This week, the Future Gamer staff have mostly been getting stoned. Power Stoned, that is. Capcom's first Dreamcast title is, however, addictive in a very narcotic kind of way...
James Price

There are three very significant reasons why all gamers should love and respect Capcom.

1. They pretty much invented the beat 'em up as we know it with Street Fighter 2.
2. The Resident Evil games: horror, puzzles, plot, pish dialogue. Unmissable, undeniably influential console adventuring excellence.
3. Power Stone.

Power Stone is innovative. It's refreshingly chaotic. Riotously playable, and even comical in places, it's a simple premise that lends itself to hours upon hours of rapt attention. It's like watching a documentary about whales, where the narrator relates, in hushed tones, that a scientific first is to be achieved in moments. The event? Some boffin has created a device that, get this, translates whale song. The special microphone is lowered into the water, and the shipboard speakers resound with a cry of, "DEATH METAL! DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH DAAAAH!" It confounds your expectations in a way that software, clad in next-gen finery or not, so rarely achieves. What's more, it's fun.

It has nothing to do with mere aesthetics. It's not a sound issue. Nor, for that matter, can Power Stone's excellence be attributed to secrets or play modes. It has the lot, of course, but Capcom's real masterstroke is the sheer simplicity of the action. Each bout begins in one of several arenas. Rather than moving to and fro on a horizontal axis, like traditional fighting games, you're given free, 360-degree movement. Push the analogue stick in any given direction and that's the way you're on-screen charge will dutifully trot.

Power Stone's basic attacking moves are... well, basic. Like Final Fight or any cut-down beat 'em up you care to mention, you can launch simple punch/kick combos by rappin' and a-tappin' the requisite buttons. While these assaults are effective, they represent just a small percentage of your total aggressive capabilities. The real fighting fun is to be had by picking things up. From room furniture like tables and chairs, to barrels and crates, you can grab anything close to hand and hurl it at your opponent. And there's more. Periodically, special weapons appear in each arena. Ranging from swords to flamethrowers, these can be used to pummel, perforate or toast assailants for a limited duration.