River City Girls 2 is a beat em up action game developed by ‘WayForward‘ and published by ‘Arc System Works‘. River City Girls 2 came out the 15th of December 2022 on the Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 and PC. X35 Earthwalker wrote about the first game. The second is here.These girls aren’t alone. Let’s take a look.
River City Girls 2 is here and off course being a sequel, it has to be bigger, more loaded and better. The story in River City Girls 2 takes place shortly after the first game. That old foe, who badly wants revenge, is back. This means the girls: Kyoko and Misako are back and kicking butt. So yeah, that’s the story. Fight!
River City Girls 2 is a sequel after all so that means there needs to be more. So Kyoko and Misako aren’t alone this time. They got some friends: Provie and Marian. These two ladies are bringing real firepower. Provie is literally bringing the groove with her dancing and heavy combo moves. Marian has transformed herself and is now all power with heavy moves. These two ladies make a difference. But wait!.. There’s more! Kunio and Riki is here to fight as well. We got some manpower on the team and we know that always comes in handy. So yeah, 6 fighters. Pick one.
We checked out some River City Girls 2 gameplay and it’s what we expected. It is bigger and more loaded. More locations and more abilities. “Lift-off combos”, elemental status effects and even guard-crush attacks, so deeper combat mechanics. There’s over 40 shops for players to buy accessories and items. Don’t forget to hire what’s called ‘heavies’ to support you. You can also recruit fallen foes. Best of all, River City Girls 2 is co-op both online and local. Games like this need co-op. Imagine Scott Pilgrim vs the world but no co-op. That would be terrible.
Overall River City Girls 2 looks like a good game. Definitely better than the last one. The big boss looks far more intimidating and powerful. Ken is an interesting character but we feel like he will made a complete joke in this game. There’s more options, more combat, more mechanics, more characters, more everything and it’s done in mostly the correct way. Animations are better too, especially the defeated ones. The developers ‘Wayforward’ have done a very good job. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to hear what this game accomplishes. Now River City Girls 2 may have reinforcements but it work work against… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Streets of Rage 4 is an arcade beat em up game and off course the fourth game in the Streets of Rage series. Many have been waiting for this game. Many. X35 Earthwalker is one of them but off course the greatest and coolest of them. Things are different this time around in Streets of Rage, in multiple ways and for the better. Many have talked or reviews this game (they did alright) but remember… a game hasn’t been reviewed until X35 Earthwalker has reviewed it. Let’s take a look.
Streets of Rage stories have never been complicated. They are always straight forward and simple. In Streets of Rage 4. There’s crime in the city, an evil syndicate is behind it all and the vigilante heroes go in to stop it… beating the crap out of everyone and everything that gets in their way. Simple. This time though Mr X is not the one behind it. He’s dead. It’s his children… the Y twins! Mr and Ms Y. So this time Axel, blaze, Cherry? and Floyd? with rage in their hearts take on the streets of rage. Yep, we got new characters. Cherry hunter (if you couldn’t tell by the name) is the daughter of Adam Hunter. Floyd Iraia is the apprentice and assistant of Dr Gilbert Zan. So no Adam again?…
The rules are the same in Streets of Rage 4. Keep moving to the right and beat up all the bad guys. Reach the end of the level and face a boss. Get enough points and you earn an extra life. Each of the characters have their own stats which can be viewed in the extras menu but you must unlock it first. They each have special attacks with a few like Blaze having an additional. There’s the defensive and offensive special attack. The defensive is like a ‘get off me’ move which during you’re also invincible. Offensive is normally longer range, travels a little and does straight up damage. Each character also has an ultimate attack. These require stars to activate which don’t come easy. For example, Floyd’s ultimate is him firing huge laser like he’s Cyborg from Injustice. Cherry is the fastest of all the fighters and the only one who can sprint. Floyd is the biggest and strongest but slower than slow itself. Axel is a balanced fighter with a powerful offensive special move. Blaze is also balanced, bit weaker than axel but got an additional special attack.
