Winding passages and floors filled with useless background junk such explored in casual sequence. The hook is striding from point A to point B without dying or falling prey to a level boss. Thugs lurk around every corner. The running tally of experience points grows with each enemy casualty. Jax is awarded an increased maximum health total and the secret formula to a new kombo upon reaching scripted point plateaus.
Inventory management complements the new style of kombat.
Quest objects like key cards and detonators have obvious uses, including barrier removal. Side arms such as the machine gun and sniper rifle can be used in a free-form manner to eliminate pesky hoodlums. You'll get the impression that the latter firearms are there just to jazz up the presentation. Sparse pyrotechnics don't mask extensive camera-angle problems from prying eyes. Wall-hugging stealth tactics would have remedied this problem, but no allowances were made in this regard.