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Treachery in Beatdown City
The first thing I notice when I get a look at Treachery in Beatdown City is a strong Double Dragon influence. A retro-feel permeates this beat 'em RPG, but it makes its own mark with its humorous approach.
The story begins with the president being kidnapped. A corrupt mayor fittingly named Mike Moneybags refuses to send police to look for him. The only hope? A group of vigilantes hellbent on taking down the ninja dragon terrorists holding the president hostage. The humor doesn't stop there though, the developers grew up in New York and don't mind poking fun at it. Not only will you fight thugs, but also bikers and hipsters are asking for your punches. The backdrops are full of tongue-in-cheek humor as well. One location has an establishment titled, "Posers' Bar."
The combat is different than what you might expect for a beat 'em up. Instead of an action game, it's turn-based with menus. As an enemy attacks, you have options to block or take the hit. Fight points give you the ability to perform actions and combos, but blocking consumes some, so sometimes it's in your best interest to get roughed up. All characters have a unique set of attacks to strike back with, but the most fascinating aspect is how the game encourages you to be creative with your combos and think them through. You create your own combos with strikes and grapples, and the better they are - the more fight points you get back. While grapples are always successful, there's some unpredictability with strikes, you can miss your target and enemies can also evade the attack.
The goofy premise and freedom with creating your own combos give Treachery in Beatdown City appeal, and I'm curious what other crazy antics are in store.
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