I wanted to like this game, honest mister, I did. The music is awesome, the whole style of the game is awesome. It's a sort of rockabilly meets desert rock presented in a grindhouse atmosphere. (Think Reverend Horton Heat meets Queens of The Stone Age done by Quentin Tarantino). At the end of every chapter there's a brief clip from the old intermission movies they used to show at drive-in theaters (let's all go to the lobby, please don't steal the speakers... etc).
The main protagonist, Rubi Malone, a badass stereotypical psychobilly chick smashes into a gangster deal on the first level, and the story kinda gets confusing from there. Something about finding a rich guys son, but the guy you deliver the son to isn't the actual rich guy, a set-up!
Basically the gameplay is pretty straight-forward. You first have a level where you climb and gain access to the badguys. It plays very much like Prince Of Persia, wall-running and ledge jumping and the such. When she's not jumping from ledges and spinning on poles, Rubi fights very much like Max Payne, you get to use two guys while you jump or slide or wall-run in sloooowww-moooo. Which is basically the entire aspect of the game. It's nice in a pinch to be able to use the slow-mo slide to take out multiple targets quickly when you're low on health. Although I feel like I might have used the ability too often, but aside from that the game isn't very substantial. Pistols, shotguns, machine guns and swords are the most you'll use, with the occasional gatling gun level thrown in, Im not sure why though.
The levels are all basically linear with a few button-sequences thrown in for variety. Then you get to a larger space where the goal is to destroy a few specific points (doors, or caves). This reminded me of Golden Axe, the sooner you destroy the access points, the less baddies you have to deal with. Then another jumping/climbing level, then another linear level, then the large space, repeat. You'd think this pattern would get repetitive, and it does.
For kicks they throw in a few challenge stages. These stages basically give you a new weapon and you have a time limit to use all of the skills you've learned so far in a race/point challenge. They also have a surprisingly limited, although fun, amount of levels called "wet" when Rubi is covered in blood and goes on a killing spree. Basically it's the same game, only with faster enemies, damage powerups and a nice completely red and black stylized appearance. Not sure the point of these levels, but like the gatling gun and challenge stages they mostly break up the monotony.
Then....... there are these other levels. The first one I didn't like was a sort of tunnel-racer. Only you're falling from an airplane that's been destroyed and you're trying to get to a parachute. on a piece of fuselage. On the surface it seems simple, you avoid the things flying in the air, but that's where the simplicity stops. A single hit will toss you back to the beginning of the stage. Need I mention that the pieces of debris don't really have defined spaces and you are in a 3rd person view? Needless to say, it took me 8 tries to finally beat it. Why did I try it so many times? I said a few times while attempting, and failing, "this is what kills video games, a pointless level with a difficulty that's unnecessary". Well, I wanted to see if they ever pull that crap again, and guess what, they do.
For a game that's obviously short, and has little to no replay value, a frustrating level like that can be a killer to the overall game.
Graphically the game is really great, good camera angles, the film aging effects are always interesting, when you die the screen looks like an old film reel that's melting. The controls are solid and easy to get the hang of. The music is original and you'll most likely google at least a few of the artists included. The voicework is solid as well, with numerous famous voices lending their talent.
The story is forgettable, certain levels are frustrating, there's basically no reason to play through it again, but the single trip through it enjoyable enough, it just won't be staying on anyones shelves for years to come.
Overall- Rent, don't buy. Its a fun few hours.
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