Game: Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
Developer: Arkedo Studio
Platform: PC/Xbox/PS3
Release: Sept. 25
Grade: C+
Rating: T
A cute white rabbit yielding a jet pack buzz saw can only mean a few things: death, destruction and a healthy dose of humor.
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit is a side-scrolling, platforming adventure that puts you in the shoes of Ash, the prince of Hell. As a member of hellish royalty, playersmust jump, slice and blast their way through a sundry of goofy enemies.
Ash has a secret: he loves his rubber ducky. Unfortunately for the young prince, his secret is out and all over the Hell-ternet. One hundred monsters have seen proof of this embarrassing secret and with an arsenal of weaponry and a bad attitude, it's time for Ash to punish his tormentors.
Hell Yeah employs classic side-scrolling elements you can find in most platformer games. Players will spend most of their time getting from point A to point B aided by a trusty buzz saw jet pack that allows Ash to hover in the air for a limited time. The jet pack also works as a melee weapon that automatically cuts through any enemies stupid enough to get in Ash's way.
Ash wields a fairly standard cache of weapons most gamers will find all too familiar. Hell Yeah'sgameplay quickly becomes tedious as players can hunt down all 100 monsters that saw the embarrassing photo. Most of the areas of the game only become accessible by killing each monster. Every door leading to the next area has a number that indicates how many monsters need to be punished to proceed. This makes the evolution of the game highly predictable and takes away any impression of mystery and exploration.
Each level is littered by slanted terrain that makes moving around annoying at best. Ash slides off of any sloping ground, which acts as a cheap way to make platformingmore difficult. Oddly enough, some of the best platforming segments of the game begin when Ash is temporarily stripped of his jet pack and weapons.
Despite its insipid game play, Hell Yeah features some redeeming qualities in other areas, like the environments and humorous writing. The levels are beautifully textured with dazzling colors and distinct locations ranging from azure-shaded techno worlds to tropical casino themes - Hell Yeah's artwork steals the show.
The game's hilarious characters and monster descriptions also help ease the pain of the game play. One of the funniest elements of Hell Yeah is the weapons shop. Run by Mr. Rabbot, a robotic rabbit, you are encouraged to "waste your money here" on new weapons, upgrades and skins. The experience is rounded off nicely with fierce hip-hop beats, which make the game's typical music sound boring.
Hell Yeahuses quick time events to finish off oppressors, which range from hilarious to ridiculous. Quick time events vary from wacky scenarios like hatching a T-Rex from an egg that then decapitates your foe to launching a shark into space to activate a laser satellite accompanied by the music of Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube."
Ash then pilots vehicles like spaceships and submarines that are scattered throughout the campaign. These segments help to break up the repetitiveness of the core game play, but they lack originality and often come across as a vintage arcade game from the '80s. Vehicles like the submarine lack any proper weapon,s and the encounters with monstersdevolve into overly simplistic puzzle solving and maze exploration.
Hell Yeahsets a great tone with its engrossing artwork and wacky humor. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver in the most important aspect of a video game: the game play. At a reasonable price of $15, Hell Yeah provides enough laughs and entertainment to keep casual gamers and platform pros happy.
Email: arts@ubspctrum.com