Streets of Rage 4 isn’t a hard game but a fair challenge, unlike Streets of Rage 3. The difficulties are: Easy. normal, hard, hardest and Mania. Mania is as the descriptions says… unfair but it’s only for the masters of Streets of Rage 4. Familliar enemies like Galsia, donavon, yellow signal are all here and ready to fight. Matter of fact, enemies from different Streets of Rage games are all here. They come back as mini bosses, actual end of level boss or just strong enemies. Big Ben, the fat guy in red introduced in Streets of Rage 2, is back and he charges you spiting fire (somehow) just like the good ol days. Barbon who was a boss in streets of Rage 2 is back and also a boss. He still kicks hard. Garnet, the women who jump and kick you from Streets of Rage 3 are here too. The Muay Thai fighters are back too and they are worse in our opinion. There are new enemies too like Honey who we hate the most. Stupid enemies indeed. When there’s multiple of them, expect a rough time. Police officers including one with a futuristic shield called Murphy (robocop anyone?). Goro who really slows down how you play and is dangerous when more than one is present. There’s more.
The old techniques are there in Streets of Rage 4, like landing on your feet when launched or thrown. You can break grabs as well and even juggle enemies with multiple simple hits to lead up with a strong finisher. Let’s dive in a bit more concerning some enemies. Yes enemies have variations of them just like the older Streets of Rage games. Galsia is normally blue and the weakest but then you will come across a green, red and white version who have more health and more aggressive. Donavan has a green and red pants versions of them. We believe the green one is called altet, something like that. Anyways, the red ones can throw weapons at you and even catch weapons throw at them. The last version of them is called ‘z’ and they at times can have armour. Big Ben has variations. There’s Gourmand and Anry. Gourmand will always try to belly flop drop on you while Anry will roll for an attack like Sonic the hedgehog but only vertically. Watch out for these guys. These guys and others aren’t much of a problem really but it becomes a huge problem when you play in hardest difficulty. The character designs are excellent. Amazing. Majority of these characters were designed right. Their design says quite a lot about them. Our favourite enemy design is Diva, hands down. Her design from her clothes, to heels, to hair style all have character. Her movement animations is also excellent. Combine it all together and she’s tough, a boss, dangerous, sexy and got attitude. You need to beat her up first before she complies.
Our second favourite enemy design is Mr Y. This guy has evil crime lord written all over him, from the trendy stylish coat, to his hair and fighting style. He doesn’t back down, regardless and knows he’s powerful. He was meant to be a bad guy. What’s that? He wanted to be a chef, well too bad, crime is his life. He looks good for sure. Our favourite hero design probably has to be Blaze. We feel like this is the best look for her possible. She’s got her jacket back which is a good thing. They went for a beautiful, sexy design but also she would kick your butt in many ways if you even try it on her once. Now some have a problem with her design but we think those people just need to grow up. Yes her skirt is real short but for what she does it’s actually practical. Look at her fighting style over the Streets of Rage games. She kicks… a lot. She does flips and jumping kicks. Jumping was her best stat in the very first game. How are you going to jump kick effective in a long skirt, you can’t unless it has a slit going all the way up to your hip. She can kick high if she needs to and flip. Her shirt makes it possible. It rides up when she does which is very realistic. We get it, some of you dads out there thinking, “young lady, go back upstairs and change. You ain’t fighting crime dressed like that!” We understand but her outfit is good, realistic and practical. This is coming from a martial artists with over 12 years experience. We don’t like Axel’s design. He looks kind of chubby now, like his six pack formed on top of the fat. He was a martial artist so why would he let himself go. Being a wanderer and searching for direction or whatever he’s doing doesn’t mean you stop caring. Wish he was in shape like Adam. Adam looks great but we can think of better designs for him.
