| Reviewed by Asma Malik Name: John McClane's Bare Knuckle Brawl
Developer: Arkadium Description: Have you ever daydreamed of being in the shoes of John McClane, pumped and ready to kick butt? That dream is nearly realized in the free-to-play advergame, John McClane's Bare Knuckle Brawl. Featured on Live Free or Die Hard's official movie website, the game (www.livefreeordiehard.com/brawlgame) is playable via the Internet through your traditional computer browser or on the Nintendo Wii console. A boxing-style fighter, the game looks more like a bobblehead brawl - not to say that's a bad thing. The smooth, round look of the characters renders well across detailed, although static, stage settings (and melds oddly with their physiognomy to produce a disconcerting distortion). Some may become turned off by the abundant stereotypes in the first two levels - the hacker's room is littered with trash, the streets of D.C. are bleakly torn up, and the terrorists in the game suffer from ethnic profiling - but among the pay-offs for reaching the third level is the appearance of the lovely Maggie Q. Water Cooler Buzz:
Internet Play: Using a computer with a mouse is where Brawl feels the best. The onscreen cursor tells you where your fists shall fly when you click and move the mouse. Pulling off swift combinations of headbutts, uppercuts, hooks and punches (and actually hitting the target) isn't always easy, which experienced gamers will appreciate. The Wii Experience: Essentially, the playability is the same as on a computer. Using the Wiimotes adds excitement, because as you move it to the left and right, McClane's game character does dodge accordingly. (Playing Bare Knuckle Brawl with the Wiimote, however, would have been so much sweeter if it had maintained the complete range of motion-sensibility for which the next-gen controller is so well known.) When on the attack, pressing and holding the "A" button to punch, hook or uppercut often feels too sluggish for the game's fast pace, and may be especially frustrating for gamers familiar with other games that require them to only jab or hook the Wiimote for the desired effect. Advice to first-time Brawl players: Be sure to use the game's exact Web address to play it. The Die Hard movie website's navigation may not show up in the Opera powered Wii browser, making it impossible to access the game. Overall: Opening with a flashy bang and snappy music, Brawl is instantly fun. And free. With its thrills, the game successfully hits the mark to build up excitement for the film. In extended play, unfortunately, the game suffers from monotony. McClane beats up a character in one stage only to see them again in the next, the music loops continuously, and there's no real clear story element connecting you to the game. While it is entertaining for the first few rounds, it's nothing to "yippee-ki-yay" at. Background: Digital marketing firm Moxie Interactive approached the gaming gurus at Arkadium to create a game as part of the promotional buzz for the latest Die Hard, reveals Arkadium CEO Kenny Rosenblatt. The focus was to generate excitement about the film while reaching out to the often harder-to-snag young adult demographic. In a low-budget production of about two months, Brawl was born. To excite the film's anticipators, Brawl stays very close to the source material. Working with Moxie and the film studio, Arkadium was able to get graphics for both the characters and settings, in addition to knowledge of story elements from the film, to integrate them all into the final product. Even the choice of boxing was made with McClane's iconic character in mind. "We wanted to make sure the game was authentic and true to the character," expresses Rosenblatt. "He's always getting into fights and blowing things up, so a boxing game worked well with what we wanted to achieve." |
