It goes against usual fighting convention…but that's a good thing.
Little incentives help too. You can earn special kicks by winning enough matches, use gems before each fight to give yourself a push, and even nail a headshot to get a special dizzy on your opponent in the next match. It's not the deepest system, but it is enjoyable.
In addition, DiveKick takes a light-hearted approach. The characters are hilarious, with plenty of quips that match up with them perfectly, and random comments that sometimes just don't make sense. That's just the silliness of it all, though – along with the cheesy, half-hearted graphics that mimic a first-generation Street Fighter game. You couldn't get any more basic if you tried – well, unless you were on an Atari 2600, that is.
Despite the primitive presentation, DiveKick is a lot of fun to play, especially when you go up against friends. There was plenty of online competition between both the PS3 and Vita versions, and it ran very lag free, with no problems. The single player mode isn't bad either, though the computer tends to be cheap at times. Like a true fighting game, right?
There are a couple of notable things. First, the game is Cross-Buy, so you get both versions for ten bucks. Not bad at all. However, menu navigation needs to be fixed. You take forever choosing your dive and kick buttons and starting a round, just because it doesn't completely understand your inputs. Here's hoping it gets a fix where – ready for this innovation? – you use the start button. Fingers crossed.
Though the game is far different from anything else in the fighting genre, DiveKick has enough wackiness and good kicking times to be just as addictive as the competition. For ten bucks, you get a competent, unique fighter that'll have you chuckling as much as you are kicking. Which is exactly what any good sensei – well, less than serious ones, anyhow – would have wanted.
Now…DIVEKICK!
Score: 8 / 10
