[News] Midnight Fight Express Review - Streets of Rage

[[Depo] @ Cselites.com]

 

 

Two of the characters in Midnight Fight Express are called Kyler Turden, a riff on the antagonist of Fight Club, and Chef Favreau, a nod to Iron Man and Chef director Jon Favreau. Its first act opens with a quote directly from the 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. If you're wondering why a game that's supposedly influenced by '80s action cinema includes references to things that are definitely not that, you're not alone. This does provide a good barometer for the game's tone, though--which is all over the place and never takes itself too seriously.

Midnight Fight Express's period-specific action roots are only really reflected in some fantastically violent gameplay, pitting a one-man army against a neverending slew of bozos, cronies, and crooked cops. There's very little to the game beyond its combat; Midnight Fight Express is essentially a modern beat-'em-up, ditching the usual side-scrolling 2D sprites for 3D fisticuffs and an isometric perspective. Its action is fast-paced and kinetic, only letting up when the story gets in the way, and the sheer breadth of motion-captured animations is both impressive and surprising for a game developed by a studio as small as Humble Games.

In fact, Midnight Fight Express was mostly created by one man: Jacob Dzwinel. Yet it's his collaboration with renowned stuntmen Eric Jacobus (God of War, The Last of Us: Part II) and Fernando Jay Huerto (Destiny 2) that really brings the game's wince-inducing combat to life.

At its core, Midnight Fight Express functions similarly to the Batman: Arkham games. You're often surrounded by combatants, but your fighting prowess allows you to quickly dash from one enemy to the next with rapid combinations and counter-attack when an attacker lunges at you. You can dodge to avoid those wielding baseball bats, knives, and the like, and there's a fantastic sense of weight behind each bone-breaking strike that's inherently gratifying. Guns, in particular, are punchy and appropriately lethal, and there's a responsiveness to the controls that makes clearing rooms of enraged goons particularly satisfying. The only downside is that both finishers and your revolver are mapped to the same button, resulting in a few too many instances where you'll waste a rare shot when you wanted to finish an enemy off with a quick flurry.

It doesn't take long for your repertoire of deadly moves to expand as you climb each branch of the skill tree, and it's here where Midnight Fight Express starts setting itself apart from those Batman-inspired beginnings. Your basic attacks begin to evolve, incorporating ground pounds, brutal uppercuts, and power slides that sweep enemies off their feet. Later in the game, you gain access to a rope that lets you drag unfortunate foes toward you or hurl them around in a circle to knock over their buddies. There's also a single-shot revolver that utilizes unconventional ammo types, including electrified bullets and homing mines.

Link: https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/midnight-fight-express-review-streets-of-rage/1900-6417941/