Rumble Fighter
Rumble Fighter Review
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Publisher: OGPlanetRumble Fighter gives off a very good first impression, when first checking out the trailers I was impressed by what is a very different sort of MMO. While obviously for the more casual user, it offers an experience where combat is absolutely top priority and - with several styles to choose from and different transformations to take advantage of – they seem to have made a really good job of it.
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First impressions aren’t everything though, unfortunately, and the sheer bulk of downloading that you are expected to do to get into this game is a pretty big turn off.
My understanding of the situation was that getting into the game would be as easy as downloading the client and hitting install. Not the case, downloading the client was only the start. Not a huge file but still big enough for those of you with a download limit, trying to access the game once downloaded will have your new client begin to download updates – again, not huge files but slightly annoying considering there were over 200 of them. Once that was downloaded, I came across to my computer ready to play only to be taken to the game’s official website where I logged in and clicked the “start game” button.
I was met with an error message telling me I needed to download the OGplanet launcher, following the links led me to another huge download– not the launcher I needed but another copy of the game. It took a separate Google search and download to get to the OGplanet launcher and, the really annoying thing, all the data for the game was already on my computer. By the time I’d got into the game itself I’d already decided to give it a 0/10 and had horrible red marks over my face from banging my head against a brick wall.
"Thankfully Rumble Fighter very quickly turned my mood around, offering what can only be described as slightly flawed but insanely fun gameplay."
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If Capcom ever decided to bring their Power Stone series back for another go, it would end up something like Rumble Fighter. The music is loud and energetic, the characters interestingly-designed and the fighting styles all offer something new. The ultimate goal remains the same no matter what you’re doing, however, and that is to be the last man standing. When that countdown stops and the game begins everything else goes out the window in one of the most hectic ways to spend two minutes you’ll ever find.
Art style is very stylized
You don’t do so much creating a character in Rumble Fighter as much as you choose a fighting style. It’s not a million miles away from choosing a class in an MMORPG and the only option outside of that is whether you wish to play as a male or a female character. The art style is very stylized; expect over-the-top clothing and cutesy attempts at the emo style, as well as standard “ninja” type clothing. Each style of character has a brief description of their ups and downs but, at this early point in the game, it’s difficult to make a sound judgement as to what will suit you.
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Decent tutorial
The game instantly offers you a tutorial which is short, sweet and to the point. Controls are fairly easy; Z is to block. X to punch and C to kick. It gets more complicated when you start using your transformation powers, but not by much. Movement use the arrow keys, double tapping a direction to dash – it’s as easy as that. It’s certainly one of those games that are easy to learn, difficult to master, however, because every game that I’ve played has ended in me being absolutely humiliated. Once you’ve gone through the tutorial it’s time to jump into some online games and meet some of the community.
It goes slightly deeper than that when you factor in exocores, which unlocks two extra special moves to use. After dealing (or taking) a decent amount of damage, you’ll unlock the opportunity to use your exocore which will transform your character into some other sort of creature. My early exocore gave me wolf-life powers and helped me deal a little extra damage. There are at least 70-odd to unlock and choose from, each doing different things when activated.
Positive community
Rumble Fighter is another one of those games where it wouldn’t surprise me to find people quibbling over its MMO status. Each game can handle only 8 players at a time, although you can take the battle 1 on 1 if you’d like, but it’s from the community that most of this game gets its charm. It’s only really in the form of a chat box, but from what I’ve seen the Rumble Fighter fans are a really talkative lot and are happy to help (usually while kicking your butt). I haven’t seen any negative chatter, I’ve not seen any bad language or anything like that and it’s not unusual to see people asking for friend requests so they can play again in the future.
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Well designed levels
Levels are well designed and put me in mind of Super Smash Brothers non-moving levels. There are multiple layers, multiple pitfalls and, in a four on four match, limited space to hide. As a result, it tends to be easier to throw your enemies from the level than it is to diminish their health bar and there are people who are very, very confident when it comes to the maps and to their character. It’s for this reason that Rumble Fighter comes with something of a learning curve, although that depends hugely on who you play with.
I should qualify that by saying that there are some problems with this game and it’s not always just that I’m awful at it. Outside of always needing the OGplanet launcher open if you want to play (otherwise you just get taken to the official website again and the cycle begins anew), the controls can be a little loose. In an MMORPG it doesn’t matter all that much if there’s a tenth of a second’s worth of lag because you’re rarely making split-second decisions, in a brawler that tenth of a second means the difference between winning and losing.
But it’s not just that, even in the tutorial (where the trainers are computer controlled) it seems that you can stand as close as you want to your enemy and still manage to completely miss. This is particularly obvious when it comes to using your throwing move, the animation plays as if you’re going to attack, and then your characters hand’s go through your opponent. Not exactly an ideal thing in a game based on making your move before your opponent. Annoying but there’s a certain amount of fun in watching other people show off their skills, despite the lag.
Rumble Fighter is definitely what you’d call a casual experience. There’s a depth there to be had if you’re looking for it and love the game enough to find it but for the majority of people the interest just won’t be there, preferring to play an MMORPG, where there are more quests but perhaps more repetition (just hidden behind bits of story). It’s for that reason that Rumble Fighter might not appeal to the average MMO-player, there’s no real incentive to keep going. Once you’ve had your fill you’ll find yourself struggling for a reason to keep coming back.
Play as along as you want
But with that said, for somebody who just wants to get in and have some easy, simple fun, Rumble Fighter offers an experience that doesn’t limit you with a certain amount of games or stamina or anything like that, you can play as long or as little as you’d like. Once the initial annoyance of the OGplanet launcher (basically a forced advertising platform) is out of the way, it’s a fantastic game that, no doubt, you’d beat me at – I really am terrible.
If you like something that’s easy to play, fun no matter how long you’re playing it and not too often annoying, Rumble Fighter is for you. The developers are supporting the game well - they’re aiming for weekly updates at the minute - and they’re not constantly trying to sell you something, a rare gem on the free to play market; and that notion goes for the game itself, it really is a gem. If they can only polish it up and ditch the launcher, it’ll be a real shining star of the MMO world.
By Mat Growcott
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