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Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia Preview for PC

Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia Preview for PC

It has been a while since we have had an entertaining monster destroyer

April 20, 2007 – Zombies are great. You can keep shooting them, and they just keep coming. No matter what you do, even if you think you have destroyed the last one, there they are in all their moaning and groaning excellence when you turn the next corner. There have been several hit zombie games for us to explore, but I can promise you the experience you will have on Monster Madness will be unlike any other in the zombie-hunting field, unless you have played the SNES / Genesis classic, Zombies Ate My Neighbors. If you missed out on that one, then you are in for a treat.

Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia screenshot

The plot of the game follows that of any B horror film. Four friends, which you would not imagine at all being friends, are having a party while their parents are away. When weird creatures start attacking, the four friends defend their homes with anything they can get their hands on. Zombies will not be the only creatures of the night you face either. In fact, they are just the tip of the gravestone. Everything from Werewolves to Mummies will be attacking the four friends.

Those four friends are your stereotypical versions of high school kids. Zack is the nerd of the bunch. Everything about him, right down the small buck-teeth protruding from his mouth, stamps his as such. His preferred weapons are the axe-based types you can find throughout the game. Carrie is the Goth chic: stark black hair, heavy makeup circles around her eyes, and an attitude of whatever. Carrie prefers to slice and dice her way out of hairy situations with swords. Then there is Andy, the hype surfer dude that will use anything he can get his hands on to survive, but his preferred weapon of choice is a plunger. Finally, there is Jennifer, the preppy, shrieking cheerleader. She wears pink, has blonde hair, and is physically different from Carrie. Her weapon of choice, as you can imagine, is dual batons. There are several other weapons throughout the game which they all can use, but the main focus is to obtain their favorite weapons and build massive gun type weapons.

Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia screenshot

The appeal of the game is the character designs. The bubbly, cartoony feel to the characters give the automatic B horror film feel of such cult classics as The Toxic Avenger. The stereotypes are so over the top that no one will be able to deny the humor that spouts out of their deadpan dialogue. I recently got the chance to spend a little bit battling for suburbia and that was one of the first things I noticed. At the character select screen, your potential players will deliver straight-faced quips about you taking so long and a few random one-liners. The difficulty settings might also make you feel a little giddy from the start. With settings titled – Child’s Play, Thriller, Horror, and Madness, fans of the genre know they are in for one of the most entertaining, brutal games to involve cartoony creatures of the night.

You start out in Zack’s house when the zombie creatures begin their onslaught. After a brief, and I mean really brief, freak-out by your character you will be able to scour the house looking for weapons to use against the zombies. Nearly everything you find is a weapon of some sort. The controls for the characters are fairly nice, but there was at least a few times where turning your character in the correct direction to mow down your enemies was non-responsive. Another issue I noticed was that if you are cornered, it is nearly impossible to escape even with the jump option. Thankfully, when that happens there is usually a swinging door close by that you might be able to escape through, as long as there is not a pack of enemies waiting on the other side. There are also special moves that you can do as long as you have the type of weapon your character wants. The environments are completely interactive. Not only does this add a nice mix to the overall gameplay, it also quickly reminds you that this is a survival horror game and is based on what you would do in a similar situation. For instance, in the garage there is a giant buzz saw in the middle of the floor. If your character is close to it and an action balloon, affectionately called a comic balloon in the game, pops over your head, press the corresponding button to unleash the buzz saw onto your enemies. You will have to watch out though. Most of the interactive weapons you can use will cause damage to you as well.

Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia screenshot

In addition to the main game, which is designed to be cooperative with up to four players taking the hordes of suburbia and beyond, there will also be online Vs. optionfor you to compete in as well. The Vs. option can be done offline, but the camera and busy environments might be better suited for online experience. During the Vs. option, you will have different stages to choose from. The one that I was able to play through was the Gymnasium of Death, which is my own title for it, but it suits it. The reason for my affectionate name is not only for the different types of weapons you can acquire to take on your friends, but there are also traps that you can send your friends flying into. For example, there is an overturned helicopter with its blades still turning – I am sure you can figure out what happens from there. Equally disturbing, and enjoyable, is the scoreboard that fries the competition. Just to make things a little more interesting, there are trampolines that, if thrown into them just right, your foes will fly into the middle of the traps getting you more points.

There are a few bugs here and there, but I am sure that they will have been worked out by the full release. With six giant levels and the ability to drive a vehicle with up to all four of your characters riding along, not to mention that your character will eventually be able to transform into creatures of the night themselves, Monster Madness is a guilty pleasure game just waiting to happen. Be sure to check back here at CCC for our in depth review of what is shaping up to be the best multiplayer survival horror game.

