Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Final Exam
Earlier this year developer Mighty Rocket Studios announced a new title related to the PS2 horror series Obscure (watch us play the first game). The side-scrolling, four-player, cartoony action game is a far cry from the tense, grim original. Mighty Rocket Studios has since changed the game’s title after hearing feedback from fans. Now titled Final Exam, this downloadable title (a retail PC version is coming, too), pits four players against hordes of zombies in environments like carnivals and high school. I played through a section of the game, and constantly fighting back waves of zombies makes the title feel like a side-scrolling Left 4 Dead.
The controls combine standard side-scrolling action with twin-stick shooting elements. Players jump around, climb ladders, and slash apart zombies with a melee attack. Earn experience and unlock new weapons and moves by performing lengthy combos. The right analog stick aims your weapon, which in my case was an assault rifle. Ammo is scarce, so I used it for the hairiest situations. All the characters have unique attributes, like a cartwheeling cheerleader or football quarterback. I liked using my QB’s charge and stomp abilities as smart bombs to clear out groups of pesky zombies. Just be careful that you don’t get too close the exploding variety. The game controls well, but I found hopping onto staircases in the background sticky. It’s a small gripe that could be ironed out when the final version releases, but the incessant zombie hordes exaggerate even the smallest control issues.
I partnered with one other player for some local co-op. Up to four players can play locally or online. We had fun protecting each other from the never-ending waves of zombies while leading children stuck in the amusement park to safety. Our mission was to escort all the children from their hiding places to a school bus. The kids’ AI was pretty inconsistent, often requiring us to backtrack and run by them to get them to follow us again. This mission is just one example of the variety of tasks awaiting players in the handful of large maps.
The downloadable market is lousy with zombie games, but Final Exam may scratch the side-scrolling, co-op itch that few of them do. If Mighty Rocket Studios can deliver intriguing environments and missions to keep players busy, this is an exam that might be worth taking when it hits PSN, XBLA, and PC in coming months.
Products In This Article
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
