Derpy Does a Deathpunch
XBLA Title: One Finger Death Punch
80 MSP
Enter the wushu master White Stick Man, so named because he is, indeed, a white stick man. He is unnamed within the game, and therefore will be refered to as WSM for this review. WSM's sole purpose is to smash the faces of his numerous inferior opponents.
The premise is not that compelling. Why play a game as a white stick man, beating down other stickmen with two buttons when Benny Triple-A could play Arkham City, or Sleeping Dogs for his martial arts fix?
Because its worth it.
To start, the player is immediately told that the game gives you only two buttons to work with, and he will be thrust into combat in the first of many levels against his first opponents: a platoon of weakling gray wushu warriors. Tap the X button to attack left, and B to attack right. The Player may land attacks only if the enemy is within range, and he may not move. While this seems straightforward and even lazy, the Player will be granted a spectacle often not seen in games with million dollar budgets.
SHINES
Punch through chests, smash stick men against the screen, feel the power and vibration of a Power Smash, and utilize a brutal arsenal of weaponry to wreck genocidal havok on WSM's foes. This game does visuals right, and its got a little depth to boot. Certain enemies require different combinations of button presses, and when you have multiple enemies running circles around you while the gray grunts run headlong into your fists, the game is an exercise in sheer reaction time. Death Punch rewards accuracy, and Player can gain higher medals for fewer misses.
Almost all of the events, such as the image below, are randomized. Time dilated multikills, bursts of inhuman strength, and enemies flung at the screen are all part of the show, and help add visual dimension to the experience.
While the game's scoring will account for inaccuracy, survival is not guaranteed. Every hit matters. Every miss could be the end. Swing early and Player will leave himself open for a counter attack. Swing late, and Player will take a hit for it. Through 250 levels, Player will fight under different circumstances, like Thunderstorms and vintage homages to oldschool kung-fu movies. He will fight opponents of varying quality, ranging from foes that fall with a single hit, to twenty-second engagements against evenly skilled masters. There's nothing more satisfying than flawlessly taking down twenty men in ten seconds.
SMUDGES
Despite the surprising amount of variety to be found in and out of combat, there is little more than visual acquity to keep Player coming back for more. The gameplay is essentially a quick time event. Granted, a very pretty, very fast, very challenging quick time event. Despite losing three hours of his life playing the game the first time, Player will later return not for the gameplay, but to watch the battles in amazement. For every return to the battle, he will feel a little less excited and a little more discouraged. Why?
Why, indeed.
There is a much grander game buried within the simple mechanics. There is a brawler/platformer with weapon upgrades and a charming story filled with throwbacks to the genre of classic kung-fu. Upon realizing this, the Player will explore what could have been. What if WSM could move about a battlefield? What if there were objective modes in addition to the level modifiers? What if each of the five martial arts styles had actual strengths and weaknesses as opposed to just looking slightly different from each other?
Player will be sad that there isn't so much, much more to explore, like the game deserves. He will frown as he ponders what could have been. He will not lament the purchase though. Anyone that's been to the indie game scene knows that for a dollar, one could do much worse.
And that's only before player smashes another stickman through a foot-thick wooden beam and squeals with glee.
XBLA Title: One Finger Death Punch
80 MSP
Enter the wushu master White Stick Man, so named because he is, indeed, a white stick man. He is unnamed within the game, and therefore will be refered to as WSM for this review. WSM's sole purpose is to smash the faces of his numerous inferior opponents.
The premise is not that compelling. Why play a game as a white stick man, beating down other stickmen with two buttons when Benny Triple-A could play Arkham City, or Sleeping Dogs for his martial arts fix?
Because its worth it.
To start, the player is immediately told that the game gives you only two buttons to work with, and he will be thrust into combat in the first of many levels against his first opponents: a platoon of weakling gray wushu warriors. Tap the X button to attack left, and B to attack right. The Player may land attacks only if the enemy is within range, and he may not move. While this seems straightforward and even lazy, the Player will be granted a spectacle often not seen in games with million dollar budgets.
SHINES
Punch through chests, smash stick men against the screen, feel the power and vibration of a Power Smash, and utilize a brutal arsenal of weaponry to wreck genocidal havok on WSM's foes. This game does visuals right, and its got a little depth to boot. Certain enemies require different combinations of button presses, and when you have multiple enemies running circles around you while the gray grunts run headlong into your fists, the game is an exercise in sheer reaction time. Death Punch rewards accuracy, and Player can gain higher medals for fewer misses.
Almost all of the events, such as the image below, are randomized. Time dilated multikills, bursts of inhuman strength, and enemies flung at the screen are all part of the show, and help add visual dimension to the experience.
While the game's scoring will account for inaccuracy, survival is not guaranteed. Every hit matters. Every miss could be the end. Swing early and Player will leave himself open for a counter attack. Swing late, and Player will take a hit for it. Through 250 levels, Player will fight under different circumstances, like Thunderstorms and vintage homages to oldschool kung-fu movies. He will fight opponents of varying quality, ranging from foes that fall with a single hit, to twenty-second engagements against evenly skilled masters. There's nothing more satisfying than flawlessly taking down twenty men in ten seconds.
SMUDGES
Despite the surprising amount of variety to be found in and out of combat, there is little more than visual acquity to keep Player coming back for more. The gameplay is essentially a quick time event. Granted, a very pretty, very fast, very challenging quick time event. Despite losing three hours of his life playing the game the first time, Player will later return not for the gameplay, but to watch the battles in amazement. For every return to the battle, he will feel a little less excited and a little more discouraged. Why?
Why, indeed.
There is a much grander game buried within the simple mechanics. There is a brawler/platformer with weapon upgrades and a charming story filled with throwbacks to the genre of classic kung-fu. Upon realizing this, the Player will explore what could have been. What if WSM could move about a battlefield? What if there were objective modes in addition to the level modifiers? What if each of the five martial arts styles had actual strengths and weaknesses as opposed to just looking slightly different from each other?
Player will be sad that there isn't so much, much more to explore, like the game deserves. He will frown as he ponders what could have been. He will not lament the purchase though. Anyone that's been to the indie game scene knows that for a dollar, one could do much worse.
And that's only before player smashes another stickman through a foot-thick wooden beam and squeals with glee.