Name: Daikatana
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: Ion Storm
Media: 1 CD
HD Installation: 582.6 megs
Dirt Cheap Price: $2.99, new.
Daikatana was played on a Pentium 4, 2Ghz machine under Windows 2000 with a 32 meg ATI Radeon 7000(AGP) card and 1 gig of ram. It was running with all options turned to their highest settings and at a screen resolution of 1024X768. The game was played through on the "Samurai(normal)" difficulty level.
Patches?
Yes, two.		 Just for kicks, let me present the recommended system requirements:

1.2 Update Patch - Size: 24.5 or 45.7 megs depending on what version of the game you have(1.1 or 1.0)

1.2 Texture Fix Patch - Size: 472k(needed after updating to version 1.2 of the game)

For both patches I'm going to send you to 3D Gamers and Planet Daikatana to download. Note: The 1.2 Texture Fix Patch is *only* available at Planet Daikatana(in the "patches" section)

 Pentium II 300 Processor or Equivalent, 64 MB Ram, 400 MB Uncompressed HD Space, 8X CD Rom, 16MB Open GL compliant Graphic Accelerator card, EAX Enhanced audio supported, A3D Enhanced audio supported.

Multiplayer Support:
Internet via TCP/IP with 28.8 or faster internet connection speed, Local Network via TCP/IP, Local Network via IPX, Enhanced play via EidosGames.com.
An ancient sword, with mystical powers has been unearthed and is now being used to change the course of history. An ancestor of the sword's maker, Hiro, is called upon to retrieve it and change history back to what it originally was. Along the way Hiro comes across two characters(Superfly Johnson and Mikkiko Ebihara) who help him in his quest. Spanning across four different time periods and locations, the trio will fight countless enemies in an attempt to make it back home with the legendary Daikatana...

What's it all about?
It's a first person shooter that's heavy on exploration and getting around the kinks in your teammates' AI. Essentially, you go about the levels trying to flip switches, open doors, get around obstacles, etc. and then blow the hell out of anything that gets in your way. While doing so, you actually earn experience points in the way of "frags". This gives the game a bit of an RPG element as you can then use these points to actively improve your character's abilities(vitality, power, attack, acro and speed); the Daikatana can also be built up based on the number of enemies you kill with it. Past that, when a teammate(or teammates) is with you, you can give them basic commands along the lines of "get, come, attack, stay", etc. Using these commands and pointing to what needs to be done with them makes the characters attempt to do so. This is what gives the game a bit of innovation that's quite unique...though as the idea was so new back then, it doesn't really come across as well as it could have...
Graphics - Though I've seen better use of the Quake II engine(Soldier of Fortune, SiN), the graphics here certainly aren't terrible. The character models themselves are pretty blocky, but do have some decent textures on them. Levels, on the other hand, look great...especially Greece and Norway. Norway is very Quake-ish, and that's always a good thing...there are even some signature Doom-style parts. About the only gripe with the in-level graphics are that some are just entirely too dark. Even jacking the game's Brightness meter up to the max, as well as my monitor's, there are some textures that appear to just be...well, black...just nothing on them. This can make finding certain switches, or even paths extremely difficult at times.
Sound - The music is just excellent, it really is. Though the BGM for the first time period is kinda generic, it quickly picks up in Greece and then gets even better in Norway. The sound effects are loud and clear, and the voice acting, though kinda cheesy, gets the story across. Some of the quotes from your teammates, especially Superfly Johnson, are just hilarious. He and Mikkiko will just sit there and say the most off-the-wall shit, and it'll crack you up(Mikkiko's use of the word "beyotch" has me rolling).
Control - Smooth for your character(Hiro), a little rough when dealing with your teammates. For the most part, as Hiro you can get around pretty easily and he moves at a decent pace. One of the nice things about the game is that if you're not happy with Hiro's abilities, you can always tune them up via the exp. points you earn throughout the game. As for Superfly and Mikkiko, telling them what to do, pointing out what to take, etc. can be a bit of a chore at times....and their "attack" settings will leave much to be desired.
AI - Ranges from incredibly dumb to incredibly cheap. Most enemies will simply just sit there and engage you in a death dual, until one of you is dead...some will occasionally dodge an attack...it's really unbalanced, and for the most part they just charge you. Some enemies, mostly the soldiers with guns, hit you *no matter what* the second they see you...it's really fucking cheap, and makes for quite a few mandatory hits. The bosses are usually pretty easy, whether it's due to how high of a level your character is, or just the overly-powerful weapons you're carrying at the time, you just rip them up.

