I had that dream again…
The one with the rabbits…
And their Molotov Cocktails.
Damn killer rabbits.
For a game that starts out with that quote, I expected some good humor from Unbound Saga. Before junegore passed me the assignment of reviewing the game I had never heard of the game. Suffice it to say, I think it allows me to be more honest and less biased. The premise of the game is that you play as Rick and his cohort Lori, on a quest to escape the city, last bastion of any true civilization in the comic book world that they inhabit. The twist is that Rick is aware that he is a comic book tough guy and knows that the “Maker†puts him into all the crappy situations he gets into on purpose. Rick is determined to get to the “Maker†and well, pummel him.
Unbound Saga is is a pretty cut and dried Side Scrolling Brawler when you get down to a mechanics standpoint. There are some light RPG mechanics in the form of talent trees that you upgrade after picking up tokens. I had completely maxed out Rick’s tree after playing through the game once and then the first level one more time. There are really only a few worthwhile changes under Rick’s tree, namely the increased damage and regeneration of health. Other than that it’s mostly new attack combo’s that you likely won’t be able to pull off because of the way they can be interrupted by being hit.
Increasing the comic book feel of the game, each level or “Issue†is played out panel by panel, with the characters hopping across the dividing white space to the next. As you defeat the enemies presented in each panel, the “Maker’s†hand can be seen drawing in new enemies for you to fight. Additionally, as your attacks land on the enemies, classic comic style “WHAM†“POW†and other such staples of old comic fight scenes pop up, adding a little touch of style.
The story is pretty bare and quick, mostly one or two line pop-ups every so often, in line with a more action oriented comic, however most of the story telling is done with the cutscenes, which are done in a beautiful comic style. The humor is thick, poking fun at the comic and game industries. The only letdown with the story I had was the ending, but realistically, it was a good ending that I didn’t see coming.
The long and short of it, in my opinion, is that this is a good game, perhaps a little overpriced at 800 MSP, but good none-the-less. I wish I had had a chance to play the co-op, but I believe that it would have been the same game, just with an intelligent teammate (hopefully). If you are a fan of brawlers, do check it out. If not, you likely will play through it very quickly and forget all about it.
