[HEADING=1]"Toribash: Violence Perfected"[/HEADING]
In a time where I feel that the term "originality" is getting tossed around way too carelessly, it's nice to sometimes have the ability to turn to the indie game scene. I often find that the most unique gaming experiences come from the developers with the least amount of funding, with the big companies having a tendency towards demanding a more or less constant stream of games buildt around standard recipes.
Toribash is, as you might have guessed by now, an indie game, created by Hampus Söderstrom, a swedish software developer currently based in Singapore along with the rest of Nabi Studios. While standard fighting games such as the Dead or Alive series and Street Fighter series allow you to kick ass based on which button combination you decide to mash, Toribash has taken the whole concept a little bit further and made a game based around "free fighting".
Firstly: If we're gonna place it in a genre cabinet, I honestly have no idea which one. It's a fighting game, but it's turn-based and you'd put more emphasis on calling it a strategy game than an action game, even if it's delightfully visceral. You control various "joints" on a humanoid ragdoll, usually with the purpose of inflicting as much harm as possible on the opposing ragdoll. I suppose the main idea is to give the player maximum freedom over his character, and the option to do just about anything you want.
Actually accomplishing this however is easier said than done. You always have the possibilities, but you also get constantly reminded that as a new gamer you're more likely to do some spastic, random dance moves before collapsing into a twitching lump on the ground rather than handing out a genuine can of whoopass, even in single player mode. The game's biggest feature is also it's biggest 'issue': It's fucking hard! In multiplayer you're introduced to "newbie" servers that allow people such as yourself to do some feeble attempts in inflicting damage to other people such as yourself. When you "belt up" (it's basically like leveling only you get forced difficulty levels instead of handfast rewards) you have to move on to the 'higher belt' servers, which means you will face harder opponents. Somewhere on this road you will face the difficulty curve. Which happens to be a concrete wall.
Most new players quit upon facing said wall due to the fact that they feel unable to encounter the enlightenment needed to excel at climbing it. The concept is unique and thus it's very difficult to learn, and you have to both adapt a routine for which joint does what, and later a deep understanding for the physics engine and why it hates you. And even then you're likely to get a royal rectal treatment from the really good players. If you've watched some videos on youtube, and additionally tried the game, you'll agree with me that being amazed of certain players' abilities is completely justified.
Nabi's main focus seems fairly simple: Since it's first version back in 2006 the game has been expanded a number of times with improved graphics, mods, scripts, the ability to customize your ragdoll and pretty much worked hard to give the impression that the developers' ideology is mostly focussed around the theory that "freedom R good". I can respect that, I mean, a lot of sandbox games nowadays get complaints about being too restricted, so with a demand for increased freedom, maybe Toribash really is a game for the future? It's showed out to be a sturdy creation, especially now that the developers are getting steady income from the products available in the "ToriShop". (All usually just custom colors and such that add little but more inches to your e-peen, but still a profitable business.)
Now, I feel like I should present a pretty integral part of this game: The community. You'll be introduced to a forum and IRC-based society that consists of several social layers, not unlike any other internet forum. When you join up you'll quickly discover that people really don't care much about you or even notice you, and if you try to make yourself well-known early on, you'd better do something fantastic, with perfected grammar, or else the many elitist predators of the community will certainly feast on your noobiety. That said, Toribash has a community where getting fame is easier than in most other games. Being really good at the game itself will get you some status as a badass-action hero that the "serious" clans would like to include with them on their road to world-domination. Being a notable poster on the forums will get you tons of respect, and, with the right sort of IRC activity, maybe even a status within the site administration. There are toplists of the best players and it's all about comparing and excelling; wether it's ingame provess or just e-peen. While some might not like this, I personally enjoy it as I have a competitive streak that awards me satisfaction every time I'm better at someone at anything.
Interestingly enough, a release for the WiiWare is in development which means that a special game will port at a special console. In my eyes, this can have only two outcomes - Either 1; It becomes a success and the game will recieve praise for bringing it's uniqueness from the indie geeks to "the people", or 2; the combo does not work out well and the clash results in an unintuitive game that quickly gets forgotten after some poor reviews.
Having played this game for almost three years now, it should be obvious where I stand on this matter. I must say it's very hard for me to be critical towards a game when I have nothing to compare it against, or no view on how I think it should be. One only has to remember this about the game: It's difficult to the point where it feels hostile, but when you master it, the feeling of accomplishment is without comparison in the world of gaming. Getting a fluent replay where you actually do something cool is a great reward in itself. It is unique, it is fun, and if nothing else, it's a game one should check out just for the sake of trying it. The majority of players do not stick with this game, but who expects the first piece of a new art direction to be enjoyed by everyone?
Comments would be appreciated.
PS: Oh and by the woo;