Ok, let's get to the real issue with the AI: The NPC's(non-player characters), your "teammates". Though when the game came out, I'm sure this was a very hip and innovative idea...nowaydays, with the sophisticated NPC's showing such high signs of intelligent AI and all, it just makes your teammates look even worse than they already do. They are just such idiots. I mean, if they are not blatantly in your way then they're shooting you in the back trying to kill something in front of you, or falling off a fucking ledge into lava or just standing there getting their asses whipped by some enemy. It's aggravating, at best, and really begins to wear you down after a while. Thank God there are only a few levels where you have both of the dumbasses with you at one time...
Replay value - Assuming you can still find people who'd like to play it online, I'm sure it'd be pretty high. I, personally, haven't tried it online though I have just opened up the multiplayer maps and ran around in them. The levels themselves are pretty slick, and there is even an official Map Pack, by Ion Storm, out for the game. It includes 7 new maps, 2 new pieces of background music and a shitload of new textures. You can find it, again, either at 3D Gamers or Planet Daikatana. Past that there are three modes of competitive play(Deathmatch, DeathTag and Capture the Flag) to explore *all* those maps over.

As for the replay value of the single player game, I'd say it's moderate. I went through it on "Samurai"(medium) difficulty and it was pretty easy...so "Shogun"(hard) may be a bit more challenging and fun. Also, in an extreme stroke of bliss for the gamers: It supports Co-op play! Very hip, and a lot of fun...and now you can yell at your dumbass buddy rather than the dumbass NPC's.
Getting it to run - Easy. Just pop the disc in and let the "autoplay" feature bring up the install menu. From there choose which install you'd like go with(I recommend the "Full" install as you don't have to worry about popping the disc in everytime you want to play) and that's pretty much it. Remember, *do not* install the Direct X 7 that they offer on the disc, over your current version!
Tips for better gaming experiences:
There *will* be parts that you'll need just a bit of help on, be it trying to find your way through a level or finding a certain item. IGN has published a pretty decent FAQ on the game, I suggest you go there now, download it...and keep it handy...

In the Options screen, turn on “Unlimited Continues”, trust me on this one. Believe it or not, there are actual parts in the game where if you miss a certain lift, etc. you CANNOT go any further, no matter what. You WILL be stuck and have to revert to your last saved game.

For some reason, be it lack of imagination or just a real fondness for stairs, almost *any time* you see a staircase, try to crouch and go under it. There is almost always some secret item or passage underneath the staircases in this game...

When deciding what attribute to build up first, I'd go for "Vitality" and get it up to *at least* 2(out of 5) before starting on anything else. As for building up the the Daikatana itself, it's a nice thing to do, especially on when you run out of ammo, but it really makes no difference in the game how much you build it up. It is nice though, once you get your Attack stats up to about 3 and the sword to at least level 2. The entire beginning of the Alcatraz level is the best place in the entire game to build up the Daikatana’s stats. It’s nothing but prisoners and rats...

Do NOT, *ever*, shoot the fucking Ion Blaster while in the water.

Still Supported?
Yes, and you can receive help with the game in the Support section of the Eidos Interactive site.
My rating: 80(out of 100) - Daikatana is a great example of how a game can be killed simply through hype. Just now getting and playing the game, I missed all the hype that this game stirred up back in the day...so I really didn't have overly-ecstatic hopes for it...I simply looked at the box, and decided to give it a shot. It's kinda like a buddy told me: "If you like FPSs, you'll like it." He was right. Daikatana, though nothing too special, is a solid FPS with some great levels and solid gameplay...and is only really dragged down by some overly-long objectives and the dumb as brick AI of the NPC's. It's worth your time...just leave the hype at the door on your way in...

iMac's thoughts: I could have run this game...damn, I could even run it through Virtual PC...but why would I want to? Feed me Quake or the original Unreal over this piece of crap any day!
2455 C.E. Japan
Taking out a mech at Mishama's Headquarters
1200 B.C.E. Greece
The ever-gorgeous ancient Greece levels...
560 C.E. Norway
In the Plague Village, warding off zombies.
2030 C.E. San Francisco
Tearing up Mishima's hideout with Mikkiko.
Fun Stuff on the CD:
The entire soundtrack is on the disc(and on your HD if you do the full install)...and on top of that, it's already in MP3 format! You can add the BGM selections you like directly to iTunes or whatever MP3 player you may be using. For samples of the in-game music, click here or here.
Nintendo-katana?:
For some reason or another, Daikatana seemed to a Nintendo fan-favorite. Not only did the game come out on the N64, but, and get this, there was a *GameBoy Color* port of the game as well! I'm not sure how the N64 port turned out, but the GBC port is actually very cool and a LOT different than the PC version. Essentially, they've turned it into an overhead adventure-style game in the same vein as the Zelda series. Playing as Hiro, you make your way through the very same story in this 8-bit conversion. It's very cool...I recommend it to anyone who's a fan of Daikatana, or hell, even if you're not...