Next let’s talk about the music. Streets of Rage games have always been known for their music. The boss music in Streets of Rage 1 is the best. You can bop and jam to it while facing the bosses. Streets of Rage 2 had two levels that we really enjoyed the music off. Also Streets of Rage 2 also has the best character select screen music, hands down. Streets of Rage 3 was the least of all the games in our opinion. Streets of Rage 4 has real nice menu music for chilling. You can get the Streets of Rage 2 character select screen music in the settings. In Streets of Rage 4 the best stage music of them all hands down is part 1 of level 2 the Precinct. Easy. If you say no, we will give you a location, meet us there and we will fight you. We aren’t responsible for all wounds you WILL get. Back to topic. Level 1, 2, 3, 4 and part 2 of level 9 had good to very good music. The others music was alright or not impressive to us sadly. Music in Streets of Rage 4 has build up music as in the music starts with a simple or unimpressive beta but as you go through the level the music builds up and extra beats are added and then it becomes something real good. We like that style. Level three hasn’t got good music at the start but then becomes something you can jam too but if you switch retro music for that level, it’s the boat music level from Streets of Rage 2 which was excellent. Sadly the retro music is better than the modern. We wish the developers did more concerning the music. The variety is definitely there even giving a more oriental music for the china town level.
Let’s now go over what we didn’t like. We don’t like that you had to beat level 4 before you can play as Adam. Adam was missing from both Streets of Rage 2 and 3 in terms of being playable. Then now in Streets of Rage 4 we got to play a bit to get him. Speaking of characters we don’t like that you can’t play as modern Shiva. If you look at the title screen you see Estel, Diva and Shiva on the front screen like they are a part of the cast. They have good looking character designs with their own moves but not unlockable. Maybe they plan to bring them in as DLC but if they at the front then either they are significant or playable. Simple. You might say they are there because they are bosses. Good point but Barbon, Nora, commissioner, DJ K Washi etc aren’t on the front. So yeah it’s not consistent. What we don’t like is hw the biker girls like Honey and the Muay Thai fighters have almost instant reflex hitting moves that can even joggle making certain sections practically unfair. The biker girls slide attack still hits you diagonally and forces you to save yourself by using special moves which drain your health and leave you in a bad state. What’s also disappointing is that besides the first thing levels like 1,2,3,4 the rest of the music isn’t great and the retro audio options aren’t good either. We was expecting the greatest Streets of Rage music of all time. Didn’t happen. The striking window or time for enemies to hit you remains the same regardless of difficulty.
The trick to handling Barbon isn’t clear like the other bosses. When he does his repeated roundhouse 360 kicks you are suppose to jump but it doesn’t look like that’s possible so you don’t try that. Especially someone like mFloyd who can’t jump high at all (sucker has 10cm vertical leap) the kick visually goes through his body but doesn’t hit. Also having the biker girls come out to join Barbon because you smash the bikes isn’t good either as you want the items but when you smash the bikes they come out. If you aren’t careful you will end up fighting Barbon and 6 biker girls at the same time. Adam had practically no relevance in the story besides his reveal which again is just bad. For some reasons Streets of Rage 4 on Xbox One has a shorter combo window than others. We watched some people including CoryxKenshin play Streets of Rage 4 (video below, watch when he hits the car) and we noticed that when they finished fighting someone their combo number in the top left hand corner stays for much longer, flashes and then shrinks showing it’s going to reset soon. That doesn’t happen on our Xbox One version. It resets so fast. Also when you hit the car in stage 1 that counts as hits and raises your combo counter. It doesn’t do that for us. Also if you hit cones, bins, water machines, whatever destructible which normally hide food or whatever under it, it also counts as a hit and even eating the food prevents the combo from ending. This allows you too easily get crazy combos. Very unfair. Where’s the section that allows us to play music from the game? They should have had that.
Let’s finish with more good stuff. What’s cool is that the levels and dialogue make it clear that the Y twins respected their dad. Family love. We like how each characters special attacks are so different from each other. Floyd being technology and pure force, Axel having fire as usual, Cherry having abilities linked to her guitar and music, Blaze having what looks like energy and off course Adam looking like green flames with dragon shapes at least for the offensive special move. The effects look excellent. We like the additional information and stuff you unlock in the extras menu. Those are actually interesting stuff. The ultimates look fantastic and make you want to use them a lot but sadly you get punished for using them by getting a lower score as you get 500 points for each star you hold on to at the end of the level.The fact that you can play as one of the characters from the previous Streets of Rage games is a big brain move. You can literally go through the whole game a streets of rage 1 Axel. That’s big. Players off course loved that they did this. The story is simple and easy to go with including cinematic scenes. It makes sense and you just roll with it. We also truly enjoyed that there are hidden levels where you face old bosses from past Streets of Rage games like Jack and even Mr X. It’s like a blast from the past. See clip below for an example alone with X35 Earthwalker getting an out of this world combo.
