Lately, one of the major controversies has been the cutting of games to just single or just multiplayer. This topic was commentated on by various critics, players and journalists, and everyone has an opinion on it, whether they’re for or against it. For the rest of this article I’ll be whining about how much this game needs multiplayer.
Forced Showdown is not the most original game in the world. Most of the game’s elements were seen before. A twin-stick brawler with simple controls and card-playing elements is everything but an original idea. So why can`t I stop playing it? The perfect dose of humor with graphics that resemble a cartoon and constant action can keep a player captivated for hours on end… but there’s no multiplayer.
The game’s story is that there’s a galactic tournament which brings fighters from throughout the universe together to brutally fight against arena champions and their expendable subjects. The plot is certainly not a new Mass Effect, but it at least introduces the player to the reason why they should slaughter everything that shines red. Whole “tournament” is followed by an AI commentator called C-SAR or Caesar, who’s witty and creates the atmosphere of a sports event well enough. My objection to this guy is that he doesn`t commentate during the matches, like for example, in the game MadWorld and of course, that there’s NO multiplayer.
Each of the four heroes that are available in the game, and who you have to unlock through various quests which are actually achievements, has simple mechanics that can be tactical and more complicated when combined with the cards that we’ll talk about later on. Heroes have a basic and special (left and right click) attack and two spells that are activated on E and R. In addition to these controls, cards offer items that you can activate during the game and they consist of additional comrades, bombs and so on. First champion offered, Squire of Light, is a mixture of mage and paladin. He is awesome for beginners and for getting the feel of game. The next one is a four-armed alien whose claws tear everything in sight. The third champion is the archer Stormbringer who I didn’t like very much because isn’t very original compared to any other archer in this kind of games. The last champion, and definitely my favorite, is Volco. This knight made of magma, smashes everything before him with his fiery hammer. From an excellent basic attack, to a “spin-to-win” whirl, he can never get boring, especially when combined with good cards. Although diverse, just four champions aren’t enough for this game… which has NO multiplayer.
Arenas that you fight in are small but detailed. Most consist of small mazes populated by a handful of enemies and your goal is to kill them all. Around the arena are the hovering stands in which the audience is seated and that creates that sports atmosphere, but slightly larger arenas would’ve left a much better impression. Each main arena must be unlocked by completing two smaller ones which have some kind of modifier. For example, you fight in an arena where you get an extra card at the start or where you get three mana per round, or you and your opponent begin with half health and then you heal yourself by using any card. These various modifiers are fun and varied, but also challenging and difficult. By completing each arena, you collect the points that you can spend on upgrading your champion’s permanent passive traits such as increased health, additional mana in the first round, increased damage and so on. Each “tournament” consists of eight arenas and you fight the last battle against the boss of that arena. Depending on the championship (and there are three of those) you’ll get attacked by bosses ranging from small trolls in huge mechanical monstrosities similar to those used by the Orks of Warhammer 40k universe, to various elementals that are hurling rocks and natural disasters at you. In these situations, the player’s required to move well, avoid magic, and wait for the perfect opportunity to attack, and this is best reflected in the multiplayer that the game offers….oh, right.
The card system in this game is similar to Hearthstone. Every champion has a starter deck of 30 cards. The deck can have two of the same card, and each costs mana. Since each arena has eight rounds, each round you get a single mana point. You start the arena with four cards which you can replace only at the start of the first arena, and after that all you can do is pray to RNGeesus. The cards are either passive improvements to your character, or the cards that are spent by activation. By completing each arena, you draw a new card and repeat the process for eight rounds. The health of your hero doesn’t regenerate after each arena, so you have to be lucky to draw a healing card, or you`ll just have to rely on your skills to avoid enemies and use “hit and run” tactics. The arena boss also has a deck that he’ll use against you until you reach him. This is another flaw of not having a multiplayer, because these mechanics could have been used to play quasi-Dungeon Keeper with online players. Imagine a situation where you enter the arena and the other player plays a card that duplicates all of the enemies or crates various obstacles to disturb your progress. Not to mention the co-op where two players can clean out the arena while the other two play cards to prevent them, so that in the final arena they can face them two on two and decide who’s the winner. Have you imagined it? Well, unfortunately, there’s nothing like it and it’s sorely missing.
Forced Showdown is a game that I’ll be happy to return to and I want it to get better in all aspects. I think that the development team has made an interesting concept – seen before, but polished. The graphic are nothing special, and quite reminiscent of Torchlight and similar games that use “cartoon” graphics. Animations and effects are excellent and you can feel the response of impacts from every champion, and subconsciously learn how to act in various situations, whether you go head-on, or in my case hammer-on, or strategically place and use each arena’s traps against the enemies. Cards add depth to the game and they turn the twin-stick shooter into a game in which you have to think before each arena. I don’t think I mentioned it before, but this game lacks multiplayer and if it gets implemented in the future, this game will be on my Steam Favorites list.
Author: Igor Totić
Forced Showdown
Pros:
- Crazy fun
- Cards
- Modifiers
Cons:
- No multiplayer
- Few “champions”
