Those of you who followed AMPlus past issue three probably remember my little bit in the third issue about two new arcade games that were out in Japan. Well, GUNBLADE NY has been out for awhile and the other game, DEADLINE, has finally been released. Under the new name DYNAMITE DEKA (Keiji), it's been revamped in style and improved in many ways.
Essentially, this game is a mixture of FINAL FIGHT meets VIRTUA FIGHTER, in a DIE HARD setting. Terrorists have taken over a building, and are believed to have kidnapped the President's daughter (who, by the way, is much younger than Chelsea). Your mission is to go in by helicopter, save the President's daughter, and fight your way out. The problem is that when you get dropped off the terrorists blow the chopper up, making things harder for you, to say the least. As I noted before, in between scenes there is a section done regularly in which your character will be running through the halls and will have to punch, kick, or dodge while running. Failure to do so results in a mini-fight that eats up time and energy. Along the way you can pick up all sorts of wild weapons, like pistols, staves, sub-machine guns, recoiless rifles, TVs, and even missle launchers. When you run out of ammo, your character will even throw the now-useless weapon at the enemy. The kick is, it actually has an effect on them.
Also, there is the occasional cinema scene, done in English with Japanese subtitles. The amusing part about the ones I've seen so far is that the President's daughter isn't kidnapped, and is actually right under their noses...
As to the differences between the test version I reviewed a few months ago and the final version, there have been a considerable number of changes in the graphics and enemies. For example, Police logos and such on the designs of the player's character as well as the bad guys (who were rather plain looking in the test version) have been changed. Additional enemies have been added, as well as some very nasty bosses (the spiderbot brawlers are a cruel surprise for those who have yet to play the game). Also, it seems to have been brightened a bit visually for some reason.
In closing, it is a very fun and entertaining game, if not original. It should be out in the states by early December at the latest, so be on the lookout for it. And should it come out for the PSX or the Saturn in the near future, it should be worth it. For those who like playing either VIRTUA FIGHTER (and its relatives), or enjoyed the original FINAL FIGHT (and its relatives), this sould be one heck of a game.