Overall Streets of Rage 4 is an excellent game. It’s awesome. We are having so much fun playing it. We have beaten the game multiple times. Gotten the perfect and out of this world combo achievements. We still have quite a bit more stuff to do. Even mania difficulty can’t stop us. If you are a fan of Streets of Rage or new to the series you will most likely enjoy this game. We haven’t tried the multiplayer but it’s clear. Either play online and go through levels with others or battle against over players online in battle mode to see who has more rage in their heart. The developers have done an excellent job but there is room for more. We suggest you get Streets of Rage 4 besides it’s not even expensive like £21. Off course we don’t go over everything but the main stuff. Now Streets of Rage 4 may have great designs, music and animations but those would have been much better if they done… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Streets of Rage 4 is the new action beat em up game developed by ‘Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, Dotemu‘ and published by ‘Dotemu and Yooreka Studios’. Streets of Rage 4 is said to be coming out the 30th April 2020 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PC. We are definitely looking forward to this game. Let’s take a look.
Streets of Rage is one of, if not the best beat em up game and now we are getting Streets of Rage 4. We knew about this game along time ago but didn’t write on it. There’s a lot to say but we keeping this one short.
Firstly we have no information concerning the story. Mr X’s brain was destroyed in Streets of Rage 3 so you can assume he’s actually dead dead this time. So maybe a new face has taken over the area. You know how it is, when the boss it down, other gangs want to take their shot or maybe a relative or child of Mr X. Who knows? What we do know is that there’s lots of bad guy faces to punch in, combo and swing at with a pipe… just like the good ol days.
Firstly we like the Streets of Rage 4 art style as it’s clearly going for a more flowing modern look. The animations are definitely good. Each attack and move looks smoother and clearly than before. Unlike that one move Max had in Streets of Rage 3 where he’s suppose to be punching the head of a barbed enemy but looks and sounds like he’s breaking their necks. The special attacks and abilities have more special effects and flare making all the moves look powerful but off course we have no idea how strong or weak yet. The game is definitely colourful and we like colours. Who doesn’t like colours?… you grandpa.
We got straight into the visuals this time because it’s Streets of Rage, you know what to expect by now. It’s straight up beat em up. Move through the level and trash the enemies that come your way, find, pick up and use weapons to defeat your enemies and off course, work with a friend as it’s always been 2 player co-op. There’s even new characters, as there should be. Yes the main characters Axel, Adam and Blaze are all here (they better be) but we know have two new characters: Floyd Iraia (the big dude with mechanical arms) and Cherry Hunter (the cool black girl with an electric guitar). Both definitely stand out and got their own style and tricks. Something is different though.
There is now a Battlemode. It’s in the name but it’s against each other. Take on your friends and see who is the best fighter or who has the most rage in the streets. It’s four player co-op! Not only can you play as the main characters of Streets of Rage 4 but you can also play as past characters from previous Streets of Rage games and even better the past versions of them. For example you can take control of Axel from Streets of Rage 1 and fight with his moves from that game. You can play as an from Streets of Rage 3 or as Max or Skate from Streets of Rage 2, or Adam from the first game etc. So in a battle mode you can have four friends or family fight against each other but each player is a Blaze from each Streets of Rage game: 1,2,3 and 4 to see which Blaze is the queen of fighting. Now that’s an excellent idea. Smart move by the developers as they knew fans would want to see the past too.