Features:

  • 4 player co-op or 16 player capture the flag mode.
  • Use the environment: dynamic objects, destroyable architecture, and devious physical traps can all be manipulated to your advantage.
  • Intense top down shooter combat with a wide array of over 40 unique monsters.
  • Drivable vehicles for 1-4 players. Including: Go-Kart, Hovercraft, Mechwalker, UFO, and more! They can be acquired for bonus use during regular missions, and certain missions focus exclusively on vehicular combat.
  • Five unique environments with six gigantic levels each: Suburban Nightmare, High School Hell, The Shopping Mall, Cemetary Scary, and the Dark Castle.
  • Screen Resolution: Up to 720p (Standard HDTV, Widescreen).

  • Teenagers, our last line of defense against the forces of darkness…

    March 1, 2007 – During the brief period that the Xbox 360 has been on the market, it has hosted a variety of interesting titles. Some of the biggest developers in the industry have staked their claims on the next-gen market with fantastic games on the Xbox 360. With their first foray into the next-gen world, developer Artificial Studios is hoping to join in on the fun.

    Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia screenshot

    Monster Madness is the company’s flagship Xbox 360 title, but they have had experience with next-gen success before. Although not immediately recognizable themselves, their work has influenced what is arguably one of the best game engines on the videogame market. The Reality Engine, developed by Artificial Studios, was purchased by industry giant Epic Games, the minds behind Gears of War.

    Monster Madness is the story of four stereotypical teens and their adventures as they attempt to save their town which, incidentally, has been overrun by hordes of zombies, witches, and demons. Over the course of the game, players will slice, detonate, and otherwise punish those evil creatures foolish enough to cause trouble on the mean streets of Suburbia. The game’s main characters are: Zach, the computer geek, Carrie, the Goth, Andy, the slacker, and Jennifer, the cheerleader, and each character has different skills and weapons that will slightly affect the overall gameplay. For instance, Zach is a technology wiz whose special weapon is the axe. Not much more has been revealed about the story to this point, but gameplay has definitely been emphasized.

    In a lot of ways, Monster Madness is a throwback to the earlier days of top down run and gun games. Early builds of the gameplay are fairly similar to the late 90s arcade hit Gauntlet Legends. Players will run from area to area dodging, leaping, running, jumping, and attacking with weapons and environmental dangers as waves of monsters attack from all sides. Although not extremely innovative, the fighting in Monster Madness is broken up by scripted events where players will take on Survival challenges. Players will also get the opportunity to drive certain vehicles through the Suburbian streets although there hasn’t been a lot of information released about them.

    Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia screenshot

    Taking a cue from strong sales of Epic’s powerhouse, Gears of War, Artificial Studios has put a lot of work into developing unique and engaging cooperative gameplay functionality. The game allows for up to sixteen players to jump in and out of three different multiplayer modes: Vs., Free For All, and Team Deathmatch. Competition is kept fresh with ten available multiplayer maps, each one teeming with traps and pitfalls to dispose of hapless players.

    One of the more unique features in the game is the upgradable weapons system. During the game, players will find mechanical pieces that, when turned over to Larry the mechanic, allow for weapons to be upgraded up to three times. Besides their own signature weapons, players will also be able to find and employ tasers, glue guns, Gravity grenades, and beehives in the fight against the undead masses. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, character specific special attacks should be present and accounted for.

    Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia screenshot

    The levels feature a unique design which is similar in application to those of the original X-Men Legends. Battles that take place indoors will erupt into a whirlwind of trashed furniture and broken glass, while outdoor battles will take place in larger areas.

    Monster Madness has a fairly simple visual style accompanied by an amusing and very appropriate comic art edge. The story is told through comic book panel style cut scenes with text and voiceovers. During battles players can expect a frenzy of visual imagery as sparks and explosions shoot across screen, point totals register and disappear like in the days of Super Mario Bros., and characters react to pickups and attacks with humorous speech balloons. Although the graphics don’t exactly push the 360’s hardware capabilities, the frantic action and abundance of zombie mashing weapons and traps will keep most players occupied.

    Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia screenshot

    Overall, Monster Madness looks to be an enjoyable game that gives players a lot of flexibility in dispatching the deadly demonic denizens. The comic art style is a bit trendy, but may appeal to some of the younger gamers, as well as older niche gamers. High-speed monster mashing action, a huge number of weapons and attacks, and a healthy multiplayer component should be enough to make this a worthy addition to the Xbox family.

    Features:

  • Downloadable Content
  • Custom Soundtrack
  • Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Xbox Live and System Link
  • Screen Resolution: Up to 720p (Standard HDTV, Widescreen).

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