One Finger Death Punch 2

Review by Tim Turner

This week I have had the honour of playing the sequel to One Finger Death Punch which was at one point the highest rated game on steam. A hard act to follow for developers Silver Dollar Games one might think, but I reckon they’ve smashed it!

The basic premise of the game is for your stick man to beat the snot out of waves of opponents using only the left and right mouse buttons. Yes this is a very simple game that does only one thing but, boy does it do it well! For those of you that have played the first one then this is a must buy as it is the same but better in every way! (Think Streetfighter 2 vs Streetfighter)

When I say it’s a simple game, I mean that there is no complicated storyline or complex combat system requiring god level memory to master, and it will only take a couple of minutes to know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing. You don’t even have to move your character! Enemies approach from either side and when they come into range a coloured bar will appear below your stick man. Red to attack right and blue to attack left. Each enemy will take different amounts of hits to defeat denoted by bars underneath them.

Sometimes they will have combinations of colours meaning they switch sides when hit and some will have special red and blue bars which means you enter a kind of minigame combat, where bars descend and you need to click the corresponding direction before the bars hit the ground in order to defeat the opponent. Bosses are a little different also as you need to time your attacks striking only when prompted. Starting to sound more complicated now isn’t it! Trust me it’s still simple because all you need to remember is red for right and blue for left! Oh and if you think you can button mash your way through the game then you are sorely mistaken. Every click matters and the more you click incorrectly, the faster you die!

There are loads of weapons in the game that can be picked up and used to great effect. Ranging from throwing stars to sniper rifles and guan dao spears to light sabers, each weapon will have different effects and range which adds yet another element to the game making it more and more fun as you progress.

As you play through the different levels you earn skill points which can be spent on special moves from the skill menu. These moves are passive so they activate automatically and the more you unlock the more you get use in battle. This is important as the game goes on because the gameplay is fast. Very fast! Very very very fast! In fact it’s the fastest game I have ever played and possibly the most fun!

The graphics are clean and bright and not too system demanding meaning this game can be enjoyed on a fairly low level PC which is refreshing in this age of games becoming so demanding only a £3000 rig will run them. The gameplay is where this little gem really shines with the simple control system allowing for a really direct response making every bone crunching feel like your finger did it. I guess that’s where the name comes from!

The sound is great and is truly reminiscent of the kung fu movies I watched growing up and even the commentator telling you off for button mashing is amusing. The only thing that is not perfect about this game is the level map. I wish you could scroll round and view the various levels rather than clicking on each one to navigate to the ones you want to replay to get all five stars. (I felt I needed to find one thing bad for balance!)

So in conclusion I would have to say that if you have played the original then you have to get this sequel as you will love it as much as the first. If you haven’t played the original then you still have to buy this as your world will not be complete without this in it! There is a free to play demo on steam if you don’t believe me! 

Final score 11/10 Yes it is that good!

Badger

Life long gamer and Geek, Considered by most to be of doubtable sanity. never seen without my trusty Stetson

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