There’s more! The developers of Streets of Rage 4 have not just brought the characters and designs from the past but also the music. Players can play levels and stages to the old music. Remember those banging tunes from Streets of Rage 1 and 2? You can hear them while you play now. We are sure there’s some cool ones from Streets of Rage 3 but we weren’t a big fan of the music from that one. This shows the developers are aware and paid attention to what has been said about the past games and applying that information to this new design. If they play it smart like this all the way through then Streets of Rage 4 will be one of the best games so far easily.
We are so glad they brought Adam Hunter back into the battle. When he wasn’t there for Streets of Rage 2 we were annoyed but we understood as he was captured but there was no excuse for Streets of Rage 3. We missed that character and so did fans. Now he’s back and has real power. There are counters, explosive moves, ultimate like attacks, flashy acrobatic movement and more. Also in case you couldn’t tell from the names Adam Hunter is Cherry Hunter’s dad. Father and daughter fighting side by side and kicking butt. Nothing can make a dad more proud than seeing his little girl drop kick big dudes. That’s better than a graduation any day.
We checked out some gameplay and it’s not what we thought it would be initially but it’s better this way for sure. The combat is looking real good, the levels have variety, the battle mode brings another layer of gameplay and fun, the variety of music including the music from past will get shoulders moving while fighting. The many many chapters you can unlock allowing you to play as the past game versions of these characters is an excellent idea. We haven’t seen anything concerning bosses but we know with all these moves, abilities, characters, help and combos with co-op partners we know the bosses have to be a big threat. They must match the hype. Lastly we aren’t a huge fan of Axel’s design. Why does he look so much older than the others and so out of shape. He’s really broad and looks like he sort of has a tummy. Does he still have his mobility? Wished he looked more in shape like the others. Blaze is looking beautiful and dangerous and she made the smart move to wear a jacket this time as she will need the extra protection from these dangerous thugs.
Overall Streets of Rage 4 is looking like an awesome game so far. We like the visuals, the gameplay, the characters and even the designs. Looks like there is content to last for a good time too. We hope there is no health bar or number of uses for pipes and bats like there was in Streets of Rage 3 (bad mechanic). The developers ‘Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, Dotemu’ have done an amazing job so far.
Brutal Rage is a new scrolling beat em up game developed and published by ‘2BAD GAMES‘. Brutal Rage is said to be coming out the 22nd of April 2020 on the Xbox One. This game gets straight to the point. Use all that rage bottled up inside you and fight through the streets. Let’s take a look.
Brutal Rage is another game that gets straight to the point. It’s a side scrolling beast em up game. In the world of Brutal Rage you follow the “brutal path of blood for retribution”. It’s about police officers who were wrongly accused for a crime they DIDN’T do. So instead of sitting there and serving your sentence, you instead escape from prison, going to find out who did this to you and prove your innocence.
So expect moving around and fighting everything that comes your way. Just watch some gameplay of Brutal Rage and already a certain game will pop into your head. Say it with us… Streets of Rage. Even the name reminds you of it. Streets of Rage and Brutal Rage. This means if Brutal Rage has a similar style then we can expect a good style. You one up and down the screen, line up with enemies, do simple combos and use weapons to beat up your enemies as you make your way through the level. There is a rage mechanic where as you are playing and fighting you build up rage. There’s a rage meter
Best of all, Brutal Rage has co-op. This means you can face the enemies, the streets and all danger with a friend. You can expect some new things though that weren’t in Streets of Rage though (well originally). There is even a level where you can ride motorcycles. So the creativity is definitely there. Straight up we have to say that this game doesn’t look good. We have yet to see something that makes it stand out. The good stuff is that it’s simple, does what it says on the box, it’s co-op and has a mechanic which is the rage. The bad stuff is that there’s better games of this style, the graphics aren’t great, the animations aren’t good and it lacks something to make it stand out. From what we have seen, it isn’t a bad game, just not an interesting one for us.
We checked out some brutal Rage gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. It does look fun though. Just grab a friend and have some fun together as that’s the most you will get out of this.. For starters there is a lot of variety when it comes to levels as there are more than 18 different locations in 6 episodes. There are three playable characters and each one has they own fighting style. Weapons are available. So expect knives, bats and even guns! There are three game modes too: Story (off course), brutal club and training. All three of these modes are playable in co-op mode. Now that’s a good thing.
