Real Steel
DEVELOPER(S): YUKE’S Co., Ltd.
PUBLISHER(S): YUKE’S Co., Ltd.
PLATFORM(S): XBLA, PSN, iOS
GENRE(S): Fighting
RELEASE DATE(S): 12/10/2011
What happens when you mix a boxing game with robots?! Well, well, the answer is Real Steel of course! The recently released movie also had an XBLA release to go with it. Developed by YUKE’S Co., Ltd., Real Steel is available for $10 (800 MS) on XBLA, PSN along with a release the iOS platform as well. We’ll be taking a look at the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game.
Let’s start off with the gameplay. As if the movie wasn’t proof enough (for all those who’ve watched it), the game revolves around the use of robots fighting each other as futuristic entertainment. It seems like a pretty solid plot, that is until it gets quite repetitive. As you begin the game, you are given the choice between 3 robots, basically a light, medium and heavy build. Once you’ve bought your high tech dummy, you can get right into the action. There is a ladder based single player career mode. You take out a single robot at a time and climb up the ranks in each of the circuits. There is also a 1v1 multiplayer mode where you can duke it out against another human opponent, which adds a bit more to the game and is appreciated.
There isn’t a lot more that you can do other than simply fighting robots, besides upgrading your own. You can purchase several upgrades that enhance your robot’s attributes. Oh but then there is the really sneaky little purchase YUKE seems to have placed within the game itself. Have you ever heard the term “nickel & dime”? Well, get used to it because if you even want to have the ability to alter your robot’s appearance with a new paint scheme, you must pay up $3 (240 MS) for such a measly ability as this. I can’t believe it myself. Such a simple thing and you have to pay up a little less than a third of the game’s cost for it?! This is simply ridiculous…
As far as combat goes, I found it to be rather clunky. Your moves are quite limited and the combat gets boring after a while. The game didn’t seem to flow for me as most other fighting games do. There was nothing motivating me to go any further. The game seems to me like it’s just “another” movie port. It felt like a quick cash in and it had nothing in it that kept me engaged whatsoever. Oh and there are a limited amount of arenas to fight in as well so that is just another con to add to the list.
There is nothing spectacular present in the graphics and sound department either. The soundtrack didn’t really help with the game and didn’t seem to connect and definitely got repetitive after a while. Also, as I said, there is nothing special about the game when it comes to graphics either since for the whole length of the game, you are simply boxed up in a ring pummeling another robot, and that’s about it really.
Overall, I felt the game fell flat on its face and seems to be a very poorly executed movie related game. The game barely has any ties to the movie (besides the title) and that might seem like a good thing. If only the development team had spent a bit more time adding features to the game and perfecting the fighting formula  (and NOT attempting to blatantly cash in quick), this game might just have had some hope. With all that said, the game is a big disappointment on the XBLA forefront and I highly advise you test out the demo before even thinking about a full purchase.
