There was a time when reviews of games based on anime almost wrote themselves. They were inevitably excellent fan service, but unfortunately little more than demos of cel-shading engines if you were looking for something to say about them as games. That all changed, of course, with last year’s impressive Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja, which combined a solid fighting engine with an extensive adventure component. So has Dimps continued on the path forged by Ubisoft? Not really.

It’s not that Burst Limit is a bad game, it’s just painfully average. The presentation is excellent with plenty of recognisable characters and a significant chunk of the Dragon Ball Z storyline represented in the Z Chronicles (that’s ‘story mode’ to the rest of us). It also looks impressive in high def, with the vivid colours and cel-shaded graphics lending themselves well to the format.

As with any game though the proof is in the playing and that’s where Burst Limit really isn’t going to do much for anyone but the most hardcore fans. This being a Dragon Ball Z game, you’ll find all of the expected attacks at your disposal, ranging from basic throws and fireballs to airborne combat that usually ends in someone colliding with the nearest geological feature.

Far from being a technical fighter, Burst Limit is all about the spectacle. Hammering buttons is just as likely to produce one of those over-the-top attacks as any conscious effort, with the game often segueing into short cinematics that show the characters charging these onslaughts. It sells the idea that you’re playing one of the epic battles from the anime but can seem random unless you take the time to master your character’s moves. With the way that the Z Chronicles switches you between them all as they drop in and out of the story, that’s easier said than done, and it’s unlikely that most will find the impetus to bother.

Olly Dean