The Showdown Effect is a 2D multiplayer arena shooter/platformer that draws a lot of influence from older Hollywood action movies. You'll hear snappy one liners thrown around frequently and most, if not all of the characters are modeled after famous actors or the characters they play in their movies. I personally found the references hilarious, as I'm a fan of those older action movies, though it is definitely gimmicky and at times cheesy. Thankfully, beneath this gimmicky parody/homage to action flicks lies a solid and entertaining game.
Gameplay:
This is where the game truly shines. Unlike most shooters, you need to actually aim your reticle over your opponent if you wish to hit him. This simple mechanic took me quite a while to adjust to, since I'm used to just aiming in the general direction of where I want to shoot, but it's also what makes this game so great. During the game, you're going to face opponents who slide, jump and dive all over the place, so keeping your reticle trained on a target is easier said than done. The guns will take some time getting used to, but as you get better at aiming, the more likely you are to win your encounters.
As a beginner to this game, I actually recommend using melee weapons, since they're much easier to wield and use properly. The majority of the melee weapons will be scattered around the map, and there are a few different types of weapons, each with the own benefits. Large weapons are extremely powerful, have the longest range, and are able to kill an enemy in one hit, but they take a long time to swing, so you have to preemptively swing a second or so before it actually makes contact. Medium weapons (like the katana you carry with you normally) are pretty balanced, taking three hits to kill someone and you can swing them quickly. Light weapons seem almost useless, since while you can attack extremely quickly, the range on them is very short and they don't do a lot of damage. They're probably best used as a thrown weapon for a small stun before finishing off your opponent with another weapon.
This game really stresses skill over anything else, and while the controls are easy enough to pick up, it takes a long time to master. Knowing when to switch weapons, when to dodge, when to bandage and heal will all play a part in whether you do well or terribly. How well you can navigate the map, the precious seconds saved by making a successful wall jump can mean the difference between getting a kill or letting your opponent get away and heal up. The learning curve can be quite steep, especially since the game's idea of a training mode is a speed course, testing how quickly you can destroy a few immobile practice dummies scattered around the map. This is mostly useless, since it is not representative of real battle at all. Expect to die a lot. Part of the reason this game is great is that the unlocks don't really give you an advantage. So beginners starting off will be just as strong as they would be if they put 100 hours into the game. The problem with this is that without an unlock system constantly rewarding the player, players don't have much reason to keep playing, especially if you're having trouble adjusting to the difficulty and die constantly.
There are only 4 maps available at the moment, and though they're fairly different from each other, they can get repetitive at times. The maps themselves are quite large, which is great in full 8 player games but can also be frustrating when there are only two or three people left in a Last Man Standing scenario. Servers tend to fill up quite quickly though, and there are a good amount of people playing so finding a game whenever you want shouldn't be too difficult. I would've loved to have seen a larger variety of maps, some which are better suited for smaller matches and others that fit a full 8 player match perfectly. Another aspect of the game where I wished for more variety is in the game modes. There are only 4 different types of matches available, and while they're different enough from each other, 4 game modes in most games nowadays seems painfully low.
Unlock System:
There are 8 different characters available, 2 of which are unlocked at the beginning of the game. The rest are unlocked through spending AC which you'll earn with each match. The characters only differ from each other in regards to their unique hero ability, which when mastered can drastically affect playstyles. My personal favorite is Hailey's rocket boots ability, which quickly propels you upward in the direction you're facing, perfect for getting out of a dangerous situation.
You start off with the AR16 machine gun and the katana for weapons. There are 6 other weapons unlocked through spending AC: the pistol, the shotgun, the SMG, throwing knives, the RPG, and the shotgun. Each play out fairly differently from each other, and throwing knives and the RPG are unique in that they only need to be aimed in the general direction of your opponent. The rest of the unlocks available are purely cosmetic as far as I can tell, even if the item description might suggest otherwise. There is also a cash shop in the game, which offers different items than the regular unlock store, and only contain costumes or weapon skins. There are no "pay to win" items in the game, so players who are willing to drop a lot of cash won't have an unfair advantage over others.
Conclusion:
The Showdown Effect has great mechanics, though I was left a bit wanting with the number of characters, maps, and game modes included. Given the fact that the developers of Showdown Effect are also responsible for Magicka, I think it's a pretty safe bet to expect quite a few DLC's. Whether this will happen through the in-game store or released separately on Steam is uncertain to me, though I'd hope for the latter since at least then, you could pick them up cheaply during a Steam sale. The learning curve can be a bit brutal, so beginning players may get discouraged easily, especially with the weak training mode available. I can say though in the 7 or so hours I put into this game, both in the beta and in the released game, my skill has improved quite a lot and I'm able to at least place in the top half of the scoreboard in most matches. Overall, it is refreshing to play a game that actually stresses skill over time spent. The primary focus is definitely on its fast and chaotic gameplay, and this game does it well.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
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