Spikeout: Battle Street

THE GOOD:
Up to 4 players can play simultaneously. Lots of characters to unlock. Supports Xbox Live & System Link.

THE BAD:
Repetitive gameplay. Poor controls. Very high difficulty level. Constant long load times.

SUMMARY:
More an attempt at a next-gen Final Fight than anything, Sega's Xbox fighter brings some nice options to the table but leaves several key elements out that are really needed. The storyline revolves around a longstanding feud between gangs that dates back years, now living on through the offspring and their partners in crime. Along the way, cutscenes explain more of the backstory along with in-game captions.
The graphics have a decent retro-look to them. The characters have a fair amount of detail and the animation is generally smooth despite some rough edges, but there isn't much of a variety in how the characters actually look. The sounds & music are OK at first, but the voices quickly get...