A Horribly Flawed, but Somewhat Entertaining Title.
Today, I was going through my collection to see about which games I had finished and could use for trade purposes. I figured I should at least open this game before I traded it, mainly so the clerk at the store wouldn’t think it was stolen.
This game has as many flaws as you’ve heard. There is absolutely no tutorial, so your game starts with the player having no idea what do unless they have read the instruction manual. Your character is the head of the secret organization that stops murders. This does not mean that he gets a gun at the start of the game. C’mon, what type of police force would actually arm their leaders anyway?
In the first level, you fight a futuristic caterer gone bad, and are attacked by numerous rolling-pin wielding cooks as you pursue your foe unarmed. While this sounds like I’m getting this title confused with the 1980’s Intellivision classic Burgertime, I’m not.
The combat is actually pretty fun once you figure it out. The ragdoll physics are highly unrealistic, but are highly entertaining.
In the second level, you must also keep your inept sidekick alive while you battle through a level. While he appears to have infinite ammunition, he cannot pick up the numerous health boosts lying around the level and can be killed very easily. The fact that he can be killed at all is pretty impressive because enemy AI is almost nonexistent. Enemies seem to run directly at your character, regardless of there being a wall, ledge, or other obstacle that will kill them in their way.
Basically, this game is so flawed that it is entertaining. The voice acting is horrible, but it adds to the game’s awkward charm. The plot differs from the film, which is good because the characters look and sound nothing like the actors in the film.
The controls are really pretty solid once you figure them out. The AI for your enemies and allies make accomplishing goals difficult, but at least your controls are responsive.
Almost the entire environment is destructible, which can be very fun. Why your character can break every solid steel item in a lobby with his bare hands, but cannot open a locked wooden door is never really addressed.
There are numerous cheat codes available for this title, which can make it a fun diversion. If you are not willing to use cheat codes, do not buy this title. You will probably be able to finish the game without cheat codes, but you won’t really have any fun.
This game should be played by gamers who just want to experience it. I do not really recommend it as a purchase to anyone, but it is worth a rental to gamers who just want to see if it’s as bad as it’s cracked up to be. In a nutshell, this is a horribly flawed game that still manages to offer some entertainment to those brave or foolhardy enough to try it out.