There are certain terms that conjure up a sense of tragedy on a human scale that is so great they have become cultural icons. Examples might be the Titanic, the Hindenburg, and Daikatana. As a commercial venture, Daikatana was a spectacular failure. It was one of the first PC titles that received a modern 'hype' treatment, and also, John Romero, the founder of ID software, maker of Doom, was the lead designer. This game was highly anticipated. And anticipated. And it was delayed for almost three years.
Adding to this fiasco was Ion Storm's unapologetic, almost abusive treatment of gamers. I remember one ad that said "John Romero will make you his Bitch", and the Eidos logo. That's supreme arrogance, considering that Daikatana was nearly vaporware.
The game itself was panned when it finally was released, but this may have been largely in part due to a backlash from fans who felt they had been disrespected. The graphics were good for the period, based largely on Doom technology, but with a more varied palette. The game makes a good use of time-travel themes, changing settings and it offers a wide array of weapons - grenades, beam weapons, crossbows, and even a discus type projectile - that for the most
part, stave off the boredom that is common with FPS. The levels are built with a sense of aesthetics, and unlike some other FPS titles of that time, it contained some non-interactive scenery. Daikatana also attempted to incorporate some form of an RPG system into the mechanics of the game, since the player can improve their skills over time and with a modest levelling system.
Some of the negative aspects were repetitive backgrounds, repetitive enemy types, and common to all FPS that attempt to incorporate AI-based squads - idiotic AI for squads. Your team mates are little more than a decoration in most scenarios since they die so quickly, and are so bad at avoiding damage.
Although a modern computer won't have any troubles running Daikatana (maybe compatibility problems) for its time, the game had long load times, and was cpu intensive. The diminishing budget for the project also was reflected by the fact that game models and animations deteriorated as you progressed.
By the time you acquire the daikatana, you will have gladly traded up for a Quake II shotgun to finish the game. The sword seems 'clunky'. It's hard to know where you're going to hit with it, and you perform a set of pre-determined slashing motions that are beyond your control, and totally random. Possibly most damning of all though, was the fact that what Daikatana was trying to do, was being done better by other competing titles. For interactive squad-based play, Tribes II was superior. For group death matches, Team Fortress was the game to play.
If you're interested in this game for historical reasons, Daikatana will be an interesting lesson in the importance of modesty when undertaking a big project
