Shakedown Hawaii

[Ross Scott]

Genre: 2D Action

Year released: 2019

Ross's rating: Unrated

Link to game:

https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/shakedown-hawaii/home

Free to play: No

GaaS: Unknown

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[Generalissimo]

Bought since I was a big fan of the original Retro City Rampage. Played some months ago. Shakedown is one of those games that have so much potential and in some respects do deliver on that, but mostly don't.  The best aspect by far of the game are its graphics. Shakedown has the best, fluid, beautiful and awesome pixel art I've ever seen on a game of this scale. Other noteworthy aspects of it's presentation are it's soundtrack and sound design which are pretty good, regarding the soundtrack specifically, the tracks are pretty catchy but after 1 hour you've heard them all. Talking about gameplay: The game revolves around two main modes of gameplay: Open world affairs ( Walking/Jumping around, shooting and driving) and Empire Building, not dissimilar to Vice City. Kinetically the game feels heavy to control, it's not contra levels of responsiveness, the combat mixes jumping on enemies, shooting and cover, none of those really feel that rewarding, the enemies sometimes have a resistance for lead, and the characters are too slow for  power fantasy material. Driving is way more enjoyable, running over people is really fun, and the police doesn't take manslaughter seriously so driving between missions isn't really a pain in the ass when so many people are rolling off the hood or getting flattened.  The Empire Building is not bad, but not really in depth. The player needs to stablish a monopoly in Honolulu, every single building in the game is purchasable. At first it's pretty fun, but then one realizes its more about buying buildings in the right order and not really about tactics. It's a constant and shallow dopamine hit. The main missions are a disappointment coming from RCR, the game has a semi serious tone all throughout, with hints of comedy, satire, and cynical commentary about the gaming industry and capitalism in general. The writing itself isn't that good, but it's B movie fun. The main mission's gameplay get really repetitive, they are mostly about shooting people, it sometimes tries new things but it usually fails when introducing an engaging gimmick. The game is also too long, dragging itself at 15 hours, 30 or 35 when fully completed, which I did, dont recommend doing it. The Rating is Doubt, verging on Love and Hate.