A Shallow Grave
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia originally released for the Xbox 360 and PC more than a year ago to less than critical acclaim. In fact, the game was a rather mediocre offering from South Peak. Nevertheless, the game garnered enough support to warrant the re-development and release of an enhanced version for the PS3. Not surprisingly, on the whole, Monster Madness: Grave Danger is not much better than the initial entry in the series. Even the greater variety of mini-games, revamped controls, and expanded, online multiplayer options can’t save Grave Danger from a date with the bargain bin.
Grave Danger is nearly identical to Battle for Suburbia. The campaign mode can be played as a single-player or with up to three other friends. There are still four characters to choose from, which run the high school gamut from nerd and Goth, to bimbo and skater. Players will take these unlikely heroes through six monster-laden levels on a quest to save their once peaceful town. Along the way, players will utilize the debris and their environment to off the vast legions of undead that thwart their advance. That is, until enough parts and monster tokens are found to create and sup-up the various weapons available in the game.
Unfortunately, these weapons still feel quite underpowered. Whacking a zombie over the head with one swing from toilet plunger is still a lot more effective than dual-wielding two nail guns. And the vehicles, while devastating to the unnatural horde, still feel quite unwieldy and are plagued by overly sensitive collision detection. Nevertheless, collecting weapon parts gives the game a nice scavenger hunt feel, and the inclusion of vehicles does help to break up the standard combat sequences.
The game utilizes the top-down angled view of popular arcade shooters. As such, the developers decided to change the control scheme just a bit this time around to capitalize on that feel. Instead of pulling the triggers to activate your ranged weapons, Grave Danger maps them to the right analog stick, while maintaining movement control with the left stick. That means the game controls a lot like Commando 3: Wolf of the Battlefield or Rocketmen: Axis of Evil. The altered control scheme is a nice change, but it also causes one to compare the title to the array of arcade options available via download.
Consequently, Grave Danger doesn’t match up well against the competition. Games like the aforementioned pair are just a lot more fun. That wouldn’t be so devastating except for the fact that they cost $10 bucks, whereas Grave Danger will set you back four times that much, plus tax and a trip to the store.
Regardless, the Grave Danger campaign is pretty easy to get through by yourself in several hours. However, it is a lot better when played with friends, and the more the merrier. This was true for Battle for Suburbia as well, but Grave Danger lets you best the beasties in a multiplayer endeavor even when your pals aren’t around. That’s because the online component of the title has been expanded to allow for four-player co-op rather than the paltry two-player from the previous edition. Furthermore, the 16-player capture the flag mode is back with all the frantic action you could hope for. During the time of review, we found a lot of people playing the game. It never took very long to hop into any game type, and we were only bounced once from a campaign on a couple of occasions. However, there is some lag, several glitches, and it can be a pain to have to wait for stragglers. All in all, the online multiplayer functions well, but local multiplayer is certainly far more refined and less frustrating.
In addition to online and campaign play, there is a mini-game section that has been expanded to include 25 challenges. Most games have players obliterating monsters in a time limit, but others mix things up by having you sail a raft down a raging river or dispose of bombs before they explode. I had a lot more fun with the mini-game mode than I thought I would, as many of the challenges are very addictive and quite difficult. This is especially so because players are graded for their performances after each round, and besting your own scores proved to be quite a treat.
The presentation in Grave Danger has seen no visual upgrade over that of the 360, and the voice acting is still quite campy. The graphics in Grave Danger are very rudimentary; they truly look like last generation fare. This was definitely disappointing, as visuals in many arcade titles far exceed those proffered by this much more expensive offering. Although the sounds, music, and voice acting get the job done, they are particularly intriguing. Nonetheless, the comic-style cutscenes are really quite nice. I truly enjoyed the look and feel they provided and wished the game took better advantage of their polish and the style they lend the title. Alas, other in-engine cutscenes are rather poor.
Monster Madness: Grave Danger for the PS3 is an improvement over Battle for Suburbia for the 360. Unfortunately, there’s not enough to make it that much better, and the overall tired concept and stale gameplay is simply not much fun. There are enough hidden goodies, online modes, and mini-games to help the replay value, but I think most gamers will find this title to be an unsophisticated and disappointing experience. Players would do far better by saving the $40 and turning it into three or four downloadable titles via the PSN.
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 2.5 Graphics
The visuals are utterly disappointing. They feel like something slapped together from last generation. 3.9 Control
The revamped controls do a nice job of getting you through the action, but they are implemented far better in other similar titles. 3.3 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The sounds and voice over work do enough to convey the title’s feeling, but they are nothing special. 2.2 Play Value
Gameplay is tired and stale. The enhanced mini-games and improved online multiplayer are not enough to save it. 2.9 Overall Rating – Average
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
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