Wu Tang: Taste The Pain - PlayStation

When you first begin your quest, you will find yourself in a large courtyard with several doors branching off from the sides. Different doors lead to different arenas, and of course, not all of them are immediately available. A quick saunter around the doors of the courtyard will show the names of the arenas, and will indicate whether it has been beaten and thus completed. Master more arenas and even more will open up for you, revealing what seems like an endless loop of challenges. Fact is, Taste The Pain does go on a bit - just like one of their records.

Collecting the 36 Chambers in Story Mode will take a long time, whether you're a veteran of beat 'em ups or not. You'll encounter some of the most vicious bad guys seen in the genre, wielding swords, chains, sledgehammers, the lot. Some enemies are so hard that they don't need weapons, and in some cases, another one or two characters from the Clan will be alongside you as you try to overcome the toughest guys.

Throw in a four-player mode (rarely seen in a beat 'em up) and some very gory effects - this game comes with a parental lock even though anyone under 18 shouldn't be allowed to buy it – and even the blood thirstiest punter will delight at the sight of the likes of RZA’s killer swordplay and GZA’s penchant for decapitation. And with all nine members of the Clan available as players, plus secret characters to unlock, the game’s lifespan is as long as Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s rap sheet.

At the time of the game’s release, the soundtrack was unavailable elsewhere, so fans of the Clan have a real incentive to get a console and buy the game. But, like ODB himself, the music has probably escaped (sorry, been released) by now.
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