Fighting Force provides enough for you to be entertained, even though the joy is short-lived.
The plot in the game is that you're going after a cult leader called "Dex Zeng" who, is planning to unleash the end of the world after unnecessarily scaring people to believe that judgment day would take place New Year's Eve 2000. One of Zeng's lab assistants calls for help in order to stop Zeng and his evil plans, and sets up a team that are to be know as "the most volatile team ever created". It is now up to this team to end the end of the world.
Think of a 3D version of similar games like Streets of Rage or Final Fight and you have the gameplay in Fighting Force in a nutshell. The main goal during each level is to fight your way through a series of bad guys. Aside from punches and kicks, you can also pick up weapons like bats, metal pipes and even a few firearms, providing a lot of fun. Another thing worth mentioning is that after defeating some of the bosses, you can sometimes choose where you want to go next from a few options, which offers a bit of freedom to the game, not to mention that most of the out-door levels are rather big which is a plus.
There are some interesting ideas in the game. People who like smashing things up will be satisfied when they find out that the game awards bonuses for all the destruction you cause during each level, but for the most part you want to focus on the enemies instead.
Everything regarding the controls works just fine, aside from the grapple. The same key you use for executing a punch to hit enemies that are behind you are also used to grapple. This means that if you're not close enough to your opponent, you will accidentally punch backwards, which can be a little annoying.
For a game released in 1997, the graphics are very impressive. Characters and objects have a good amount of detail. Almost every object during a level can be destroyed one way or another, adding a bit of realism to the game. Some objects however tend to look like burnt-out cardboard boxes after they've been destroyed.
You will find Fighting Force a pretty good game, as long as it lasts. You can beat the entire game in about 3 hours or less, making it one of the shortest games ever. There is certain replay value; you can for example try to beat the game again with another character, or choose to head another way next time but when all that is done, there's not much left to do.
Fighting Force provides enough for you to be entertained, even though the joy is short-lived. It isn't the most polished beat 'em up on the market, but if you have an hour or two to kill, this game is a guilty pleasure.