[REVIEW] Combo Crew, touch controls have never been so Satisfying

Earlier this week, you might have heard me sing the praises of Combo Crew, a new fighting game from The Game Bakers that incorporates the use of touch controls to great effect. Well, we were fortunate enough to get our hands on Combo Crew, so let’s review it and see what’s what.

The premise of Combo Crew is that there is a tower and at the top of the tower is the Big Boss. naturally though, to reach him at the top, you must fight through countless opponents as you progress up the tower. With the premise set, you assume control of one of four characters: Dolph, Gina, Parker and Sammo. Only Gina and Parker are available at the beginning and only by earning medals will you be able to unlock the other two.

The game has you fighting in stages where waves of enemies will continue to arrive until you’re the last one standing. During the round, you will accumulate points which can be multiplied depending on how long your combo has gone on for (signified by not being hit or not idling too long). After the round, these points will determine whether you are graded a bronze, silver or gold medal, which in turn can be used to buy upgrades or unlock characters.

The gameplay itself is simple enough, but the tutorial does a good job of explaining all of the basic game concepts and you will pick up the flow of the game very quickly. Essentially, the game involves a swipe for a single hit, a tap for a counter, and a swipe with two fingers for a combo; there are also other fun moves such as power hits and super moves. And like any other fighting game, each character has their own list of special combos that you can unlock and utilize (I was always one of the people who never looked at these lists).

The control scheme actually feels very intuitive and allows for some very fluid, free-flowing combat that makes you feel pretty good about yourself. That is, up till the point when you’ve charged up your ‘super’ and swipe all over the screen and hit every last standing enemy, which actually feels even better.

The menus in Combo Crew are very slick and quick to navigate. You’ll use the menu mostly to navigate to either the main event, fighting, of which there is the tower-based stage fights and an endless mode which is, well, endless, or the stores that are available, either to purchase new characters or stock up on passive ‘perks’ or instant-use ‘boosters’.

To completely honest, the game does seem to hold your hand a little too much in the early stages as the enemies all stand back and wait for their turn to get pummelled. But as you progress, newer, more complex opponents are revealed and require a bit more planning than just smashing everything in your sight. Even then, if you find the right rhythm and are good with your counters, there’s no reason why you can’t clock up a 400x combo. If you decide to spend your hard earned medals, you can purchase minor upgrades at the previously mentioned stores which can stack up to eventually give you quite an advantage (or buffer) against more cunning enemies.

If there is one downfall to Combo Crew, and this is actually more of a downfall of fighting games in general, is that the stages can get a bit monotonous sometimes; fighting the same enemies and just remembering to counter at the right time can be a chore rather than fun on occasions. Combo Crew does attempt to do its best, though, but only having 5 stages per level of the tower, always changing up and adding new enemies and adding a pretty suitable soundtrack that all but fades into the background when you play (and this is a very good thing).

I’d like the mention the art in game now as I think it’s absolutely stunning. From the intro video, to the menu, and to the stages themselves, everything oozes that wonderful cartoon-y, cel-shaded style which I think really suits the game. Even the credits menu is beautiful, with each team member of The Game Bakers getting a dedicated caricature (in the Combo Crew style) that lights up as you select it. The different stages of the tower are also thoughtfully detailed and designed, never giving you a dull background.

Combo Crew also allows for cooperative play, letting you add your friends via Facebook or email and pits you together against the tower’s inhabitants. While I wasn’t able to try this feature before this review, I can definitely see the draw of madly swiping your screen attempting to steal kills off your friend and obtain the highest points score. And with the added ability to revive fallen comrades, you can keep fighting to the top. In theory, anyway.

Combo Crew is a very well put together game; the menu’s are slick, the art is amazing and the gesture-based gameplay is simple and addictive. I think it’d be a shame not to give Combo Crew a shot as it’s a very good game with some thoughtful innovation with its control scheme. And really, who doesn’t like a ‘button-basher’ appropriated for the mobile age? That’s right, nobody.

Combo Crew releases today, May 23rd, on Android.

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN