It’s no easy task to adapt the critically acclaimed animated series The Legend of Korra into a third-person action game. The beloved show fuses martial arts, varying philosophies and world cultures, and an exquisite story that follows in the footsteps of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
What better studio to take up the challenge than PlatinumGames (Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)? The team has spent years meticulously crafting combat systems that marry style and substance into a visual maelstrom of fast, addictive action. And with Platinum’s knowledge of martial arts choreography, Korra couldn’t be in better hands. Revealed just yesterday, The Legend of Korra is coming to PS4 and PS3 this year. And we got to play it.
The Legend of Korra follows our rough-around-the-edges-but-ever-so-charming hero after the events of Book Two, but before the start of the upcoming Book Three. For those unfamiliar with the Avatar universe, Korra is the latest incarnation of a long, long line of peacekeepers meant to preserve order between four nations, as well as bridge the human world with the spirit world. At the start of The Legend of Korra game, Korra has suddenly lost her ability to bend (manipulate the elements) following a strange encounter with a shadowy force.
In the interest of avoiding spoilers, let’s just say the demo Platinum showed off revolves around Korra recovering her bending abilities, unlocking each element in turn — starting with waterbending.
The moment that Korra sets foot on Air Temple Island, it’s clear that Platinum has invested a great amount of energy into making this an authentic experience. While Korra and her opponents are rendered using cel-shaded visuals, the backgrounds are an eye-catching fusion of 3D set pieces and painted backdrops. The Legend of Korra runs smoothly even in its incomplete state, a key requirement for a combat-heavy game.
Korra’s ability to bend all four elements means that the player can harness four different fighting styles that each play a role on the battlefield. Korra can throw whips of water to attack chi blockers at a distance, or meet aggressive mobs with slow and powerful earthbending techniques.
The Square and Triangle buttons govern the different attacks, with each strike in a combination capable of an additional charge for extra damage. This system is easy to pick up but also provides more weathered gamers room to develop finesse — especially when it comes to counters.
In true Platinum fashion, hitting block at just the right moment will enable Korra to reverse an attack, leading to a spectacular counter move. Like Metal Gear Rising, these counters are snappy and satisfying, layering a much-appreciated need for precision on top of Korra’s moveset.
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Destructoid
As Korra re-discovers her various bending skills, she'll find that she's stuck using more of the basic attacks with each element. But as you progress and level up, you'll upgrade your attacks and learn new combos. What makes the fighting top notch here is how seamlessly you can swap between your four powers as you're unleashing combos on enemies.
Water bending, for example, is good for long-range attacks -- either throwing out projectiles, or using a "water whip"-like move to reel enemies closer to you. On the other hand, air bending is best as an area-of-effect attack when dealing with a group of enemies surrounding you. Each bending style offers something unique, and it's best to mix up your attacks as much as possible. Oh, and you totally can summon an air ball and ride it around just like in the show.
Between your light and heavy attacks, you also have a special charge attack for more powerful bending moves, plus there's a dodge and counter move as well. Countering is especially encouraged, most of all when dealing with boss-type enemies. It's a similar counter system to that of Revegeance as well, where you have to learn the enemy patterns to best time the counter over being babied and getting some notification to time the counter correctly. Though, admittedly, the learning curve for timing is way smaller in The Legend of Korra.
http://www.destructoid.com/platinum...rra-game-and-it-s-pretty-awesome-277032.phtmlAnd yes, you can go into the Avatar state. The specifics of what will allow you to summon your special ability haven't been quite nailed down yet, but ultimately the game will let you know when you can go full out, and at that point you'll be unleashing all your bending abilities at once for a duration of time.
Again, for an alpha, the combat system was pretty damn fluid. The camera was a little finicky during my hands-on time, but didn't ultimately hinder my session. I was impressed with how far along the game was already, and there's going to be loads of time for polish between now and the release date.
Gamespot:
But the developer's devotion to the show's art doesn't stop there. Like in the show, environments are designed to look hand-painted so that backgrounds seem more like murals than in-game places. At one point during the demo, Kurooka paused at a lookout to show off the world and the detailed environment spreading out in all directions. Because of the flat, painted style, the game has an impressive draw distance and I was able to see everything in a huge area around the character. The developer also emphasized that the game's sounds, especially the ambient noises of the world, are virtually identical to those in the show. It's clear that Platinum wants you to feel like you're walking around in an episode.
Each set has several different attacks, split between light and heavy strikes. Holding down either button will charge Korra and make her attacks even stronger. Different levels of charge are unlocked as the game progresses. The developer promises that the four different elemental sets allow for numerous different combos. Leveling up Korra will also unlock different light moves and collecting the game's currency lets you purchase heavy strikes and finishers.
When I saw Korra fight in the demo, I was struck by how interesting and exciting the system of elemental powers can be. Platinum has made sure that attacks are as fluid as possible, which means you can switch between elements on the fly, even mid-combo. He showed us sequences where Korra would bounce an enemy in the air with an Earth attack, shoot him with long-range Water strikes, jump up and land a dozen punches on him in rapid succession with Fire moves, then blow the guy away with a Wind attack. Finally, he would land and use one of the element-specific finishing moves to kill the enemy for good.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/i-...inum-game-s-the-legend-of-korra/1100-6420711/When I got to play a little of the game, I was initially impressed with the smoothness of combat. It was satisfying to string together several different elemental attacks into one long combo that ended with Korra punching an enemy into the sky. It was fun to use the elements and see the results of their power, especially when fighting other benders. These battles created chaotic scenes with huge ridges of rock punching up through the ground, fireballs flying all over, and tornadoes of wind sweeping enemies away.