games instead of doing straight conversions, Battlestreet is a step in the right direction. Graphics wise, Battlestreet is not pushing the Xbox hardware, but XBL feature finally gave AV what they needed in order to bring the game home. I'm not into FPSs and sports games, so Xbox Live doesn't provide many options. PSO was a fun experience over Xbox Live, and Spikeout improves upon that by adding a deeper combat system. It's worth picking up if you're fan of co-op beat'em ups. The game is longer than SOR3, and that game lasted for quite a bit of time.

After Edit;

For those without XBL, the game supports offline multiplayer for up to 4 people by using split screen or by hooking up 4 Xbox consoles. The single player story mode is a challenge, but the game will change the difficulty down to Easy if you fail the mission twice. You unlock the hidden characters by completing various stages in Story and Battle Street mode. Story mode offers no continues, so you're not going to be able to credit feed your way through the game.

Offline Battlestreet mode gives you an option to do away with the time limits and add continues, but the game doesn't don't give you credit for clearing the Battlestreet mode if you allow continues in the game. You still unlock characters, but the game doesn't credit it as a lap completed. I did manage to unlock the fat dude from SOR3 on my first run with continues enabled. Also, once you unlock stages in story mode, those stages and their variations become avaialable for Battlestreet's online and offline modes. Download costumes, characters and missions are also supposed to be made avaialable, so that might be hot as well.
 
Hotsuma said:
There is no way that the DC could have kept the large levels....You can fit some of PSOs level inside of the Spikeout levels 6 times and the Battlestreet stage would still be bigger.
There are atrocious load times after every room in the game. PSO has no load times.

The 2D maps in Spikeout are large, but only your current area is being generated in realtime. If anything, the constant loading is what makes it seem like a Dreamcast game....it's as though it was made for a system with 24MB of RAM rather than 64.
 
levious said:
I don't know how to define limited but I'd call all of the following limited releases.

Panzer Dragoon Saga(SAT)
Burning Rangers(SAT)
Shining Force III(SAT)
Sports Jam(DC)
I was talking this generation. And Sega didn't publish Sports Jam, Agetec did.
 
border said:
There are atrocious load times after every room in the game. PSO has no load times.

The 2D maps in Spikeout are large, but only your current area is being generated in realtime. If anything, the constant loading is what makes it seem like a Dreamcast game....it's as though it was made for a system with 24MB of RAM rather than 64.

For some of the stages, you can see the game streaming in stuff on the fly while you're fighting in the current area (loading message in the corner). Yes, there are parts where the loading was 3-7 seconds to transport to the next area, but the loading online seems to vary. I'll get a message saying "waiting for other players" in between areas, but I figured it was due to the game scanning for the lobby waiting list. IMO, the loading times are far from atrocious though. I think Dimps and AV did a good job.
 
sorry if already mentioned, but, GAMESTOP IS NOT EVEN CARRYING SPIKEOUT


EB is, though. I get mine today. although it hardly seems worth the 3 year wait.

(3 years since officially announced, but been waiting much longer for a home Spikeout)
 
Who knows...maybe EB got the initial batch, while other retailers get a second shipment. It's also listed at Amazon now, and I don't think it was in their system a couple weeks ago.
 
Hotsuma said:
IMO, the loading times are far from atrocious though. I think Dimps and AV did a good job.
"Atrocious" was too non-specific and might make you think that the loads are really long (the in-level ones are only like 7-10 secs). Let's just say that they are ridiculous in length and frequency when considering the type of game this is and the level of graphical detail. Not to mention that there's a hard drive to cache things on for faster speeds....but nope, this game is abusing my poor Thompson DVD drive constantly. If I didn't need to play on Live I would be loading the game onto my hard drive if only to save the disc drive from an early burnout. They just put zero effort in this -- but hey, it's a budget release and as I've found again and again this last year, you get what you pay for. If it came down to load times or a $50 game, I'd probably take the load times :D

Loading doesn't destroy the game, but I don't think Spikeout is really a shining example of graphical prowess either. It only handles one small area at a time, and even then there's nothing too striking about the way it looks.
 
Hotsuma said:
I think Dimps and AV did a good job.
What?! SpikeOut's been DIMPSed? No wonder it looks like crap. :/

What's with Sega Japan secretly outsourcing their games lately?

-Virtua Quest (TOSE Software) billed as Sega-AM2
-Shining Force NEO (Neverland Company) billed as Amusement Vision
-Spike Out: Battle Street (DIMPS) billed as Amusement Vision


...is Yuji Naka the only guy actually making his own games anymore? :/
 
Or the real guys are working on the big next gen product. Also, I hope you guys are playing on a decent tv. Hell, with 60fps, 480p and 16:9, it's almost impossible this will look even average. Posts like those are good reasons why devs will target 30fps for the next gen.
 
Picked this up today, though I don't know if I'll ever play it. I'm a sucker for possibly rare shit.
 
It probably just didn't update in the order status. It happens all the time. Sometimes I'll even get the game before they send me a confirmation that it shipped.
 
MoxManiac said:
It probably just didn't update in the order status. It happens all the time. Sometimes I'll even get the game before they send me a confirmation that it shipped.

According to the mail they just sent, they shipped out OR2 in its own package...seems dumb, they're not gonna charge me more for shipping are they? >:/
 
Ok, Sho Nuff, I just called EbGames (I ordered Spikeout from them around midnight last night after cancelling my samgoody order) and they said that it's packaged up and ready to go or already shipped, just the site wasn't updated.

If you still have doubts, give them a call. I got someone immediately, so they aren't busy or anything.
 
