Review: Watchman: The End Is Nigh - if only

Mike Bantick
Sunday, 16 August 2009 09:44

Entertainment

The good news is that the seedy environments played through, are – for the most part – nicely rendered, with plenty of rubble, junk and burning wreckage to be negotiated  as you battle everything from breaking out prisoners, bikie and organised crime gangs through to the more outlandish fat-fetish-fans and nimble prostitutes.

This is a brawler game, no ranged combat whatsoever, with combo’s of fast or heavy attack being easy to pull off thanks to the on-screen queues.  Do enough damage to a foe and a chance for a cinematic finishing move will appear.  Hit the correct button and the thug will be rendered unconscious under a flurry of blows, a major splash of blood and a significant dental bill.

Both Nite Owl and Rorschach have their own special combat abilities built up over time, and pick-ups such as wrenches, bottles and crowbars can be employed.

But, and it is a big but, the combat is essentially broken. 

Firstly you will realise that one of the most effective means of dispatching foes, is to simply pick them up and throw them over a convenient ledge or cliff.  Eventually, however the crime fighting pair will encounter quicker opponents that can avoid the one-button death throw.

So soon you realise it might take an extra button push, but the fool-proof way to victory is simply to spam the counter-attack control (hold down the left bumper and repeatedly press the square button on a PS3).  As Rorschach, for example, this will result in disarming the grunt and turning the weapon against him, but more importantly, while hitting this command, your hero will not be attacked.

It might take a little longer, but it means the player never needs to be concerned of a group of enemies – to the games credit, can sometimes be many – overpowering them.

So the story progresses, with endless stream of similarly modelled thugs to dispatch, and only the odd ‘unlock’ mini-game or pithy puzzle to distract from the constant, repetitive and bloody combat.  Whist it is certainly cinematic, it is equally brain numbing.

Poor old Deadline Games, I cannot help thinking they were a victim of their own name, not able to fulfil the initial vision of bringing a deep story of flawed super-heroes before being told to package it up.

The best thing about writing this review is that I can move onto something more enjoyable.  The end is no longer nigh, it is here.



2  Stupid thugs out of 10