Watchmen: The End is Nigh Preview
- February 11, 2009 14:14 PM PST
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A bone-splintering, head-squashing brawler that might be just what the Dr. Manhattan ordered.
Honestly, it's been a little crazy trying to get you guys this updated preview for Watchmen: The End is Nigh, a surprisingly gripping downloadable beat-'em-up for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. After hurdling some technical roadblocks (curse you, System Update!) I finally got the pre-release demo working and pummeled my way through the first three chapters of the game. When you download the game this March, you'll kick, punch, and arm-snap your way through six scenarios set before the classic storyline of the Watchmen graphic novel.
Rorschach and Nite Owl star in what if hopefully the first of many downloadable Watchmen episodes on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
New York, 1972
Watchmen: The End is Nigh is a kickass brawler that surprised the GamePro editors (all of us fans of the graphic novel) with its slick production values and art direction that looks ripped straight out of the comic. It's like Streets of Rage meets Fight Night Round 3, featuring bone-crunching melee combat with some damned fine graphics for a downloadable game - probably the best we've seen so far.
Visually, Rorschach and Nite Owl are majestically rendered against high contrast, vibrant lighting, just like the look of the comic book and film. Rorschach's mask shifts and moves in real-time and the fighting animations carry visceral weight, which makes the fighting believable and loads of fun. Of the two masked avengers, Rorschach is clearly the star: his fighting style is that of a desperate street fighter wailing his appendages around with bear-like strength, and this savagery makes him particularly fun to play. Nite Owl is better suited for crowd control with his electrified armor and high-tech gadgetry, plus a selection of slick Batman-esque takedowns and grapples.
Attacks and combos are performed by mixing up the light and heavy attacks, but it's not a button-mash fest. You'll want to wait until each punch or kick animation is nearly settled before pressing the next combo button if you want to pull off such special moves as the counter attack, Rorschach's shrieking bull-rush that bowls over enemies, and Nite Owl's stun grenade that can disable enemies long enough to land a killing blow. The most satisfying moves, however, are the brutal, face-smashing finishers. Finishers work much as they do in God of War: weakened enemies will display a button command floating over their heads. Complete a finisher as Rorschach, for example, and the camera will swoop to a cinematic view as Rorschach elbows his victim in the balls, bashes him twice more with an elbow to the spine, and then nearly twists his head right off. It's deliciously chaotic, but masterfully choreographed, carnage that will please fans of the classic comic.
Rorschach's brutal, animalistic fighting style is enough to make even the hardest of men cringe. Then again, Rorscharch is just about the hardest man we know.
Seven Minutes to Midnight
The three chapters I played chronicled Rorschach and Nite Owl's pursuit of an escaped prison inmate called the Underboss. Chapter one sees Rorschach and Nite Owl flying in to the Sing Sing Prison to assist in a breakout of inmates. After you bludgeon your way through mobs of inmates, you discover the most dangerous inmate to escape is the Underboss. In chapter two, you'll crack skulls in some waterlogged alleyways while proceeding to the seedy underground bar to gather information about the Underboss's whereabouts. Chapter three is a surprisingly large level that sprawls across boat docks, through warehouses, and a final showdown with Jimmy the Gimmick in a run-down amusement park.
And that's where our demo ended, sadly. It was so addicting I played all the way through in one session. I have to say the balls-to-the-wall combat is my favorite aspect of Watchmen: The End is Nigh. There are dozens of enemies to fight at once, and many carry weapons -- bottles, baseball bats, crowbars, wrenches - all of which you can pick up and use to deadly effect. I highly recommend you give Watchmen at least a trial, or play it at friend's house. In fact, the game can be played in cooperative mode with two players splitscreen, and it's almost as much fun as reading the comic.
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