Together Retro: Beat-'Em-Ups

[Sarge]

I don't remember if I've ever beaten Alien vs. Predator (arcade) before, but I definitely did tonight. It feels very similar to Capcom's other brawlers, although it definitely ups some of the spectacle by virtue of being a later release. Large sprites, and four characters that feel rather different to play, for the most part. It does have the benefit of having a slightly more diverse moveset than others in the genre, although it's no Double Dragon. You have several jumping attacks that you can use depending on what direction you hold when you jump, a dashing move, a slide move, a command move that varies from character to character (the girl, for example, has a sort of rising kick attack that can chain into her combos), and of course the usual combos on the ground and a few grab moves. Schaefer in particular has a brutal bodyslam if you can nail it.

The game also loads you out with lots of weapons. Everyone has projectiles, but they work differently depending on who you use. Three of the characters "overheat" their weapons, while the girl has to reload instead when she runs out of ammo.

Anyway, I enjoyed it well enough, although I can't say I was floored by it. It's definitely a good game, and probably an even better time with a friend. It always seems like I chalk up scores for brawlers more on "feel" than anything, which seems like an awfully esoteric way of doing things. There's just a bit of stiffness here that keeps it from really being as great as I think it could be. I'll give it a 7/10.

[Xeogred]

I kind of meant to check that one out too, maybe I will this weekend. But yeah I totally got the vibe it's a bit more style over substance.

[Exhuminator]

Had half a day off. Managed to beat this train-wreck:



Starts out like Fight Club, eventually turns into a crude Shenmue, and ultimately a terrible Resident Evil ripoff.
The initial half was goofy fun, but the end was not fun.

This game was so bad it ended a studio and a franchise. I'm glad I'm done with it.

Review here.

And now it's finally time for...

GOD HAND

Time to find out if this one lives up to its brutal reputation.

[dsheinem]

I hope to get to God Hand this weekend or early next week, so maybe it will be fun to compare notes....

[Exhuminator]

I hope to get to God Hand this weekend or early next week, so maybe it will be fun to compare notes....

Sounds good to me.



I put an hour and a half into God Hand tonight, just testing the waters. I ended my session after beating the two flamboyantly gay dudes (mini-bosses?). At this point I'd say I enjoy the game, and it's fun. Very Fist of the North Star influenced, with a good sense of humor. I like being able to upgrade my character and design my own combos. I was not expecting the casino either. Thus far, God Hand is nowhere near as difficult as Urban Reign. However, I still have a long way to go (based on my current map position), so we'll see. I've only had bad times when the difficulty meter gets to DIE and random demons start popping out. The hardest difficulty mode God Hand would let me select upon starting a new game is Normal, so that's what I'm playing on.

[Exhuminator]

My wife and I co-op beat Guardian Heroes today. I'm afraid I don't share BoneSnapDeez's or prfsnl_gmr's fervor for it. But it was a decent little excursion. My review.

-



As for God Hand, I think there's 9 total areas in this game. Each area has quite a few stages within it. I've finish the first area, and am at the boss of the second area (a demonic Latino Elvis impersonator). I've got about four hours in at this point. I very much enjoy the gameplay and humor, and God Hand's certainly a tough game. Currently I'd still say Urban Reign is considerably more difficult. That said, I have a long way to go yet to see the credits. I love how you constantly learn new moves, and can slot those moves into a custom combo set. Reverse sweep, elbow strike, nut jab, pimp slap, donkey kick!

[PartridgeSenpai]

A fun fact about God Hand I only recently discovered is that the English voice track is the original voice track. The game has no Japanese vocals. The Japanese version just has Japanese subs over the same English dialogue present in the Western release. It definitely came off as weird to me to find out, but it's also fairly fitting, in a way

[alienjesus]

I finally got stuck into my first game for the month's theme - Advance Guardian Heroes.

I'm mixed on it so far. The combat is a bit slow and there isn't enough moves to use. It's also really bizarrely difficult from the outset - one of the tutorial bits in the opening level caused me a ton of trouble because the enemy could one hit kill me if I didn't counter at just the right time, over and over again.

[noiseredux]

Your thoughts on Guardian Heroes echo mine from when I played it a few years back. I've reinstalled it to see if I change my mind.

[BoneSnapDeez]

You guys make me sad. I love Guardian Heroes. Especially on the Saturn.

Funny thing is, I think Treasure is pretty overrated overall. Guardian Heroes, Light Crusader, and Mischief Makers are probably my top three by the developer... but after that there's a significant drop-off. Always thought Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier were just meh, and Dynamite Headdy is downright bad.

And is God Hand a polarizing game? Interesting to see the positive reception it's received in this thread. I have played it and found it quite unappealing. It's dull and clunky, and the faux-edginess and "lol random" elements are just infuriating. But we all have different tastes!