Overall. Brutal Rage is a simple side scrolling beat em up game. It does what it says. You move through the level, beat up the enemies, hit someone with a bat and have a good time doing it. Call over a friend and do it all together. It has it’s clear weaknesses but you see what it brings to the table. Definitely not our thing but we will have to see what it’s got for gamers. The developers ‘2BAD GAMES’ have done their best. We will have to see what happens. Now Brutal Rage may have rage in them but their rage fails again… the ‘Earth Walk!’
9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a new beat em up game developed by ‘Sobaka Studio‘ and published ‘Buka entertainment‘. It is said to be coming out in the third quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It’s said the gamers who loved throwing and beating up enemies left right and centre will love 9 Monkeys of Shaolin.
In 9 Monkeys of Shaolin players control a regular man. In fact he is a Chinese fisherman called Wei Cheng in medieval China. Basically a pirate raid happened at your peaceful village. During this raid, people died but also your friends and family. So off course Wei Cheng did what any other regular fisherman would do… get revenge! He sets out to avenge those who were killed. He’s armed with basic knowledge of ancient martial arts and a battle staff (we love this weapon). That’s all he needs.
If you played old school beat em up games then you will pretty much know what to expect from 9 Monkeys of Shaolin as it’s replicating the old school style. Advance to the next area and beat up everyone who comes for you. Then advance once again and beat up everyone there too. Off course the game has been modernised. Now this beat em up is also multi platformed. So expect more mobility than your average old school beat em up.
There are three styles. Three different fighting styles that players will need to master and use to their advantage: fighting on earth, in the air and magic seals. Already you can see where this is going. So if enemies want to stay on your level and duel then beat them with solid earth combat. If an enemy his launched or above you then take the combat into the air. We all know that magic is games is ranged attacks to buffing so they should really tip fights in your favour. There is also a character development system.
9 Monkeys of Shaolin has been developed in a way that allows players multiple ways to get the victory over the enemies. Variety is always a good option. There are fighting styles to unlock and master, perks to obtain and use, items to get your hands on and apply to the situation. The character development and what can be done goes quite deep. Remember that.
9 Monkeys of Shaolin has more than 25 different levels. So you can look forward to Japanese mansions, Chinese villages, buddhist monasteries, pirate ships, ancient ruins and more. We hope the variety in levels are deep and done well as it makes a big difference in games like this. There are at least 10 types of of Chinese and Japanese polearms. This has caught our interest as we like details like this. What type of wood are these pole arms made from. What about red wood? Interesting stuff. More interesting is that these different polearms have different unique traits.
We checked out some gameplay of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin and it currently looks cool. It also looks quite deep. You can deflect projectiles, switch sides, combos, evasion and more. Magic seals have a variety of effects too and they help with set ups too. The combat is looking good. The art style is more simple and looks alright. We expected a bit better. Our favourite thing once again is that there’s co-op multiplayer. You can play with a friend online or even better play local with someone. Cool right.
Overall 9 Monkeys of Shaolin looks like a good game so far. There’s quite a lot going on in this game. From the combat, to the weapons (polearms), the levels and more. The developers ‘Sobaka Studio’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are looking forward to seeing how 9 Monkeys of Shaolin will be taken by gamers. Off course we love the local co-op. Now 9 Monkeys of Shaolin may have three unique styles but they are all ordinary stuff when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is a beat em up action game developed by ‘Big Deez Production’ and ‘Saber Interactive‘. Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is coming out the 5th of June on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. Let’s hope they don’t Fu it up this time. Let’s take a look.
Shaq-Fu is one of those games that created their own legacy. Now it created it’s own for all the wrong reasons. Some described the last game as ‘so bad that it’s good’. The developers this time have declared that it’s something special this time and that it will get even the most hardened gamers thumbs sore. In case you don’t know, Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is about Shaquille O’Neal who is now a retired professional basketball player.
