Review – GI Joe: Wrath of Cobra
I recently reviewed side scrolling beat ‘em The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, and whilst I admired certain aspects of the game, it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. Pixel art side scrolling beat ‘em ups featuring cartoons/TV/movie franchises appear to be very popular at the moment. Examples of this include the aforementioned The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shedders Revenge, and the forthcoming Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind. Another game to add to that list is G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra.
These games are clearly aimed at people who grew up with the franchises, and the fact that they all have a distinct visual retro style will also appeal to people of a certain age. G.I. Joe was called Action Force in the UK, and I used to play with the toys when I was younger. This meant I had an emotional connection with the game, as I instantly recognised the characters, vehicles and settings.
Up to 4 players can take control of popular G.I. Joe characters, Duke, Snake Eyes, Roadblock and Scarlett in their fight against the evil Cobra. Each character has their own attributes including power, speed and defence. There are 12 levels in the story mode which take about 10 minutes each to complete.
As I mentioned in my review of Karate Kid: Street Rumble, anyone who has played a side scrolling beat ‘em up in the last 30+ years will instantly get to grips with the controls. There is a light and heavy attack, running and jumping attack, and a special meter which can be built up by defeating bad guys. Each special attack is unique to the character which is a nice touch by the developer.
Various types of guns can be found, as well as additional health and temporary invincibility. There are a decent variety of enemies across the 12 levels, with an end of level boss to face off against.
The combat feels good, but as is the case with this genre, don’t expect much variety or longevity. The difficulty feels a tad high for my liking. I was playing in single player on easy difficulty, and certain enemy types felt like they had slightly unfair attacks, which were almost impossible to dodge. That being said, I could have attempted to block them, but blocking isn’t something I generally do with these kind of games.
The graphics are bright and colourful and are good representations of the G.I. Joe characters. The music is also decent and has an excellent opening song accompanying the introduction video.
There is a shop where you can unlock more extras including an arcade mode, boss rush, and various other ways to make the game even more difficult, including 1 hit kill mode where you can die instantly. You can also buy two more characters to take into battle. These are Gung-Ho and Ripcord. The currency is earned by defeating enemies as you play through the single player mode. It will take you a while to buy these modes and characters as you don’t earn a great deal per level.
Overall G.I. Joe Wrath of Cobra is a decent side scrolling beat ‘em up which pays homage to the source material. As much as I like this genre, even I’m starting to get a bit worn out with the apparent trend of taking older franchises and turning them into a side scrolling beat ‘em up with retro style graphics. Although I admire the way developers are staying close to the source material, it’s starting to feel like a cash in and a way to exploit fans. That being said, if you are a fan of G.I. Joe, this will provide some light entertainment for you and a friend to enjoy over a couple of hours.
Review by Chris.
