Fighting Force Basic moves: Direction pad move Triangle(T) back-fist/grab Square(S) kick/discard object Circle(O) jump (aka combo button, since I have yet to find a good use for jumping) Cross(X) punch/pick up object/use object L1 camera zoom out R1+move run Specials: XXX(X) punch combo SS kick combo TT backfist to punches T grab (up close) -- push any other button to throw S+X scuff kick (may stun) S+O jumping attack X+O 360-degree attack (takes life, so far as as I know unblockable) While running: S aerial attack X low attack While holding an object: X(X)(X) use object(can get two or three hits out of hand weapons) forward+S(S) kick/kick combo (hold forward) S throw object Individual characters: Hawk ---- Your more average Joe-schmoe, he's got some nice moves, not much finesse. XXX 2x punches, roundhouse Simple punch combo. The first two punches are medium speed, the last is slow. I generally find the third to be more trouble than it's worth, except to nail a second person, since you can pivot considerably between punches. SS double spin kicks About as fast as the punches, the kicks have more range, but move you forward a bit, so don't walk Hawk into the middle of a big group. S+O rising kick (aka Virtua Fighter lift-off) Hawk does this ridiculous-looking rising kick. At least he doesn't float as high as VF people did. ;) Not too much damage, and just not rough enough for his style. It does give you some respite, though -- until he lands. This my stun at times. X+O flying spin kick Jumps up in the air and spins with foot extended. Not bad, and it has some range. Throws (after grabbing): T headbutt Pretty neat, as the screen flashes when he connects. forward+T suplex I don't know if this does the same damage as the headbutt, but it does move Hawk much farther out of harm's way. O shoulder throw Doesn't sound as painful, but has the advantage of being a little faster, I think. S knee to the abdomen This is pretty sweet, since, unlike the other characters, Hawk doesn't let go of the enemy. Therefore, until the poor mook wakes up and breaks the hold, you can just keep doing this. The damage isn't bad, either. Just don't do it when there's others nearby, as it's slow. Now if I could just get a hold of a boss... XXXX 3x gut punches, headbutt Now this one I like! Painful looking, and the headbutt is a nice touch at the end. The total is a large amount of damage. What's nice, too, is that you can stop on the third punch and tag something else on, since Hawk doesn't let go until the headbutt (and sometimes not even then). Running moves: S flying boot Hawk jumps and violently sticks his feet out. It's an interesting method of travel, and will knock down, but doesn't hit very often, since the area of attack is small. Many times you just end up flying by people. X sliding kick Just like sliding into home base. Low attacks in general are good, since they aren't blocked as much (and the enemy can't do them). However, the price of missing is high. Hawk, after stopping, will jump _back_ from his sliding position. This is great if you are still in front of someone or you finished knocking people down, but if you whiffed, many times you're just persenting yourself to the person you just slid past (and believe me, they like that). Mace: ---- The requisite hot babe of the game. It's possible to have fun just watching her walk. Fortunately, those long legs have some practical game use. XXX 2x punches, spinning backfist Unlike Hawk, the three punches come out in rapid succession, so there's not as much of a penalty to do all three, although there's not as much mobility. Sometimes, however, the third punch doesn't knock down, which leaves Mace open for a bit. SS whip kicks Mace brings her foot up quickly, then cocks her foot and brings it right back the other way. Since she doesn't really move forward like the others and stays put, It's possible to vary the direction of the second kick considerably. Good luck judging the direction to hit two people... But they still work just fine in the same direction. S+O jumping pedals Mace jumps high in the air and does two quick pedaling kicks around the head area. This works okay as an attack, and tends to knock down/stun more than Hawk's take-off kick. X+O spinning sweep Her 360 attack, however, isn't as hot. Since she doesn't do an extended sweep or jump in the air, the area of the sweep is smaller compared to the other characters' attacks. Throws (after grabbing): T leg takedown Not bad, since she moves and drops out of harms way for a time. Looks neat, too. forward+T forceful push Not sure how to name this; it's a lot like Chun Li's old deposit-you-on-floor throw. Not too impressive, but rather fast. O neck throw Takes her victim and flips over the person while holding on to the neck. Cool. S rising knee Pops the enemy in the air with a knee to the stomach. XXXX bitch slaps (pardon the language) Geez, is she Mace or Nina from Tekken? They do a lot of the same stuff... Similar to Hawk, you can stop on the third, and she'll keep holding on to the person. Running moves: S flying boot Same as Hawk's. X sliding kick Same as Hawk's. Smasher: The requisite big strong oaf, he's actually sorta neat. I normaly don't play the big guys since they're so slow (and he is), but he's got some effective moves. XXX 2x punches, roundhouse What can I