Now the development team behind Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is quite the force and not to be taken lightly. They have developers and people who have worked for Sega, Ubisoft, Namco, EA, Atari and Microsoft and with a select group of developers who have been involved in games such as the Halo franchise, Madden series, Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Perfect Dark. Now I am sure many gamers will recognise many of those names. So there’s a good chance that this team will make Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn a great game.
The story in Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is quite interesting. Basically Yen Lo Hang has sent demons to earth but they are disguised as celebrities who are train washing people and turning them into servants. It’s up to Shaquille O’Neal… we mean Shaq Fay Hung to find these demons and kill them. Shaq’s mentor dies very dramatically and like Darth Vader, Shaw let’s out an equally dramatic “Nooooooooooooooooo!’ Very entertaining.
It’s a beat em up but with some pretty cool features. You can smash enemies into the screen, multiple suits and power ups to give you the edge you need like the cactus looking suit allowing you to flip prickles at enemies. There is even a mech looking suit. Sort of like Streets of Rage to some extent, minus the suits. A lot of work has gone into this game as some actions and moves have been done with motion capture. Some fans even got to submit their own signature move and send it to the team who put it into their game. Now that’s awesome. It’s always great to get the fans involved.
Honestly there isn’t much to say about this game except that the famous Shaq Fu game is coming back and it’s way better than what it use to be with a very experienced team developing it. It’s even got a lot of support already on Indiegogo. Graphics and sounds are good. The style used for cinematic and even combat fits the game nicely. The developers ‘Big Deez Productions’ and ‘Saber Interactive’ have done an great job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker hope that Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn does well with the gaming community. Now Shaq may be a great fighter but he ain’t as great as… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is a new online 4 vs 4 action fighting game developed by ‘Soliel Ltd‘ and published by ‘Namco-bandai‘. It’s coming out later this year on the Xbox One, PS4 and Microsoft Windows. Naruto is very popular and some of the games weren’t as successful. what about this one? Let’s take a look.
Now let’s get the main thing first. Naruto to Buroto: Shinobi Strike is a 4 vs 4 fighting game. Even crazier is that all 8 fighters are present on the field and fighting all at the same time! Imagine Dragon Ball Fighter Z but all 6 fighters are going at it at the same time. Actually that sort of sounds like Dragon ball Z anyway. This instantly creates a lot of requirements for players. firstly there is so much more to manage and watch over during the fight. There is more danger and attacks incoming that need to be evaded, and countered. So much more room for strategies and support. Do you all go for your 1 v1’s or does one break at certain points to help out another or cover for another? Do your fighters switch who they face? There is so much more going on in this fight already.
Now there are different fighter types to take into account. There is Attack, Ranged, Defence and Heal. By the way, each Ninja can be anyone of these types. Attack types have higher attack power and speed. Ranged types have powerful projectiles and excel at fighting from a distance. Defence types are all reducing, blocking damage and reinforcing defences. Healing types are just about healing themselves and the others. So basically keeping everyone alive. Players must switch between their four ninjas according to the needs of their team. Do you need more damage, keep things at a distance, heal up or get defensive. Again, quite a lot to take into account. Now that we think about it, this does remind us of Final Fantasy 13 where you have different roles like the Ravager (attack), Sentinel (defence), Medic (healing). This sounds very cool so far concerning Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker.
There are multiple game modes. We know that there is Barrier battle where the attack and defence forces go at it in full combat but attacks forces must defeat the enemy boss who is sealed away. So undo the seal first and then defeat the boss. Flag battle is basically capture the flag but off course there is a ninja twist to it. Get the flag from the enemies… but will the enemy let you? There are sub modes like Subjugation, Escort and Extermination. The names should give gamers an idea of what those are about. Each game mode does sound very different from each other in the most part. The actual differences does actually mean different strategies are required unlike game modes where the same tactics can be applied. Besides the more options the better to some extent.
