Take it from a
girl who spent a good portion of her time at the arcades playing four-player
action games of the 1980s like Gauntlet or Quartet, the
next-generation of consoles are a great platform for true button-mashing games
of a similar genre. Let’s face it, consoles like the Xbox 360 have gone
wireless, do graphics just as good as a high-powered PC and has an amazing
online feature that can allow you to download new content and play with more
than 10-players at a time. Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia has all
the right elements but sadly it just isn’t able to pull it off.
Monster
Madness does
feel like the button-mashers of a time when button-mashers were a big part in
arcades everywhere. In fact, it pays homage to the likes of Gauntlet and
a healthy dose of the tongue-in-cheek console classic Zombies Ate My
Neighbors. There are two ways of playing the game, a multiplayer portion
that includes online gameplay and Adventure mode (an offline story mode).
Adventure mode’s story tells a chaotic story that finds four High school
students battling a number of monsters that decide to attack on the very night
nerdy Zack attempts to tell the Goth girl of his dreams, Carrie, that he likes
her. Then in comes skater dude Andy looking for a favor and finally perky
cheerleader Jennifer shows up at his door when all hell (literally) breaks out
in the suburban neighborhood.
Adventure mode
contains a little over 20 levels, each with their own level boss and literally
hundreds of enemies to fight. Like most games that feature four-player gameplay,
you can play the game with a group of friends and the good news is that anyone
can jump in at any point. You’ll start off fighting enemies in Zack’s house,
then making your way across the suburban landscape battling a number of beasties
that range from zombies (the regular kind and a few with explosives strapped to
their decomposing flesh) to giant spiders, fire imps and demons. Each character
has his or own fighting style as well. Jennifer, for instance, is able to dual
wield melee weapons while a skater like Andy really knows how to use a hockey
stick. Carrie is by far one of the most effective characters of the bunch since
she favors blades weapons like her sword.
The problem with
Adventure mode, though, is that even though there are plenty of different areas
to see in the game and weapon upgrades thanks to a quirky weapon specialist
named Larry whose tools trailer can be found in every level, you’ll feel as
though you’ve seen and done everything early in the game. There are boss battles
at the end of each level and the bosses are unique but there’s little variety in
the way you fight them. Really, the game is kill hundreds of monsters, collect
stuff, and beat the boss and move on to the next level. There are some fun
moments in the game but thanks to a constant dip in the framerate, it’s not
often a smooth ride. Sometimes the controls can even be unresponsive. I died
twice in one level mainly because my character didn’t want to pick up a certain
necessary item.
The real meat of
the game, however, comes in the form of the online multiplayer mode. You can
play through the Adventure mode segment of the game with other gamers in case
you don’t have any friends around to pick up the game as the other characters.
Yet the best part of the multiplayer is the various different game mode types
that allow you to compete or team up with up the 16-players at a time. The game
modes range from the usual deathmatch and King of the Hill matches but also game
modes such as Monster Hunter (where all players start as human until one player
dies and thus becomes a monster on a quest to turn everyone into a monster).
Dojo Cooperative has you and a team of players going up against wave after wave
of monsters and you can even change the rules to set up a competition to see
which player can kill a set number of monsters first.
Sadly, these
things don’t add up to a good game and with a weak story that really fails to
produce the laughs as it intended to do … although there are some amusing
moments when you play as Jennifer who thinks the Zombie Chihuahua is actually
cute. The action isn’t just repetitive but lacks variety seen in other similar
games such as Hunter: The Reckoning.
The visuals
themselves aren’t fitting of the Xbox 360 either and this is too bad since there
are a variety of monsters in the mix. The game looks like a great-looking
original Xbox game instead, although the lighting and visual effects work well
enough. It’s the character models that could have looked a lot better and the
backgrounds give the game its dated look. In Adventure mode, the story is told
through a colorful comic book-styled artwork that’s not bad at all.
As for the
game’s sound, the voice acting in the story mode is not bad at all and gives
voice to the caricatures that don’t have any funny lines. Well, Larry’s Vietnam
flashbacks are funny but most of what you’ll hear throughout the game is
repeated often. The same can be said about the music, which isn’t bad at all but
way too repetitive. Still, you’ll be glad the music isn’t annoying.
Monster
Madness: Battle for Suburbia
has all the right essentials to make for a decent button-masher
but thanks to way too many flaws, this battle just isn’t worth fighting. This is
too bad really since the online component offers plenty of multiplayer options
and you can always play the story mode with a group of friends but with
unresponsive controls, a weak story and framerate stutter, this just feels like
frustratingly ghoulish game you should just consider renting instead.
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Gameplay: 4.9
The
monster-bashing action is fun at first but quickly grows repetitive thanks to
little variety in the gameplay. Sure there are plenty of monsters to destroy and
there are level bosses but there’s nothing about Adventure mode that will hook
you. It’s all about the online multiplayer mode but don’t expect to be
completely hooked.
Graphics: 4.5
Even on the
Xbox 360 the graphics look dated but the cartoon-like backgrounds and character
models are simply Ok. There are some flashy effects and the comic book-styled
cutscenes are somewhat amusing. It’s just too bad that the framerate constantly
takes a dive and ruins the flow of the action.
Sound: 5.0
The voice
acting just isn’t funny and neither is most of the dialogue but at least the
sound effects are decent and the repetitive score is actually pretty good.
Difficulty:
Medium
Alone the game
is pretty challenging but with three other players taking up the role of the
other characters and you can breeze through the game quickly. Some monsters will
definitely put up quite a fight and later the boss fights get a little longer.
Concept: 5.5
Adventure mode
feels rather shallow and the game’s story is weak but at least the stereotype
main characters have their own unique attacks. There are even loads of different
areas to explore and fight through but thanks to the repetitive action there’s
not much fun here. At least you can play with a group of friends offline but the
real action comes in the form of the online multiplayer matches.
Multiplayer:
6.0
I’m a sucker
for online co-op and Monster Madness does bring the action to Xbox Live
as well as a number of other game mode types to try out online. Still, like the
offline mode, online suffers from some a slow framerate problem and this is too
bad since there are vehicles and different monster avatars to play online.
Overall: 5.0
For those old
school gamers who had a fondness for the classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors,
Monster Madness will disappoint in almost every level. It’s a game that
borders on fun but just doesn’t quite make the right impression with its
repetitive action, framerate problems and barely there story. I highly suggest
you skip this one and pick up the more serious Hunter: The Reckoning for
the original Xbox instead.
