Fight Game: Rivals
Inflicting pain, one turn at a time.
I don't know about you, but I've had about as much success playing beat-'em-ups on touch screen devices as I've had becoming the King of England. And yet they try.
Fight Game: Rivals' intriguing solution to this on-going dissatisfaction is to junk the traditional mechanics, set fire to them and dance around them wailing. Well, not quite, but it's a pleasing image.
Instead, the sequence of testosterone-soaked man-bashing is turn-based. You select your preferred maneuver and proceed to tap circles on your subject's skeleton at the right moment.
If that sounds completely cracked, it is, but it doesn't stop it from becoming strangely enjoyable once the challenge kicks up a few gears.
For a while, victory feels a bit of a foregone conclusion, and the ease with which you'll fly through the trial levels doesn't do the game any favors.
But once you've progressed through a few tournaments and unlocked some new moves, the whole thing gets more frantic, with a greater emphasis on swift timing and precision.
No-one should expect Fight Game: Rivals to pass as a beat-'em-up , it patently isn't. But as a curious hybrid, it deserves a nod of approval for trying something different.
Used under license from Eurogamer.
What's Hot: Addictive turn-based brawling, silly fighter names.
What's Not: Not very interactive.
3/5