We checked out some gameplay of Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker and it looks very exciting in terms of ninjas. You can run, dash, zoom, throw a shuriken and then teleport to the destination of that thrown object. There is lightning like attacks, running along walls and different surfaces and attacks coming from tress and distances. Multiple attacks and abilities. It can get quite hectic because everything is happening around you. You could be fighting an enemy and having a tough battle, chasing them around and trading attacks and then suddenly a message flashes on your screen letting you know that you have the enemies flag or they have your flag forcing you to make a decision: do you go and get your flag or do you swap ninjas or have faith in your team to handle the situation and finish the fight. Gets you thinking. Knowing when to use techniques to get you out of strings of attacks, knowing when to stay still and target with stronger ranged attacks. Lots of situations and lots of different techniques to choose between and use.
Overall Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker does look like a very good game. Some might even say explosive game. The graphics are a step up from previous Naruto games. The characters and surroundings look like an anime and a good one. The action is smooth from what we have seen even though there were some complaints concerning the beta but that’s a beta and we can trust that the end product is better. The developers ‘Soliel’ did a excellent job with this game and we at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what else this game has really got for gamers. Now Ninjas are cool and Naruto is powerful but they certainly do not stand a chance against… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Aztez is a beat em up game developed by ‘Team Colorblind’. It’s coming to Xbox One, PS4 and Vita next year but it’s already out on PC, Mac and Linux. Aztez isn’t an ordinary beat em up game as it has something interesting mixed in. Let’s take a look.
Aztez is set in the Aztec empire (in case you haven’t guessed already). Now according to history, the Aztec times were not a joke… let’s just leave it at that but in Aztez things are far more serious. Aztez is all about expanding and maintaining the Aztec empire. This isn’t easy as there are different events happening like violent outbreaks. This stuff is handled through turn based action. That’s right. Aztez is a hybrid. Turn based and beat em up. Sort of like Hand of Fate 2 but definitely not the same.
In Aztez, the Aztez are your elite close combat warriors who you can deploy on certain missions which players are going have to think carefully about this though as you have limited deployments. When it comes to combat and settling things like reasonable adults, Aztez then becomes a beat em up game. The beat em up side of this is said to be very deep. Lots of mechanics. and there are consequences concerning the empire. This is all because of a large and powerful enemy. this enemy is approaching the valley of Mexico. Do everything you can to win.
Aztez is supposed to be one of those games, you can replay multiple times. Everytime you play, players will encounter different events, different rewards, spoils and challenges. Now the cities in the empire are all large. This is an empire that grows at the expense of others, what do you expect. Not only that, you can even enter the underworld. It gets crazier. You will face mythological enemies and historical foes. So historical as in other famous groups of people in history maybe. not sure but mythological creature basically means anything. The best thing though is that you can summon the Aztec gods who have immense power to completely stomp anyone who foolish enough to defy you.
We checked out some gameplay and it does look very cool. On the strategy turn based part of the game, the scrolling around is smooth, the details and how it looks are great. Information that players need are clear and displayed nicely. When it comes to combat again, information is clear. You can see and select what cosmetics you want your Aztez to have and decide what weapons to equip. There is lots of action players can do. There are light and heavy hits, you can dash like in Cuphead, you can grab enemies and knee them to the head, you can block, dodge, hover in the air as you attack, a combo counter and more. the combat is also very smooth and active and you can tell that things will get way more complex. Aztez looks good so far.
The combat is done very well. it isn’t simple the enemies walk up to you and take a scripted swing. these enemies move forwards and back, take attacks and have wide range of them. Enemies with spears can do long range attacks and multiple stabs. Those with swords can do heavy ground slashes. Others that have magic abilities strike in unrealistic ways. They have their own special attacks and it forces players to remember what certain types of enemies can do and how to handle or avoid each one. Some leap in the air and crash down, overs go in the air and bird dive down while others stay on the ground with a shield. The A.I combat has been done better than most games definitely.
Overall we at X35 Earthwalker think Aztez is a cool game. Graphics and sounds are very good. The combat is easily the greatest things about Aztez. There are some heavy consequences for failing missions and bad decisions in Aztez so keep that in ming gamers. The developers, ‘Team Colorblind’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker believe Aztez is worth checking out thanks to it’s different approach and very active combat mechanics. Now the Aztez may be elite warriors but even they are no match for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
