Great game, great gameplay! This is one of those arcade games that takes me back, and if you're gaming it up this holiday season with a room full of fellow gamers... consider grabbing this one. Before you go making any decisions though, check out the gameplay and see if it's a game that you'd find an interest in.
Game Description:
Fight lightning-fast, adrenaline-tingling battles with tons of enemies
4 playable characters – turn your warrior into a real legend with the upgrade system and unique secondary weapons
Slay your enemies in style with 100+ chain-combos and epic Super Specials
Team up with a friend online or locally in 2-player tag-team mode
We got a request to cover this indie title and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to showcase the game... and speak on indie dev projects like this.
Shadow of the Guild is described as an epic tale of the Rain Merchants Guild. In this side-scrolling beat-em-up adventure, you play as Yaran, an assassin with a powerful combination of mage and warrior skills. You're able to perform stealth attacks, cast spells, and use combos for a variety of attacks.
Features:
RPG: 3 skill trees to follow the path that suits you best: Warrior, Mage, and Assassin
Beat 'em all: Dynamic fights where you can mix your skills in epic combos
Items: Consumables, throwing weapons and a whole bunch of runes to give you new skills
Exploration: Side quests, special items, secret passages
I like what I'm seeing in this game. As you've heard in the first 30, I understand that the road of indie development is challenging... and there are a lot of indie games that never get this far. There are projects that come to a complete halt based on a lack of time and resources, so it's good to see those that break through.
If the team plans to continue updating the game past launch (which we don't know what that version looks like but), I see a number of things supporters can look forward to. One of the biggest things I see them updating is the art and animations, just fleshing them out more (because a number of assets look like concept art/placeholders).
I wouldn't normally post these... but the team gave me the green light to proceed, so shout out to them. If you're a dev team on the road to release and your game is playable, I think there's a bit more grace for an indie dev versus a bigger studio.
If the game is playable with the finishing touches being minor (or other things have to be implemented), consider early release. It makes sense, especially if the bugs aren't game breakers because... it can help fund the rest of the project or put more wind in your sail to get it released. I say this because of what I've mentioned with some projects coming to a halt, if you can avoid that and deliver a great game... early release could be the route for you and you can update it moving forward. Just make sure that you follow up with the updates so that the efforts don't go to waste as a result of burning supporters.
As far as Shadow of the Guild goes, I enjoyed the gameplay, and the stealth kill scenes. The stealth kills are brutal... so (parents) keep in mind that the mature content will likely get it an "M" (for mature) rating. I don't know what else they have in store... I know that there was a warning + the First 30 showcased some of it, so just keep that in mind when it comes to your kids.
Anyway, the game definitely reminds me of Prince of Persia + Mark of the Ninja, but when it's all said and done... I hope it stands on its own as a memorable title.
Final Vendetta is a hard-hitting action-packed beat ‘em up for 1 or 2 players in the vein of classic arcade titles. Featuring stunning pixel art and a thumping soundtrack with exclusive tracks from Utah Saints! Brawl with bad dudes and tough girls as you fight through dangerous environments.
Story The notorious “Syndic8” gang are slowly taking control of the capital and have kidnapped Claire Sparks’ younger sister. Unfortunately for them, Claire will do whatever it takes to get her back and crush anyone who stands in her way! She teams up with her two friends (and housemates) - retired pro-wrestler Miller T. Williams and Duke Sancho, the streetwise bare-knuckle fighter. Together they must battle and brawl their way through the mean streets of London in a risky mission to reunite Claire with her sister.
Characters Claire Sparks, a student and martial arts expert, who has become unwillingly embroiled in the rescue of her sister. Duke Sancho is a quick-witted, bare-knuckle fighter from London, earning his nickname after a brawl in the Duke of Wellington pub. Not forgetting the towering figure of Miller T. Williams; a Canadian ex-pro wrestler, controversially removed from competitions for use of excessive force. Together the three friends must battle their way through the streets of London on a dangerous journey to bring back Claire’s sister!
Gameplay The gameplay mechanics are sure to go down well with fans of the genre, giving players a vast array of moves and the ability to block, run, dodge, strike downed opponents, and even perform juggle combos! Each character has a unique feel and move set that the player will have to master.
