I have a confession to make: I've never been that keen on beat 'em ups! Sure, I loved Target Renegade on the C64 and Streets of Rage on the Megadrive but I never found the idea of a one on one fighting game that exciting. I dabbled with Dead or Alive 3 and although the graphics are indeed astonishing it didn't hold my attention. I really enjoyed the comic book fun of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and the impressive and gory action of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance but neither really held my attention enough to go back for more after I had reviewed them.

Why am I telling you this? Because I've finally discovered the joy of beat 'em ups with the simply incredible Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus! Yes folks, Tao Feng has well and truly converted me to the fun and thrill of mastering dozens of impressive moves that can be used to beat seven bells out of your opponent and then beat them some more in the hope of finding an eighth, or even ninth, bell! There's just something about Tao Feng that grabs you straight away - it's probably the striking and interesting character designs and stunning interactive locations that hook you at first; but it's the deep, brilliantly designed and fluid combat system that reels you in.

The fighting takes place in Metro-China, the capital city of the fictional country New China. The members of two ancient Chinese sects have been battling for centuries but now the stakes are high as two tablets that contain the locations of long lost treasures of the Pale Lotus temple have been found. With these artefacts it may be possible to buy immortality from the gods and so the race is on. The Pale Lotus sect believe in truth and harmony whilst the Black Mantis sect, who have stolen one of the tablets, serve evil forces and would use this great power for purely self-interested reasons.

And so 12 colourful and imaginative characters are at your disposal to battle it out over the treasures (with one to unlock at the end of the game). Leading the Pale Lotus sect is Master Sage, a wise old man in his nineties whose nimble and powerful fighting style is slightly reminiscent of Yoda in Star Wars Episode II. Fiery Phoenix and Divine Fact are the other honourable male members of the team, along with Iron Monk who is some sort of android and has defected from Black Mantis. The gorgeous and graceful Jade Dragon and the vicious and fiery Fierce Tiger make up the female complement of the sect.

Black Mantis is led by Wulong Goth, a very tall, lithe and powerful presence with an eerie outfit to match his dark ways. A stocky mercenary known as The Fatalist and a massive, 300lb brute known as Exile provide the sect's muscle, the latter of which is able to perform some of the most devastatingly powerful moves in the game. The female component is three strong this time, with the mysterious and powerful Vapor, the android Geist who takes pleasure in your pain and Divinity, a woman who is as sleek and beautiful as she is treacherous, having betrayed Pale Lotus and joined the dark side. Each character has two costumes to choose from and a number of sayings for various occasions.

These characters, whilst very much humanoid, are far more interesting than your usual beat 'em up fare and their stories intertwine nicely with each other as the game progresses. Still, the story is only a minor aspect, it's the moves and control system that really makes the game and this is where Tao Feng most excels. Each character has over 100 moves that can be performed and it all looks so awesome on screen that sometimes it's hard to concentrate on the action as you're wowed by the new combo you just managed to pull off. Each character has a set of moves that requires unique combinations of button presses to pull off. Although the set of moves is generically the same (flying kicks and punches, crouching hits, various combinations and so on) each character has a unique style and the combination moves are very powerful, stunning and above all satisfying. Sure, a beginner might get away with relentless button bashing but this doesn't look that impressive on screen, whilst stringing together a 7 to 12 hit combo move results in a barrage of kicks and punches that sends your enemy flying across the screen.

The yin of this amazing combat system is balanced perfectly by the yang of the awesome presentation. Everything about Tao Feng is slick, polished and highly professional, from the opening sequence and menu system through to the various moves and the look and feel of the game itself. There are 12 arenas (again with one more to unlock) and each one is very different and incredibly detailed. There is a pier front at sunset, a games arcade, a dingy street, a shipwreck surrounded by icebergs, a dark rooftop, a history museum and more. Each looks very realistic and is stunningly rendered with the kind of quality we know only Xbox is capable of.

Each location has been carefully designed for maximum satisfaction when beating the snot out of your opponent too. For starters, the environments are highly detailed and fully destructible, so if you punch someone into a wall, it cracks and crumbles or if you slam them onto a wooden floor it breaks from the force. Every object and part of the scenery is equally destructible, so windows and glass will shatter, machines will smash and sculptures will break. There are also danger areas in each level and if you knock an opponent into them they will lose extra energy and you get a danger bonus. The arcade is full of them - as when you throw your opponent into an arcade machine it explodes in a shower of sparks, frazzling your enemy momentarily. Smoke plumes up from the machine and it remains smashed and blackened for the rest of the game (hence it can only be used once to do extra damage). In another level, the grounds of a temple, there is a glowing, spinning sphere in the centre that electrocutes your enemy every time you knock them into it. The other excellent touch is the provision of poles in each level that you can spin around and use to launch an attack at your enemy.

The pole attacks and wall attacks are just two of the moves that add a distinct flavour and variety to the combat. Whenever you are backed up against a wall you can press back and right trigger to leap up the wall and somersault off it into your enemy. Each character performs a different combination of moves with a wall attack and it often knocks your opponent to the ground. Similarly, press forward and right trigger to perform a pole attack. The other special moves you can perform are your chi attacks. You chi level rises as you fight (the more complicated the combo, the more chi you earn). Once your chi is full you can activate one of three chi attacks using the white button and a direction. These are powerful attacks that are very hard to block or dodge and range from standard, yet impressive attacks like firing energy, fireballs or other projectiles at your enemy to more bizarre ones. Wulong Goth can open up a portal and blast his opponent from any distance, spit venom or breathe a horde of flies from his mouth, in The Mummy style, stunning his opponent and leaving them wide open to a powerful combo attack. Vapor is capable of transporting herself behind her enemy and slamming them to the ground before they can even think about reacting.

