Three Day Weekend- Monday Night Combat Review

Creating a game which can please both those craving multiplayer interaction as well as solitary gamers, can be a challenging undertaking. As Castlevania: Harmony of Despair illustrated, a mechanic intended for online teams can create a woefully tedious solo experience. Likewise, many developers have awkwardly tried to cobble a comparative mode from a diversion best suited for individuals. Developer Uber Entertainment does an admirable job at bridging these two audiences with the release of Monday Night Combat, a game which combines the exhilaration of arena combat with tower defense management. Although socially-oriented players are likely to extract more enjoyment from the title, I found myself unpredictably gratified by the game’s single-player contests.

Skillfully, Monday Night Combat focus is on two distinct game modes. While this might seem underwhelming to gamers accustomed to a multitude of variations, the two match types are well-engineered, distinguishing themselves from the multitude of deathmatch deviations which permeate the 360’s library. Blitz tasks teams of up to four players with stopping an onslaught of encroaching robots who seek the Moneyball- a golden orb that is packed with currency. While gamers use the traditional arsenal of grenade, shotguns, and machine guns to annihilate the incoming foes, eventually the ambush will be overwhelming. Fortunately, the map offers a healthy amount of turrets nodes, which offer players the ability to built a defense network. In execution, Monday Night Combat‘s action doesn’t feel far removed from the arena-based challenges of the Ratchet and Clank series, if the Lombax had an army of Mr. Zuroks.

The game’s second mode, Crossfire, pits two six man teams against each other. Players are tasked with breaking open the others squad’s golden piñata, using both raw firepower, and the ability to summon AI bots. Spread across four maps, Crossfire is more than another reworking of capture the flag; with ejector pads and a monstrosity known as the Annihilator, matches are gratifyingly unpredictable. 

Of course, building laser gun and rocket launchers costs coin which players receive liberally after dispatching each foe. Vying for the game’s discretionary income in a series of upgrades to the player’s repertoire. By hitting up on the directional pad, gamers may augment their avatar’s two active and one passive skills. Additionally, players may spend of their proceedings to unlock jump pads, which allow maneuverability through the arena. With so many options for participants, a vigorous amount of strategies exist. Should gamers stick with an offensive punch, or construct a stalwart defense? Once you factor in other players, Monday Night Combat can become delightfully chaotic.

For all the decisions placers must face, choosing a class might arguably be the toughest. Each of the title’s six selections present a range of loadouts to entice players. While the conventional  big and burly/ slight and fast tropes are here, the game’s conscientious balancing means choice is more dependent on play style rather than inherent advantage. Deftly, Uber Entertainment is able to circumvent relying on title updates to maintain post-release balancing, indicating the developers willingness to protect the game’s equilibrium.

Employing the third iteration of the Unreal Engine, Monday Night Combat looks sharp and moves fluidly. Although the game’s combatants may recall Team Fortress 2‘s roster, with their caricatured aesthetic and bright orange armor, the game has enough unique assets to forge its own identity. One of the title’s undeniable charms is a bonus round where you gun down the game’s mascot Bullseye, who saunters around like Richard Simmons, scattering coins every time he’s shot.

Between Limbo‘s succinct playtime and Harmony of Dispair‘s reuse of sprites, some have scoffed at the Summer of Arcade’s fifteen dollar price point. To those players, I suggest trying Monday Night Combat‘s thirty-minute multiplayer demo (along with the single player challenge). Likely, you’ll find a captivating title- which during these trying economic times, offers a impressive depth-to-cost ratio. There’s certainly enough chaotic gratification in Monday to last players several weeks.