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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Action Developer: Bizarre Creations Publisher: SEGA of America |
It may be odd to here that a game on a next generation console is considered an old school shooter, but that is exactly what “The Club”
high score, much like that of an old arcade classic. However, while it is good enough to keep players coming back to beat a top score, it
is far, very far, from perfect. The game’s overall premise is a simple one. The Club is a powerful collection of super-rich, immoral
individuals who have decided to run their own personal blood sport. Eight contestants are forced to compete against one another in a
variety of locations. Players take on the role of any one of them and must try to win the most events in each location. There are six
characters available at the start of the game, plus a seventh unlocked after four tournaments and another after all of the tournaments
are beat. While these characters have distinct looks, their game play is very similar.
The way to win each event is simple, the player that finishes with the most points wins. Points are awarded for kills, based on accuracy
of shooting, toughness of the enemy and the weapons being used by the player and the enemy. To make things a little more
interesting, every kill causes a score multiplayer to increase, but if the time between kills is too long, the multiplier fades away. Players
also get bonus points for style, shooting someone while dodging fire and shooting from long distances. The multiplier can be boosted,
along with the timer, by shooting wall-mounted skulls, which are placed in various locations around the level.
There are many event types that players can take part in. Three event types involve more-traditional running, while two are more static.
The simplest of these is sprint, which players need to get from one end of a course to another, all while scoring as many points as
possible. Run the gauntlet is another mode which is essentially the same, but with a time limit, while time attack has players running
two or three laps of a course, killing enemies and collecting items to add time to your clock. The two static modes, survivor and siege,
force players to stay in a set area as enemies pour in from all sides, and the goal is simply to survive until the timer runs out. The only
difference between survivor and siege is that in siege players find themselves in an exposed position where enemies try to kill them,
while in survivor they will end up fighting in much closer quarters.
The levels have a variety of creative names, ranging from Gondola in 60 Seconds, The Crate Escape and Diagnosis Girder, are varied
despite the fact that courses in each zone often share elements. The survivor and siege levels almost always take place in areas that
can be ran through, but this time they offer more barricades and items. The three other event types also share elements, which gives
players the sense that the levels are part of a tournament in a larger space, instead of being completely unrelated. The tournament
locations are fairly varied visually, however they consist of a combination of rooms and corridors with a few open spaces that demand
no real variation in play style.
The weapons suffer from issues similar to those of the level design. While there are a few weapons that stand out from the rest, a lack
of non-superficial variation hurts the game. There are a total of 15 available weapons, including two pistols, shotguns, machine guns, a
sniper rifle, a rocket launcher and a mini gun. Players will probably use the machine guns wherever they can and will become
frustrated when none are available.
The game offers four different single-player difficulty levels that ramp up the challenge nicely, forcing players to rethink their strategy with
each successive level. While this will keep players coming back to “The Club,” the multiplayer won’t. The levels feel too large, the
weapons feel unbalanced, and the frustration of being able to shoot an enemy repeatedly in the face and see that person walk away is
unbelievable. The return of four player split screen offline play is a welcome sight, but again, the game itself causes this to fail as well.
Technically, the game’s graphics hold up well with the next generation games that it challenges. The overall frame rate is consistent
throughout the game and players will not have to worry about lag of skips. Overall the game looks good. It is nothing spectacular, but it
sits well among its predecessors. The audio quality is inconsistent throughout the game, enemies will shout at the player and at each
other, and these shouts vary with the location of which they are coming, the various English accents in the Manor House may be a
highlight for many, but the weapon fire sounds similar and lifeless between all of the guns.
As a whole, “The Club” is an old fashioned shooter that works on that level alone and does nothing to be extraordinary. It suffers from
its lack of variation within levels, weapons and character design. It is good enough to bring players back time and again, it may only be
enjoyed by those who have played the original shooter games from the past.
high score, much like that of an old arcade classic. However, while it is good enough to keep players coming back to beat a top score, it
is far, very far, from perfect. The game’s overall premise is a simple one. The Club is a powerful collection of super-rich, immoral
individuals who have decided to run their own personal blood sport. Eight contestants are forced to compete against one another in a
variety of locations. Players take on the role of any one of them and must try to win the most events in each location. There are six
characters available at the start of the game, plus a seventh unlocked after four tournaments and another after all of the tournaments
are beat. While these characters have distinct looks, their game play is very similar.
The way to win each event is simple, the player that finishes with the most points wins. Points are awarded for kills, based on accuracy
of shooting, toughness of the enemy and the weapons being used by the player and the enemy. To make things a little more
interesting, every kill causes a score multiplayer to increase, but if the time between kills is too long, the multiplier fades away. Players
also get bonus points for style, shooting someone while dodging fire and shooting from long distances. The multiplier can be boosted,
along with the timer, by shooting wall-mounted skulls, which are placed in various locations around the level.
There are many event types that players can take part in. Three event types involve more-traditional running, while two are more static.
The simplest of these is sprint, which players need to get from one end of a course to another, all while scoring as many points as
possible. Run the gauntlet is another mode which is essentially the same, but with a time limit, while time attack has players running
two or three laps of a course, killing enemies and collecting items to add time to your clock. The two static modes, survivor and siege,
force players to stay in a set area as enemies pour in from all sides, and the goal is simply to survive until the timer runs out. The only
difference between survivor and siege is that in siege players find themselves in an exposed position where enemies try to kill them,
while in survivor they will end up fighting in much closer quarters.
The levels have a variety of creative names, ranging from Gondola in 60 Seconds, The Crate Escape and Diagnosis Girder, are varied
despite the fact that courses in each zone often share elements. The survivor and siege levels almost always take place in areas that
can be ran through, but this time they offer more barricades and items. The three other event types also share elements, which gives
players the sense that the levels are part of a tournament in a larger space, instead of being completely unrelated. The tournament
locations are fairly varied visually, however they consist of a combination of rooms and corridors with a few open spaces that demand
no real variation in play style.
The weapons suffer from issues similar to those of the level design. While there are a few weapons that stand out from the rest, a lack
of non-superficial variation hurts the game. There are a total of 15 available weapons, including two pistols, shotguns, machine guns, a
sniper rifle, a rocket launcher and a mini gun. Players will probably use the machine guns wherever they can and will become
frustrated when none are available.
The game offers four different single-player difficulty levels that ramp up the challenge nicely, forcing players to rethink their strategy with
each successive level. While this will keep players coming back to “The Club,” the multiplayer won’t. The levels feel too large, the
weapons feel unbalanced, and the frustration of being able to shoot an enemy repeatedly in the face and see that person walk away is
unbelievable. The return of four player split screen offline play is a welcome sight, but again, the game itself causes this to fail as well.
Technically, the game’s graphics hold up well with the next generation games that it challenges. The overall frame rate is consistent
throughout the game and players will not have to worry about lag of skips. Overall the game looks good. It is nothing spectacular, but it
sits well among its predecessors. The audio quality is inconsistent throughout the game, enemies will shout at the player and at each
other, and these shouts vary with the location of which they are coming, the various English accents in the Manor House may be a
highlight for many, but the weapon fire sounds similar and lifeless between all of the guns.
As a whole, “The Club” is an old fashioned shooter that works on that level alone and does nothing to be extraordinary. It suffers from
its lack of variation within levels, weapons and character design. It is good enough to bring players back time and again, it may only be
enjoyed by those who have played the original shooter games from the past.
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