Retro rivals are typically well publicized and, amongst the fan community, celebrated events, which was why I was completely taken aback when I heard a reboot of Rush’n Attack was present at Konami’s booth on the show floor. It literally came out of nowhere, and couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of it.
First impressions, from a presentation standpoint, screamed Shadow Complex. The Unreal 3 Engine backs 2.5 D presentation and looks fantastic in the process. Your character moves left to right, has the ability to wall jump, and a variety of melee attacks (I was told weapons came into play in later levels). Stealth also plays a large role, with your character able to crouch and sneak up on his opposition, or hide in the shadows and emerge for a stealth kill. It seemed odd that I was able to get spotted then clearly walk into the shadows and lose attention. My opposition would then forget I exited and submit to my stealth kill when he walked right in front of me. Good stuff, right?
Level design looked to be its strong suite. While your all consuming goal was to reach the control room (or other objectives on your map), plenty of distractions were abound. At some point I kept moving through a darkened corridor to the right, fell down an elevator shaft, and emerged with a nifty pair of night vision goggles. While backtracking is encouraged for goals that appear mid-mission, each level was its own singular entity. It’s a more focused affair, and certainly not the sprawling Metroidvania one would expect when they pick it up.
Combat seemed simplistic, but that was probably because I was playing on the easiest difficulty. I simply walked up to bad guys and mashed attack and they all fell under my sword. Note that I never faced more than two at a time, but rush and attack was generally preferred to wait and get hit.
Rush’n Attack rushes to PSN and Live Arcade later this year, check back with us then for a full review!
