BattleCON is a card game that emulates the feel of a 2D fighting game similar to Street Fighter and King of Fighters (KoF). I have been looking for a good fighting game to introduce to my gaming group ever since I saw Yomi. Having playtested BattleCON for a few games, I can safely say that my search is almost over. BattleCON is the game that I've been looking for.
BattleCON revolves around 2 players fighting for a maximum of 15 beats (each beat is similar to one turn) on a platform consisting of 6 spaces. The platform is similar to the fighting ring. Whoever defeats the opponent's 20 hit points or has the most hit points at the end of the 15th round will be declared the winner. Players start by choosing one out of 18 characters in the print-and-play version (or 4 in the free version). With it comes a set of style and base cards. Styles represent the way the character functions, while bases are the common attack patterns, with each character having an additional base card that only the character posses.
During each beat, players pull up a style and a base card that forms an attack action. The cards are placed face down. Then, each player can choose to ante a token if they like. Tokens are character based, and not all characters have it. Once done, players reveal the cards they played. There are 3 things to consider: priority, range and power, in that order. Whoever has the highest priority goes first, where he/she calculates the range to see if the attack hits the opponent. If it does, then the power determines the damage the opponent takes. If the opponent has equal or more stun value than the damage taken, the opponent then calculates his range, followed by the damage dealt. If the opponent receives damage more than his stun value (or having no stun value), then the opponent is considered to be stunned, and the beat ends. Once the beat ends, the set of cards is placed in the discard pile, where 2 turns later, they return to the player's hands.
Great Card CombosWhat makes BattleCON feel like a 2D arcade fighting game is the fact that the 2 sets of cards, the styles and bases, makes a great list of combinations (card combos). These combos can alter the way the battle goes. Although priority is a main factor in determining the winning beat, if the range fails to reach the opponent, then the player has wasted or lost that beat. To achieve that, some style and base cards include start of beat actions and start of activation actions, which usually allows the player to advance 1 or 2 spaces towards the opponent. As you can see, mixing and matching the style and base cards creates very interesting attack patterns. There's a card that allows players to evade attacks. Finally, there's a special card that mimics a super/finishing move found in fighting games. This card can only be used when the player's health drop to 7 or less. Once used, the card is removed from that game round.
Growing up in the arcade during the 1990s, I love playing the Street Fighter and King of Fighter series. One thing that makes me love KoF a lot is the fact that button mashing makes you go nowhere. Only with skills can one prevail in combat. BattleCON mimics that precisely. During gameplay, I found myself trying to think what my opponent will do, and to counter that, I decide the cards to be played. If chosen wrongly, I would have wasted that turn and probably get hit badly by the opponent. If played correctly, I would have played my cards well and my character would do damage to my opponent. That victorious feeling is immensely satisfying even though it's just 1 turn of the game. Playing with the same character numerous times allow me to see the character's strengths and weaknesses, while at the same time learn about my opponent's fighting pattern. This form of investment makes me feel like I am one with the character, with me as the mind and him as the body.
Currently, there are 18 character on the print-to-play version. If you pre-ordered the game before the end of December 2011, you will receive 3 more characters, making it a total of 21 characters to choose from. All characters are separated into 3 groups - basic, moderate and advanced. With basic characters, it's a bit easier to win battles. Moderate characters are recommended once players are comfortable with the gameplay. Advanced characters are hardest to use. In the hands of experts, any character can fight against anyone and still have a chance to win. It all depends on how good the player is at utilizing the strengths that the character has, and how well he can out-think his opponent.
The game also comes with a few variants such as arenas, tag team, character teams, multiplayer mode, ex and almighty duels (with more powerful and devastating actions), and 3 vs. 1 boss mode. I haven't had a chance to try those yet, but reading through it, I feel the designer has given us options that play similarly to the fighting games such as Tekken Tag Tournament. Even without these variants, BattleCON is already an amazing fighting game.
Conclusion
Once, my friend asked me," Can my character move whenever he wants?" The answer is no. Apart from the start of beat or start of activation action, there's no way for any character to move. As I thought about that later on, I wondered whether implementing moving or jumping action would make the game better. It could, but I would not know as I haven't tested it as a variant yet. However, as it stands now, the game does not need one. The available actions formed by the different combination of cards create all that is needed for the game to work. Whether I move behind my opponent and caused extra damage to him, or if I escaped using my dash to avoid being hit by his special finishing move, I feel like I'm playing KoF. The difference? I don't have to practice lighting fast reflexes with the joystick and buttons to pull of a 9-hit combo with my character.
Overall: A
P.S. For those interested in the designer's diary, click here to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment