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Unbound Saga Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Unbound Saga Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Comics & Games, like Peanut Butter & Chocolate

Being a comic book tough guy can be hard work. Fighting evil on an issue-to-issue basis and being controlled like a puppet can drive any hero crazy. Especially when those strings are being dangled by the mind of a writer. The lonely comic book hero has no free will; at least, not until now. In the case of Unbound Saga, Rick Ajax has dreams of a better life. However, his aspirations to become a veterinarian have all been taken away by The Maker. Rick has been forced into The Maker’s twisted games once again, but this time he won’t stand for it.

The story behind Unbound Saga is just as crazy as one could get. Rick is completely cognizant that he exists within the world of a comic book. He speaks freely about his unwavering disdain for The Maker, along with many references to past crossovers, and is on a mission to be free from oppression. Rick reluctantly teams up with a strange woman named Lori Machete, whom he’s apparently met before. She claims to know Rick, but he’s forgotten her due to a horrible case of “amnesia”. They’ve been trying to find a way out of their world for some time, but she’s only recently acquired a map that will help them to achieve their goal.

Unbound Saga Screenshot

The story behind Unbound Saga is just as crazy as one could get. Rick is completely cognizant that he exists within the world of a comic book. He speaks freely about his unwavering disdain for The Maker, along with many references to past crossovers, and is on a mission to be free from oppression. Rick reluctantly teams up with a strange woman named Lori Machete, whom he’s apparently met before. She claims to know Rick, but he’s forgotten her due to a horrible case of “amnesia”. They’ve been trying to find a way out of their world for some time, but she’s only recently acquired a map that will help them to achieve their goal.

Unbound Saga is an arcade-style brawler through and through. You can swap between using Rick or Lori at the push of a button, and they both have their own unique fighting styles. Rick fights like a slow, but heavy, swinging bruiser while Lori is based around speed and finesse. There are also a couple puzzles thrown in, but they mainly consist of hitting switches in a certain order.

Unbound Saga Screenshot

The combat can be as simple as you want it to be. Button-mashing works as a fine tactic for the most part, but those looking for more depth have a combo system to play with. Rick has a series of body slam maneuvers in addition to various punches and kick combos. Lori, on the other hand, has some strange magical abilities that allow her to teleport, summon clones, and stay hidden in shadows. All of these talents can be upgraded, along with many other abilities, once you have collected enough skill tokens from defeating enemies.

By far, the biggest drawback about the combat is the lack of space. The game is presented in a comic book panel format, and some areas feel claustrophobic with the amount of enemies thrown at you. Attack animations and recovery time for Rick can be very frustratingly slow when being bombarded with a group of surrounding enemies. These scenarios make the fighting feel unbalanced. Enemies, for the most part, move swiftly with their attacks but can be countered if you catch them just right. The same recovery time applies for bosses during the end level fight, so spamming attacks will usually net the same results, leaving hardly any challenge at all.

Unbound Saga Screenshot

Consider the combat even easier if you’re playing with a co-op partner. The multiplayer portion of the game has local co-op, and online play, which includes both story and survival modes. The survival mode is just your standard arena setting. You’re tasked with battling endless waves of enemies while you try to earn the most points to build your leaderboard score. You can select any boss battle area as your stage setting and it can be a great way to earn a few achievements/trophies, if you feel so inclined, but that’s about it.

Unbound Saga Screenshot

The cel-shaded art style is the obvious look of Unbound Saga. It suits the comic book theme nicely and helps sell the idea of walking from panel to panel. The backgrounds show off some great detail from time to time, as well as some pretty diverse color schemes. Although the model textures look nice, they can sometimes get glitch-ridden when performing attack combos or special abilities. The voice acting is hit or miss, especially when considering the satirical nature of the game. They walk a fine line between sarcastic mockery and cornball cheesy, which can be good or bad depending on your sense of humor.

The quirkiness of the story is the only thing making this game a slightly above-average addition to the beat-’em-up genre. With a solid foundation and plenty of potential, it was a bit disappointing to see the campaign only clock in around three hours of gameplay. This may have been something that passed in the brawler’s heyday, which usually coincided with extreme difficulty to make it last, but Unbound Saga seems to have missed the memo on both accounts.

The ten-dollar price tag also feels a bit steep for a game that doesn’t have much else going for it, other than a customary multiplayer component. Five dollars would have fit like a glove. If you’re a fan of brawlers and you decide to pick it up, your best bet would be to wait for a price drop.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
The cel-shading fit the comic book theme well and gave the background panels room to shine. 3.5 Control
Controls can feel unresponsive when enemies spam you with hits and interrupt combos. It makes fighting feel like a tug of war, but the controls are simple and otherwise pretty solid. 3.4 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The voice acting will play well depending on your sense of the cliché; you’ll either love it or hate it. The sound effects and music don’t tend to stand out too much. 3.0 Play Value
The ten-dollar price tag also feels a bit steep for a game that doesn’t have much else going for it, other than a customary multiplayer component. Five dollars would have fit like a glove. If you’re a fan of brawlers and you decide to pick it up, your best bet would be to wait for a price drop. 3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • Battle in two player co-op as Rick Ajax or Lori Machete, each with their own fighting styles and special abilities.
  • Destroy objects and use the pieces as weapons, while you rumble against thirty enemy types and face epic boss battles.
  • Upgrade Rick & Lori with thirty-five unlockable fighting moves and abilities!
  • Experience a ten episode story mode told through lavishly illustrated comic style sequences.
  • Witness a realistic rag-doll engine that powers throws, knockdowns, and destructible objects.

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