Wrongfully Canned? Fight Back In Beatdown!
Beatdown! ($0.99) by Ravenous Games Inc. is what we all dream of doing if we get canned from the job, but in a virtual way, so you don’t get in trouble with the law. I mean, who wants that, right?
When I first learned about Beatdown, I was ecstatic. Why? Because it's from the same guys that brought us other fine iOS games like Random Heroes and the League of Evil games. So with that in mind, I had high expectations when I gave Beatdown a download. And let me tell you, I'm not disappointed.
So what’s happening in Beatdown? You are a guy who has been working at his job for 10 years, when suddenly you find an email that declares you as fired, and you must pack your stuff and get off of the premises. Of course, you won’t go down without a fight. The ultimatum in Beatdown is to make your way to the CEO of the company and face off in an ultimate beatdown match!
If you have tried playing the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, then you'll already know how the control scheme works here, along with other beat-em up games. To move your character across the screen (up, down, left, and right), you will move your thumb around in the bottom left corner. If this is uncomfortable to you, there is an option to change it to a d-pad or analog joystick. On the right hand side, you'll find a B and A button. The B button is for attacking, and the A button will make your character jump. These buttons can also be used in conjunction with each other to perform a jumping attack and take your enemies by surprise.
The game features two game modes: Story and Endless. In Story, you will play through the game from the beginning — from firing to the ultimate battle. There are 20 levels to go through as well, where you must navigate through various areas and defeat the baddies that show up to take you down. There are even five bosses to battle. If you just want to see how many guys you can beat down, then just go for Endless mode, where you can choose from five environments to face off against endless waves of opponents.
The enemies will vary far and wide as you progress through the game in both modes: from unarmed office workers to laser-firing nerds to gun-toting policemen, this game has it all. Some of the guys will drop weapons that you can use to your advantage, like golf clubs and batons. You can also break open barrels to obtain power-ups as well. These items will only last for a certain duration, and you can track how much longer you can use it with the meter at the top left. Your health and rage meters are here as well. If you do well enough, you will go into the “rage” mode, where your attacks are even stronger and you are invulnerable for a brief amount of time.
The thing I love about this game, aside from the awesome vintage graphics and soundtrack, is the fact that there are no in-app purchases to be found. The game is just purely a beat-em-up with responsive controls and is a joy to play. Game Center is integrated for achievements, but not leaderboards, for whatever reason. I am not sure why this is the case, as I would love to see how I’m doing in the game compared with my friends. If you have multiple iDevices, then take your progress with you with iCloud game saves.
Regardless, if you love arcade beat-em-up games, then Beatdown is definitely one you want to pick up. It's another hit from Ravenous Games. Get Beatdown for your iPhone and iPad (universal) for only $0.99 in the App Store.
