Rush ‘N Attack, a great NES classic made a comeback to the current generation of consoles with a nice makeover back in 2007. Back then I liked the remake but i was thinking, “hmm this wouldn’t be bad if it were in 3D” and now Konami and Vatra brings us Rush’n Attack: Ex-Patriot.
Certainly not 3D but more like 2.5D, making use of the Unreal Engine, which feels and looks great! Let’s get to the point, you play as Sergeant Sid Morrow, which in a failed rescue attempt is captured in a Russian prison. Experiments with something they discovered after the Cold War are being carried out there. You must rescue the prisoners and regaining your own freedom all in the same process.
Escape and rescue the prisoners
Gameplay
In this game using stealth tactics is a must to progress and survive in certain areas of the levels. You can either hide and lure enemies and do a sneaky attack on them, or try to get them from behind.
Sometimes you can chose a route like going into a vent to avoid a room full of enemies or to play the scenic route and kill them all.
I truly like how they implemented this, the system is not perfect but works great and gets the job done. Now one of the problems is how easy enemies can detect you when you try to get near them from behind. Aside from that i think they did a great job adding the stealth factor into the game.
Up close and personal, stealth tactics!
Combos, yes we have them! Aside from having sneaky ninja skills you have an array of combos you learn, so you can take enemies head on without a problem, From a dash attack to assassination-type combos. Like if that huge badass knife wasn’t enough, you’re not limited only to melee attacks. You can pick up weapons from the soldiers you eliminate, including rifles, rocket launchers and grenades.
You can find other items to power up and help you in your way, including health packs (you can carry a max of 5) or night vision goggles among others which are extremely useful to find some hidden passages in dark places.
Camera can be moved up and down and left or right, so you can peer a bit to see what’s ahead, if there are soldiers and places to hide. This was a nice addition and helps you to plan your moves. Jumping can be fun and useful to fight as well, as you can jump and crawl over walls or even ninja enemies along with reaching higher areas with ease.
Some scenarios brings nostalgia and remind us the classic
By the most part you get very responsive controls, this version for the review being played on the Xbox 360 and not a Playstation 3, so I can’t tell exactly if the controls are equally good in both versions of the game.
Probably the area of the game that lacks a bit in is the music department, but I really didnt miss this much as the game play is truly good enough to overlook the lack of an amazing soundtrack.
Graphics are not bad, scenarios are good and with lots of details, prisons are dark and gloomy. The different areas are well done which is something you can see when there is a close up. I’m glad to see the developers did put time into working the level designs to make the game visually pleasing to the eyes.
Not everything is stealth tactics, hack & slash action!
Overall
Rush’n Attack: Ex-Patriot is an excellent hack and slash 2.5D platformer, not a remake but more of a sequel or a spinoff in the series and it would be ignorant to compare the original with this, as they are very different games.
The game may not be everyone’s cup of tea, stealth can be boring for certain players, enemies with a few differences can look the same, more variety on how enemies look is to be desired.
This Xbox Live Arcade release has it’s own merits and is worth playing. Overall good graphics, responsive controls, and great gameplay. For 800 Microsoft Points it’s an entertaining title.
we give the game a 8 out of 10!
If you like this game you will love mobile casino Canada at www.EasyMobileCasino.com.
~Mario
