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Tony:
Located at D3 Publishers’s booth at New York Comic-Con 2013
was a number of Nintendo 3DS’s displaying the first game based on the Cartoon Network hit, Regular Show - Regular
Show - Mordecai and Rigby in 8-bit Land. This title was inspired by classic games of old, from the graphics down to Jake Kaufman's retro-styled soundtrack. Sadly, although it advertises some interesting
gameplay-changing mechanics, I only had a short time with the game and was
unable to reach any special events. I instead got a chance to play a few of the game’s
general 2D side-scrolling stages.
As stated in the title, the game had me playing as both of
the Regular Show’s main duo, Mordecai the blue jay and Rigby the raccoon. Each of the two had their own benefits and drawbacks. For example, while
Mordecai had the ability to double jump, Rigby was a smaller target. Having multiple characters is not unusual for platformers, but what made this game
special was the ability to switch between characters at the press of a button.
In one area, a ledge would be too high for Rigby to reach, so I had to
switch to Mordecai. In another place, Mordecai was too big to fit into a tunnel
so I had to become Rigby. As the stages progressed, I found myself having of
switch more and more; it was important to learn each character’s strengths
and weaknesses even that early in the game.
In the early stages, I navigated across grassy terrain with
the occasional shrub here and there. These stages were filled with the usual
fare of platforming segments along with enemies such as large snails and thick-skulled bullies. Luckily, Mordecai and Rigby are able to overcome these obstacles
with well-timed jumps. Besides jumping on enemies, there is also a power up that
gives our heroes mullets, allowing them to shoot punches and lasers, similar to fireballs in another platforming series. However, also like that other game,
after taking one hit, the power up went away. Dollar bills also riddled the stages for the two to collect. This money would be useful at the end of each stage where there would be a mini-game; in this game, players
can use the money to place a gold coin on one of four paths. The marker would
then move up the path, crossing any intersections it came to, until it reached
the end of the paths, containing extra lives, more money, a fany-pack, or
bottomless pits.
Even though Regular Show - Mordecai and Rigby in 8-bit Land
claims to be an 8-bit adventure, the game’s sprite work was more complex than
would be possible in 8-bit, but it still had a unique pixel-art style. The
characters’ animations were smooth and managed to keep the characters’
personalities from the show while still being "retro." While the graphics are
more advanced than what one would find in an 8-bit title, the game’s music
could have been ripped straight from games of old. The music was a perfect match
to fit with the retro style they were aiming for. As for the 3DS's 3D display,
they were fairly basic and added minimal effects to the game, but the effects did not harm the game's performance when activated, which is always a good thing.
Regular Show - Mordecai and Rigby in 8-bit Land is the
Regular Show’s first video game offering and it fit well into the retro
platforming style. Sadly, I was unable to try out any of the gameplay-changing
levels, which I feel may make this game stand out more. Without those elements,
the title felt like an average platformer, which we know is not what people
expect from a Regular Show video game. Hopefully, the game will surprise people
when it comes out tomorrow!
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