To celebrate the launch of Atari's Xbox 360 anime/fighting game, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit; we sat down with one of the producers on the title to talk about what to expect from the game and where the franchise is headed. The team also sent us five exclusive screenshots to go along with the interview,
click here to check them out.
PX360: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, can you please introduce yourself and give us some background on your experience with the DBZ universe?
Clay: I’m Donny Clay and I’m the producer on Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit. I’ve worked on several Dragon Ball Z titles over the years for Atari. The Dragon Ball Z universe is like my second home.
PX360: Tell us a little about DBZ Burst Limit. What can people who have not ever played DBZ fighting games in the past expect from it?
Clay: If you’ve never experienced DBZ then this is a great title to pick up because you can jump right into the action. Not only is it a great game for the fighting genre but it’s a really fun game to play in general. Anyone can get into this game, it’s good gameplay for everyone.
PX360: Will DBZ Burst Limit be the start of a new DBZ gaming franchise?
Clay: Nothing has been decided about that yet but I hope so =).
PX360: What major features have been upgraded from the Budokai Tenkaichi series? Are there any new fighters, locations, or major boss fights?
Clay: There are no new fighters in this one, we’ve actually scaled down the number of characters but there are still in game character transformations which are awesome on the next gen platforms. The fighting system has been tweaked so it’s more balanced than ever before and the graphical capabilities on the consoles make it look just like the show.
PX360: In terms of the DBZ series overall, how is Burst Limit's gameplay going to be different from previous titles?
Clay: Well the control schemes are different on the new controllers for sure. We actually recently released a few tutorials on how to maximize your fighting experience.
PX360: What about technical specs? What are we looking at in terms of resolution, frame-rate, etc.? What makes Burst Limit stand out as a graphical powerhouse?
Clay: The next-generation version runs at 720p 60 fps. For me, the thing that stands out are just how crisp the graphics are and how smooth it runs while the graphics are totally exploding on-screen
PX360: DBZ Burst Limit marks the DBZ series' first trip into online gaming. What can we expect to see in the online/battle modes?
Clay: Actually the Wii version featured online play for Budokai Tenkaichi 3, but with the 360 edition you can expect some hefty competition since you’ll now be able to play online in multiple regions.
PX360: The DBZ series has been around for an insane period of time. What about the franchise makes it stick in gamer's hearts?
Clay: I get asked that question a lot. I think it really has to do with being a great story line with interesting characters combined with a game that’s just simply fun to play. The story lines are so in-depth and entertaining I think they appeal to a massive audience.
PX360: Can you give us the any information about the achievements for the Xbox 360 version of Burst Limit?
Clay: They are buried all over the place =) you even get one for finishing up the tutorial, which I highly recommend doing as it teaches all the subtleties of the fighting system.
PX360: The game follows events from the beginning of the Saiyan Saga to the end of the Cell Saga. How important is the storyline to the game?
Clay: Well for one the story mode unlocks a bunch of stuff like characters and drama pieces so it's pretty important in that respect but you can definitely enjoy the game without it. It's also nice if you have never experienced the DBZ story before. It will catch you up on a very large portion of the series. As for those who know the story already it's still nice to go back re0livve those adventures
PX360: And finally; how much, if any, direct input did the people involved in working on the anime series have in the development of the game?
Clay: It’s two separate entities so not very much, but that would be really cool to have the anime content folks on board; the videos in the game will be familiar to anyone who has watched the cartoon before.
PX360: We want to thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us and we are all looking forward to playing the game when it hits store shelves on June 11, 2008.