say? Slow, the last one even slower, but he has good range, and lotsa power. SS marching kicks While looking dumb, they are as effective as everyone else's kicks, except that his punches may have just as much range. S+O jumping knee Here's a particularly strange move. Since his legs are so short, the move effectively has zero range. Now, it probably does lotsa damage, but to get it to hit... It is one of his faster moves, however. X+O slamming hammer Now, it may not really have more range than the others, but this just _looks_ neat. Throws (after grabbing): T body lift S back breaker X two-hand toss True to big-guy form, Smasher has a variety of big throws. Chief among them is the lift, which leaves you with a struggling baddie over your head and nowhere to go. See, you can't actually go anywhere until you deposit your find. Then again, the other enemies seem to lose their will to fight while you have one of them in your hands. Go figure. There doesn't seem to be that much difference between the two extensions. I've never been able to hit someone with the toss. The back breaker has that nice crunch sound going for it, though. O rag toss No finesse, but it's quick. S uppercut Smasher's hand goes up, and so does the body. Ouch. X face smash ("return to sender") The setup for this is long, and it doesn't always work, but it's still fun to watch him smash someone's head into the neck area. Running moves: S two-fisted dive Here's where Smasher gets fun. He does a flying dive and extends his fists halfway. It covers a lot of area, looks great when it connects (especially one opponent for each fist), and recovers by rolling forward, so it's much safer than the other character's running aerials. X barrel roll Smasher curls himself into a ball and bowls over his opponents. This one's nice too, since it's fast, hits multiple times (if you roll directly over someone you get a free hit as you roll over the person again!), and recovers by roling forward. Alana ----- Counterpart to Smash, we have fast, does-no-damage young girl. She's got some nice-looking stuff, and actually looks better than the renders (she's got a ponytail that just never seems to show up). XXXX 2x punches, 2x spinning backfists Yep, due to her lack of damage ability, she's fast enough to tack an extra backfist in. They're all fast, and the last backfist has an added advantage of some mobility so that you can sometimes maneuver to the side of your opponent. SS whirlwind kicks Similar to Hawk's ('cept she's got longer legs). S+O flipkick This is, IMO, the most useful of these jumping moves, since Alana has range, and the kick hits _behind_ her as well. Plus she's the only one with the trailing flare. ;) X+O spinning bird kick She flips over, sticks her feet out, and starts spinning... sound familiar? While it has range, it seems to need the most time to set up. Throws (after grabbing): T launch kick Similar to Lei's throw from Tekken (which is taken from a certain action film star), Alana uses the opponent's body as a spring board to jump off. Pretty neat. forward+T jumping uppercut Dragon punch, anyone? O vault kick Alana flips over the enemy, then drop-kicks 'em in the back while diving forward. My favorite of her throws; not only does it look cool, it gets you out of sticky situations. S rising kick Same as Mace's. XXXX head trauma Alana climbs on top of your head, which might not be so bad were it not for the beating she's also giving it. Note, however, that while it does do more damage than her other throws, it _does not knock down_. If the opponent doesn't die, she will step down right in front of him or her. Running moves: S jumping 360 kick Looks similar to Hawk's 360 move. It does have more area than Hawk's or Mace's boot, but it seems to have lower priority and a longer set-up time. I frequently get hit out of it. Works best when you side-swipe opponents instead of trying to kick them head-on. X sliding kick Same as Hawk's. General playing tips: Never, ever, ever get caught in a group of enemies. If you don't use your 360 or run away, you _will_ get beaten into a pulp. Items are good. Large objects are good from far away to medium, bludgeoning are great for close range, and guns are as good as your marksmanship. Remember that you can kick if you hold forward. One of my favorite things with a gun is to kick an opponent first; then, while he or she is reeling from the kick or blocking, shoot 'em in the face. ;) Works with everyone except Smasher, who knocks down with his kick a lot. Besides, he looks so idiotic with a gun... If they block, and there's no one to hit you out of it, grab. Make sure to just hit T once. This will do a backfist if you whiff. If you hit it twice, you'll do three punches and turn around! Not good. Incidentally, if you hold back while hitting T the second time, you'll turn around first, then backfist right back in the same direction you were facing. Use the enemy's stupidity to your advantage. Try to maneuver so that thrown boxes will hit others, motorcycles will mow over pursuers ,then hit the wall they can't turn to avoid... Try to kick enemies on the ground. This is free damage, and many times they will take longer to get up. Or, if you're Smasher, roll over them. ;) Use the zoom button. There's a lot you miss up close. Try to break everything! And try to have fun, too!