Regardless of whether or not it's a "Dreamcast game" visually, Spikeout still isn't up to par with a lot other games, and has the look of a game from 1999/2000 IMO. But that doesn't really matter anyway, and the game always stays fast and furious, even in two player.

THREE or FOUR player split screen, on the other hand, isn't stable. The frame rate drops constantly and the game doesn't feel as smoother as one or two player, so if you are going to play with your friends offline, the best way to do it is system link with two players per Xbox.

Hotsuma, did you say you got a character from Streets Of Rage 3? Does this mean there's a chance the SoR cast is unlockable too? Also any confirmation about there being 50 different characters to unlock yet?

Do you get characters unlocked from playing online or in multiplayer, BTW?

Anyway, the only thing about Spikeout that should be bashed is the terrible "1989" character design/outfit colors and the stupid-looking walking animations. But it adds to the game's charm. :D
 
Lyte Edge said:
the only thing about Spikeout that should be bashed is the terrible "1989" character design/outfit colors and the stupid-looking walking animations. But it adds to the game's charm. :D
You forgot the "enemies running full out into walls" whenever a boss goes down.

Now that's charming!
 
Brandon, not sure; planning on playing tonight.

ArcadeStickMonk said:
You forgot the "enemies running full out into walls" whenever a boss goes down.

Now that's charming!

:lol yeah, very weird. :)
 
Got my copy. I was the only preorder (I prebought the game), and that's the only copy this EB got. A couple people called and asked if they had the game. So I'm glad I took the precautions, as I usually just walk into Best Buy or Target and get the games off the shelf.
 
Igot one of the 2 copies that my local EB had. ILOVE this game!! I also, Bought Super Monkey Ball DX for the xbox this night too.
 
Some online impressions:

First, it seems pretty rough finding a good game. 80-90% of the games returned by the search function come back with red bars....and I'm on a 3-4 Mbps cable connection, not that rinky-dink $19.99/month DSL stuff. I suspect that this may get better as more people buy the game.

The in-game interface is pretty threadbare. I don't really know what Live is usually like, so perhaps I am spoiled by having Halo 2 as my first Live experience. There doesn't seem to be a way to message anybody, or to join a friend's game without being properly invited first...which is kinda bad, since the game is so hectic I don't expect a lot of people to be constantly checking their Friends listing frequently. If you see a friend there is no way you can get to the game he's playing in other than using the in game search function and hoping that he pops up. You can always start your own game and invite a friend who's already playing though.

It's too early to judge performance online. As I have observed so far, it seems to get laggier with 3-4 players. Maybe it's just a coincidence though, and the guys that joined in just had bad connections that screwed us all up. So far I haven't played a 3-4 player game without lag though.
 
I hope it's not too bad with more people, that would stink. I played through it with Rodriguez and it wasn't bad with 2 of us.

It's ugly, it's corny but....it's really fun playing with someone you know co-op. I guess it's kind of what I imagined getting from Sega at this point. I'm not crazy about the idea of playing alone to unlock stuff (which is what you have to do I guess). It's just a very straight up, old school style, rough beat em up. With all the rough edged games Sega puts out these days I still found this pretty fun to play and given the fact that it will probably sell a few hundred copies and dissapear, I don't regret picking it up in the least.

I had a tough time finding it today, that's for sure. The game stores didn't even know what I was asking for.
 
Alright, I bit and got one off EBGames.com. Don't have Live though. Shipped today, along with PRIMAL RAGE for Genesis, so I could get free shipping with SAVER. (75 cents for the game with coupons vs. 1.99 for shipping and no cheapo Genesis game)
 
Just played to the end of level two in Battle Street mode; the stages are longer (more sections to go through) in this mode compared to story mode.

Still finding story mode tough; got to the end of level three and got killed by the boss. Is there any way to get out of their special attacks if they grab you?
 
Lyte Edge said:
Still finding story mode tough; got to the end of level three and got killed by the boss. Is there any way to get out of their special attacks if they grab you?

I haven't figured out how to counter grabs. I just listen/watch for the power ups with Boss special moves and try to reposition myself. I have to say, some of the button configurations are...counter intuitive.
 
Lyte Edge said:
Hotsuma, did you say you got a character from Streets Of Rage 3? Does this mean there's a chance the SoR cast is unlockable too? Also any confirmation about there being 50 different characters to unlock yet?

Do you get characters unlocked from playing online or in multiplayer, BTW?

You know those short fat dudes from SOR3 that laughed when they knocked you down? They're in the game. I unlocked him by playing offline Battlestreet mode. There are 58 characters that can be used (13 player characters & 45 boss characters). None of the teams I've played on have managed to complete Battlestreet's online mode. The game is tough when you keep it set to arcade rules (time enabled / no continues). The bosses are so cheap!
 
A couple other minor issues: the game search function can and will turn up games that have already ended. So you end up joining a "game" and choosing a character and outfit, only to find that you can't play. Kind of frustrating....particularly when the only game with good ping/latency is the one that's finished.

While the Spikeout does have a robust grappling engine, it is way too easy to grab your partners. You can do a powerful co-op move, but more often than not you will accidentally grab them and fuck yourself up (usually while you are trying to charge a move or get closer for an offensive attack). Since co-op moves will generally be vocally coordinated by both partners, it would have been better to activate partner-grappling with a button rather than just making it happen everytime you get close to a fellow player. In each section I unintentionally grab someone at least 2-3 times.
Lyte Edge said:
Is there any way to get out of their special attacks if they grab you?
Uhhh, just mash a bunch of buttons....it's what I always do! Sometimes it works pretty well.
 
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