One of the most enjoyable games I had the pleasure of playing at this year's E3 was Dollar Dash. I enjoyed the game's frenetic multiplayer mayhem alongside GameZone's Lance Liebl and a couple of reps from publisher Kalypso. It was some of the most fun I had at the show, and I've secretly been itching to jump back into the game. I had the privilege of doing exactly that when I was invited to check out an updated build of Dollar Dash recently. Suffice it to say, the game just keeps getting more enjoyable.
The first thing I noticed was how much cleaner the visuals looked. Kalypso Product Manager Andrew McKerrow informed me that some major tweaks had been made to Dollar Dash, and that the latest build was a lot smoother. The improvements definitely stood out, and I noticed that everything just popped more. Character models are now softer as opposed to being somewhat jagged before, and the levels look richer in color and smoothness.
Dollar Dash doesn't just look better, though. Despite the insane amount of fun I had with the game at E3, I instantly felt just how much better the game plays. Controls are slick and character animations are much more fluid. The whole thing really comes together to provide a gameplay experience that feels incredibly polished. The crazy thing is that Dollar Dash was already a hell of a lot of fun before, but with the evident improvements, it's an even more engaging experience.
I jumped into a game of Dollar Dash with two other human opponents and an AI-controlled bot. The first mode I was shown was Dollar Dash, which remains largely the same as the first time I played it a few months ago. That said, the smoother controls make the whole thing even more enjoyable. The game is still a ton of crazy fun, and being tossed around by other players' projectiles is a total riot. Of course, being the one who shoots projectiles at my adversaries is also pretty damn entertaining.
Aside from Dollar Dash mode, I also got the chance to play Save the Safe. Here players are tasked with holding on to a safe until their meter fills up. In order to collect the safe, I had to take out any player who had it in his possession. It's awesome being the one with the safe and watching as everyone else starts gunning for you, and there's this truly gratifying sense of vulnerability to make things even more intense. The player with the safe has access to weapons just like all the other players, and exploiting those weapons to their fullest potential is a pivotal factor in Save the Safe. Just watch out for those massive rolling boulders. They'll totally kick your butt.
Despite the simplicity of the gameplay, there's plenty of variety in Dollar Dash. There are 30 maps that are split up into the three main modes, and each of these modes has its own exclusive stages tailored to offer players the most havoc depending on what they want to play. There's also an in-game shop where you can spend your hard-earned (read: stolen) cash on perks (like running upgrades), weapon modifiers, and even wacky items to adorn your burglar with.
Dollar Dash is set to feature local and online drop-in/drop-out multiplayer for up to four players. You'll be able to jump into the mayhem at any time as long as there's a slot available, which serves to make this title even more inviting. I can already see Dollar Dash being a favorite at parties, and I can just imagine the late nights I'll have playing this game with my friends. If ever there was a Bomberman killer, this would be it.
Watch out for Dollar Dash on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC. While an exact release date hasn't been announced just yet, I was told that the game will be launching on digital download platforms sometime around October for $9.99. If you're looking for something to play whenever you have a group of buddies over, be sure to keep an eye on Dollar Dash.
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