Soundtrack Final Vendetta has a thumping soundtrack featuring brand new and exclusive tracks from Utah Saints, Featurecast and Krafty Kuts! The UK is known for its dance music scene and this electrifying soundtrack compliments all the action Final Vendetta has to offer in tremendous style.
Key Features
Hardcore fighting action that pulls no punches.
Stunningly animated pixel art.
A thumping dance/techno soundtrack featuring exclusive tracks from Utah Saints and Featurecast.
1 or 2 player co-op.
3 playable characters with varying fighting styles.
6 areas to battle your way through.
Classic beat-‘em-up gameplay with fresh mechanics.
4 exciting game modes – Arcade, Survival, Versus & Boss Rush.
The all-time classic Streets of Rage, known as Bare Knuckle (ベア・ナックル Bea Nakkuru) in Japan, is a trilogy of beat ‘em up known for this timeless gameplay and electronic dance influenced music. Streets of Rage 4 builds upon the classic trilogy’s gameplay with new mechanics, beautiful hand-drawn visuals, and a God tier soundtrack.
An iconic series like Streets of Rage got its iconic characters: Axel, Blaze, Adam, and other veterans reunited to clean up the streets. With some brand-new moves and kickass tracks to take a listen, our heroes are ready to dish out beatdowns to a fledgling group of ill-advised criminals in full force.
Streets of Rage 4 will be the first entry to the core series in 25 years, standing as Axel, Adam and Blaze’s glorious return to serving up side-scrolling beatdowns. With lush hand-drawn animations, new combat abilities, and fresh tracks from an amazing team of composers, Streets of Rage 4 will be a masterful tribute to and revitalization of the classic action fans adore
The series is known for its electronic dance influenced music around the world. The soundtrack of Streets of Rage 4 is handled by an all-star line-up of musicians like Yuzō Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, Hideki Naganuma, Keiji Yamagishi and many more who will create new amazing tracks for this new episode of the Streets of Rage series.
● The comeback of the legendary Streets of Rage series. ● Beautiful graphics fully hand-drawn animated by the studio behind Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. ● Clean up Wood Oak City by yourself or with another friend online for the very first time! ● Team up to 4 people offline to take the city back! ● Classic gameplay enhanced with brand-new mechanics. ● Soundtrack by a wide all-star line up of world-class musicians. ● Braised chicken everywhere.
Before I share my thoughts about this over the top beat 'em up brawler, shout out to XSEED Games for supplying a copy of the game for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own, that said... let's review!
What do you get when you mix macho anime characters... and women with an obsession for super-powered street fights? Well, you get... UPPERS!
Story:UPPERS is set on the deserted island of Last Resort, a place where the characters roam around... just looking to open a can of whoop a** on someone (mainly if you're a guy). The multi-layered story is packed with violence, betrayal, and redemption in the pursuit of being the best of the best on the island.
What I find interesting is that this "deserted" island is able to sustain the population, have stores, schools, a variety of food, and a society in general (no matter how crazy). I was like "where are the materials coming from and how are they cultivating, refining them... and so forth?", I was going back and forth on that word deserted and eventually shrugged it off. I've seen enough anime in my life to know that some will not make sense to me in some aspects.
The stories are as you would expect them to be... a bit crazy and connected to the desire to be the best fighter. Each storyline is powered by the passion to fight, but... with 13 playable characters delivering different personalities you aren't just getting the same personality crammed into a different skin.
Here are some of the characters:
If Daidoji-senpai looks familiar to you, she can be found in the Senran Kagura games. She's one of those characters the developers can't seem to get enough of... without starring in her own franchise. I wish they would pour some love into making one hell of a franchise covering her "legendary" life.
Fun Factor:The fun factor in this game can vary, which is actually based on if you're a fan of anime more so than beat 'em uppers and vice versa (see what I did there?). I can say that it will also determine whether you like this game overall.
The gameplay is... alright. You kick + punch + block + use specials... and throw as you would with most beat 'em up games on the market... with little gimmicks slid in there as you K.O. one group of baddies before moving on to the next. There is a cool little twist there where you answer the request of women who want you to pull off certain actions... and if you do so, you win their love and some anime-style sexiness.