At the foundation of the combat lies a powerful array of moves - crouching kicks and punches, leading and trailing kicks, punches and combos, very impressive running attacks, flying kicks and punches and a range of throws and grab attacks that can be positively brutal to watch - Exile does two equally excruciating grabs, a backbreaker over his knee and a neck breaker onto the ground! Other moves include attacking a stunned and grounded opponent, launching an attack when you are on the ground, sidestepping around your opponent to dodge attacks, lunges, retreats and the all-important taunting! Each character also has two alternate stances to use - getting into these stances takes a moment but the punch, kick and combo move from each stance is extra powerful and in a different style than usual, thus it is great for throwing off your opponent.

Blocking is one of the most crucial and often overlooked aspects of a beat 'em up - but not so in Tao Feng. Blocking is dead simple to perform; simply press back on the directional pad (you can also crouch to avoid high attacks and jump to avoid low attacks but doing this successfully takes time and experience). However, you can't just block attack after attack as when you block and your opponent is landing blow after blow on you it has an effect on your body. A limb damage warning will occur and if you continue to take punishment it becomes a limb damage danger warning. Take one good hit whilst in the danger zone and you fall to the ground in agony, having taken damage to either your arms or legs. From here on all attacks from the affected limbs do 50% of the damage they normally would. You can heal yourself gradually by pressing the left trigger or use a full chi bar to take a short cut. This is such a brilliant concept as it stops the perpetual blockers from playing in a boring way and gives you a chance to earn a real advantage over your enemy. It is also that bit more realistic, too.

The final touch that is just fantastic is the ditching of a round system (although you can choose this if you really want to) for a multi-layered energy bar. Each character has three layers of energy and once your green energy bar is emptied you fall to the ground and then get back to your feet looking bruised, cut and bloodied. When the yellow energy bar becomes empty the same thing happens but this time you stagger to your feet less easily and look very badly beaten with many scratches, cuts, bruises and the obligatory black eye. When the final red energy bar runs out this signals the end of the bout. This is such a nice touch and instead of breaking up the action all the time with rounds (and having a time limit as well) you have one long scrap where you get knocked down then get up again, because they're never going to keep you down (not the first two times at least!) It also means you can get a good advantage over your opponent, beating them well into their yellow bar before they finish off your green one. Don't get complacent though as it only takes a couple of good combination attacks to wipe that smile off your face and catch up again - equally if you are trailing in the energy stakes a few well-timed blocks and powerful combos can see you stealing the victory from under your opponent's bleeding nose.

The character animation is absolutely stunning and flows beautifully and fluidly from one move to the next. The graphics are well and truly up to Xbox standards with super-detailed textures, lighting and shading effects on all the characters and locations. It is one of the most visually stunning games I have seen on Xbox and whilst it perhaps isn't quite as amazing to look at as DOA3, it's a very close second. The sound effects beef up the action tremendously, with some of the most resounding thuds, smacks and cracks you've ever heard, backed up with very solid, bassy sound effects for smashing into tiled walls, crashing through wooden floorboards or decimating arcade machines, windows and anything else you might get thrown into. The music is not hugely varied but is a laid-back dance style with catchy themes weaved into it using traditional Chinese instruments and completes the arcade feel of the experience very well. You can also use your own soundtrack if you get bored of what is on offer.

A number of modes are available - Versus mode is a one-off match for 1 or 2 players in a location of your choice, Team Battle is the same but with 2 teams of 2 to 6 characters with the winner being the side who still has a character standing and Survival is a 1 player mode pitting you against a series of opponents where your only hope of survival is getting health bonuses by knocking them into danger zones. Tournament is for 4 to 8 players to battle through a series of head-to-head fights (and thus only needs two controllers to play) and is a lot of fun when you've got a few mates over who think they know it all!

Finally comes Quest mode, where each character has 6 pieces of a quest item to find - thus they must battle all the members of the opposing sect in 6 different locations in order to complete their quest. This mode is narrated by the leader of your sect and expounds the story and relationships between the characters you face, which is a nice touch. With 12 characters each collecting 6 pieces, that is 72 bouts to work your way through and whilst the difficulty of your computer opponent can be decided in all the other modes, in this one it is preset and some of the enemies are infuriatingly tough (it took me over an hour to defeat Exile playing as Fiery Phoenix but by the time I finally got him my fighting and mastery of combos was dramatically improved). Once all the pieces are found the final challenge awaits you.

Full marks also go to the excellent training mode, which not only has a moves list but features a range of options for what your opponent should do (ranging from standing still to a full out assault) and you can also watch a demonstration of any move or combo, to make sure that you have pulled it off properly. This is such a great addition and it really makes learning the moves a lot easier as it shows you the correct timing of the button presses as the move is carried out. There is also an advanced training option where you must perform set tasks and moves to progress, helping you to learn your moves quickly.

The only criticism I can really level at Tao Feng is that some of the combo moves are quite difficult to carry out at first because it requires you to press a direction and two of the coloured buttons at the same time. The input system is very sensitive and even the slightest gap between pressing the buttons will mean it's not read as a combo. Similarly, powerful combos can be ruined halfway through because you pressed a button and a direction a split second apart without realising it. However, it's not fatally hit and miss because given some time you will learn to synchronise your button presses and get the move you wanted almost every time as second nature.

Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus is quite simply the best beat 'em up I've ever played and has converted me from having a casual interest in the genre to being an adrenaline fuelled fighting junkie! Even if Dead or Alive 3 didn't do it for you this is well worth a look - the quality of the graphics, sound and music combined with interesting characters, interactive scenery and a truly sublime and intricate fighting system makes this one of the most exciting, enjoyable and playable games yet seen on Xbox.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).