While Sega seems to be contempt with sitting on most of it’s most valuable licenses, including a fan favorite, Streets of Rage. It definitely seems like the fans of the aforementioned title have not forgotten about once badass 2D brawler and in fact several have gone on to make imitations of it; Anyone remember Streets of Rage Remake? But we’re not here to talk about that title, no, instead we’re looking at yet another game that seems to come from the same mold. That game is “The TakeOver“.
Currently a side project from the same person who’s working on an arcade racing game (Pelikan13), aptly named “The 90’s Arcade Racer“, The TakeOver looks very much like an attempt to create a next-generation 2D brawling title. IN fact from the screenshots and trailer, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think that was Alex from Streets of Rage. No seriously, just look at him. Same move-set, same look, so yeah. I saw it mentioned at a couple of sites and noticed there was a demo, so I gave it a try.
The game feels like an up-scaled version of Final Fight or Streets of Rage, which isn’t bad. Definitely rough around the edges and you can tell that the modes aren’t ready and the music sounds like place-holder music. Lastly it was a bit to slow, I like my 2D brawlers a little faster paced, but still the potential is there. If you’re a fan of the classic 2D brawlers from the past, i’m sure you’ll be able to overlook the imperfections, especially since this just a prototype.
The game otherwise plays like any conventional 2D brawler, you have four buttons; punch, kick, jump and special, does that seem familiar? Sadly there’s not much to go on though, as the WIP game only has 1 stage and one character available, however the developer has stated that once his other project is completed, he’ll be expanding the development team and ramping up development for The TakeOver. And he’s already got some plans for the title, such as expanding the game to include several playable characters, as well as several stages to rage combat across.
Well I definitely hope that this game gets traction if it goes to KickStarter, I’ll be tossing my money it’s way. but in the meantime, if you’re interested, you can check out the playable prototype for the PC (Windows), Mac and Linux. Give it a try and let the developer know what you think by heading over to the Steam Greenlight page.
