Hey gang, Valkor here. PAX East 2014 has come and gone, and while I didn’t get the chance to go hands on with a lot of games I was interested in, what I did get the chance to play really left an impression on me. However there was one title I that I really, truly wanted some hands on, but never got the chance to try it out - Broforce from Free Lives and Devolver for PC. Well the game has come hone and muh gawd… My best of 2014 will be most interesting indeed!
Take one part Contra, sprinkle in some platforming elements, throw in near destructible environments and wrap that around some of the 80s and 90s finest action heroes and that’s essentially Broforce in a nutshell. What about story? THIS GAME DOESN’T NEED A STORY!! But it does have one – somewhat (I don’t care); Broforce is a run and gun style game that pits your bros against a band of ruthless terrorist. You’re job is to get in, save your bros who are prisoners of war and get out, liberating each area. Broforce isn’t a straight run and gun as the game has plenty of strategic environment hazards that can either work for you or against you. The ground, for one thing, is completely destructible and you can perform a little “Dig Dug” action by tunneling beneath the enemy to reach your goal or digging under them to take them out from below. There are also explosive canisters and other objects such as heavy crates, beehives, and coconuts that can be used against the enemies, but whatever hurts them also hurts you, so be mindful of your surroundings when entering an area.
Broforce starts you out with one random bro and you’ll get a random bro each time you start a new area or fire up the game; and as you progress through the level(s), you’ll find POWs that need to be rescued; they’ll in turn, switch out your starter character for another random bro. As you continue to rescue more POWs, your lives will increase extending play. And after you rescue a specific number of bros, you’ll unlock a new bro, utilizing his unique style of attack, with a name and look that matches their action hero counterpart. There’s Rambro, The Brominator, Brade, Ash Brolliams, Indiana Brones and my personal favorites – Bronan the Brobarian and Brochete.
Broforce features single player as well as local and online multiplayer action. And after you’ve taken on the main campaign, you might want to dabble in other areas of the game such as Custom campaign, Level Editor, Race Mode, Explosion Run and Death Match. There’s also a World Map mode that is essentially the main campaign with a top-down map; in this mode, you can pretty much choose the area you wish to liberate.
Broforce is a part of Steam Greenlight and is available for pre-order, which allows you early access into the game. And with bullets, bros and tons of bro-plosions, is this title something you really want to pass up? Definitely not and I’ll tell you why in the TOV Breakdown.
The Good:
There are games that I’ll play once, shelve it and never play it again. Then there are games I don’t mind firing up long after I’ve finished it (Streets of Rage 2 is one of those titles). And now I’ve added Broforce to the list of games I’ll always go running back to. In short, the game is amazing with tons of action and a lot of depth, which says a lot for a 2D title. Each time you play Broforce, the experience changes because you’ll never tackle an area the same way; there are some paths rife with enemies to plow through, but then you can change up and simply bypass them completely. It’s insane how something so simple can have such a level of complexity and turn out so bad ass! And speaking of bad assery, the bros – dear god the bros! They’re the real reason you’ll want to play this game again and again. Big, no HUGE plus for naming and having the likeness of some of the best action heroes the 80s and 90s had to offer. What you have is the cream of the crop and considering the game is still being developed, there’s room for even more bros. How about Bro Skywalker, Bro Caine (Dolph Lundgren from I Come in Peace), Bro Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff, American Ninja), Bro Shaft or hell, why not Bro Dynamite? The possibilities are endless! The graphics are 8bit-esque, very clear and nicely detailed with fluid animation on the characters. Gameplay is very smooth and responsive; you can play with either a keyboard or control pad, but I had more fun with the latter. In the end, Broforce is bro-tastic and it’s an arcade experience you won’t want to miss!
The Bad:
Some people might be put off by the one-hit kills; it doesn’t make the game overly difficult as there is some breathing room between you and the enemies, allowing you much freedom to take them out with the quickness until you reach your next bro. I was sort of against it at first, but then I remembered Double Dragon 3 on the NES. And if I could make it through that game, then this one with its multitude of bros would be cake!
The Ugly:
N/A
Broforce is available now in beta form through Steam Greenlight, and it’s simply the most fun I’ve had with a title since “Stick of Truth” (but that was more ha-ha funny). Broforce has tons of explosive action, great gameplay and tons of charm in all the bros you can play as. I HIGHLY recommend getting in on this action! And out of TOV 5 stars, Broforce gets a 4.5.
