Final Exam – Review
Four friends, each with their own special ability and not really any common ground are off to bash some monsters’ head in this side scrolling little wonder called Final Exam. The good people at Mighty Rocket studio thought of bringing us this “monster” bashing title (honestly, you could just insert: zombie, here) and it looks very promising, but is it really all that fun that it so bluntly projects? We’ll let’s examine the “Final Exam” and see if it fails or goes for the A++.
Story
Final Exam doesn’t offer much of a story as much as it offers a narrative. The basic premise of the game is pretty cliché and nothing new to note here. Four friends, who would never be friends in the social environment where I come from, are on a trip to a class reunion, when suddenly their car is attacked by monsters (zombies). As you progress throughout the levels you are treated to in-game cut scenes. Between each level there is a graphic novel style which, besides being eye-candy, offers little to no story-value. This game was clearly meant to be played just as is, without any extra motivation, which is very unfortunate.
Graphics
Flashy, funky, with flair and fantastic, a lot of F’s here, but the honestly: it’s the good kind of F’s.
The game is a 2D Scroller with 3D elements, which are more often than not interactive. Final Exam offers quick action and it manages to convey this graphically, rather beautifully. The monsters, while not quite original are just fine for this kind of game, where you really are not standing that often. Everything is quite fluid and even when facing countless numbers of opponents this holds true. The Stages are well designed and offer just enough variety to be worth your time. The main character design is like the storyline, unfortunately cliché, but this is something that does not matter so much in this case.
Sound
Once again the game offers nothing new, sound effects are your top of the mill, squishes, squashes, groaning, screaming and exploding. It should be noted that aforementioned isn’t a complaint, merely pointing out the obvious really. Nevertheless while not being very original or outstanding, it is the least fitting. The game does offer a kick-ass soundtrack though which immediately helps it to close in on a ‘more than average’ score.
Gameplay
The player has the choice between four characters. They all start off with the same stats, but have different maximum stats. Brutal Joe for example, as the name implies, has the maximum possible score in the damage department. But when it comes to your all-around man, or average character, then Sean might be the better pick. Each character is also able to learn skills, which are, while not essential to winning the game, quite fun. Combos are simple run of the mill move strings with air juggles and whatnot. Higher combos will set higher benchmarks and each time those are broken the player is awarded with stat-points, which the player is to use at his leisure. Melee fighting is complemented with weapons which are found in-game. So it pays to sniff around and not just burn through a level. Weapons are carried over from level to level, this might be noteworthy just because it guarantees fun for the coming levels. Speaking of levels, levels are huge and layered, so even though the fun is quite fast paced and rarely is there a moment to breath, it doesn’t stop as quick as it goes starts off, which is a good thing. There is a decent amount of monsters to keep you busy and while not the most original bunch, quantity more than makes up for it. Monsters are varied when it comes to their attack patterns, speed and strength. Perhaps the one thing that is most regrettable is the fact that the game was clearly meant to be played in a multi-player setting. More often than not was there a necessity to run back and forth to catch items and defend against enemies. Which is really a bummer since, with a little consideration, this might have been avoided and the game would’ve been so much more enjoyable.
Conclusion
Final Exam gets a passing C+. The game is fun, action-packed and offers solid, albeit traditional, game-play. The Characters, while not memorable, offer the much needed variety in the game. But even so, it is not enough to make up for 8 huge levels that turn monotonous rather quickly. As is, the game perfectly fits into a long line of previous, Zombie related games. But therein lies the problem: it also is stuck in being mediocre. Well your money worth, but is it a needed buy? I would like to say yes, but then I would be telling you that the monsters in this game are not zombies (which they totally are).
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