Luckily it's not just panties being thrown at you based on your performance... you actually benefit from a combination of panties being flashed at you. It's weird... I know, but let's jump into what some of the combinations actually do for you in the game.
As you see, if you're flashed three yellow pinstripe panties via the Panty Slot Combinations... your attack power is increased by 20% for 10 seconds. Three yellow polka-dotted panties get you the same effect, while three orange polka-dotted panties (seen below) restore 10% of your health. Once you start playing, the Panty Slot Combinations add to the fun factor because you don't know what you're going to get as far as the effect goes... and you may need the right combination to pull you from the brink of defeat with much-needed health.
So even if beat em 'ups aren't exactly leading the pack nowadays... you can still get into the game based on what it offers (and make the most of it) or focus on fighting to simply reach the next cutscene. As I said... this would probably grab an anime fan's attention more so than someone looking for a great beat 'em upper. One thing I was able to appreciate (to an extent) was the voice acting and the interactions between the characters... that's what gave me that almost anime-show'sh feel. I played to see what was going to happen next in the story... while also trying to do my best to get the best score.
The fun factor was like a seesaw to me... although it didn't dip low enough to get on my bad side, because the interactions in the story weren't repetitive so you actually get the feeling of progression. I did find myself playing the game in sections rather than spending a large amount of time playing (in-game action isn't continuous like some other beat 'em ups). I basically played, got my dose of anime action (cut scenes) and I bounced. I won't say this is a bad thing... because everyone doesn't have the time to go on and on in a game, you only have... yay amount of time to and get on about your business.
So on that note... this game could also be a good fit for those of you with limited game time.
Replay Value:Replay value is definitely there when you think about the number of playable characters and... the fact that each stage has a rating that you can go back and improve on. If you're a fan of beat 'em up games... you can definitely get more replay value out of this game than some others I've played. You have seven acts in this game, and each act has multiple missions. You also get a survival mode, and a hard level (if normal isn't doing it for ya).
While this is one of those releases the fans have been waiting for (since its PS Vita days)... It would've been great to see more added into the updated version. It wouldn't have been a bad idea to add a bit more technical fighting to the game... and I also would've been open to more depth on Last Resort Island. Yeah you have the story and the beat 'em up gameplay, but they could've given us the ability to explore Last Resort Island... not just keep us locked into a certain area that represents a really interactive menu. Let the people roam and explore, maybe a menu to quickly access missions would work... but some of us wouldn't mind making our way to the area where the mission takes place.
Once you complete the final mission in an act... sometimes you get a side story as well. I don't really mention the supporting character or even the women in this portion, because they don't change the outcome of the acts (though they are part of the driving force behind all the fighting).
Price: Pricewise... $29.99 UPPERS hits the mark perfectly, it doesn't price itself out of the game... and there is enough content to justify the price tag. Overall, UPPERS is a weird over-the-top beat 'em up with a sexy side... for the anime fanatics out there.
Someone’s getting River City’s biggest beatdown when these girls find whoever nabbed their boyfriends!
There's trouble once again on the mean streets of River City, but this time the boys are in over their heads! In this all-new entry in the legendary beat-'em-up series, hot-blooded heroes Kunio and Riki have been captured, leaving it to their hard-hitting girlfriends, Kyoko and Misako, to serve up some payback. As you punch and kick your way across town - either solo or with a friend in local co-op - you'll gain new skills, chow down on power-ups, wield an assortment of weapons, and unleash an arsenal of combos, throws, and special attacks that will leave the bad guys crying for mama - all in outrageous 16-bit style! The awesome action is punctuated by manga story panels, anime cutscenes, and an epic synth-pop soundtrack. It’s an old-school rumble for a new generation!
Key Features: • Wild beat-'em-up action for one or two players! • Glorious pixel-art graphics plus anime and manga cutscenes! • Fantastic soundtrack featuring Megan McDuffee, Chipzel, Cristina Vee, Dale North, and NateWantsToBattle! • Six large city regions to fight through, complete with shops and side quests! • Loads of weapons, items, and abilities to power-up your heroines! • Guest appearances by classic River City characters!
