Shakedown stores, purchase businesses and acquire land with hostile takeovers. With advancements in technology, the internet and property development on the rise, it’s up to the player to rebuild their corporate empire by any means necessary. Shakedown: Hawaii follows the story of an ageing CEO whose company has been run into the ground during his absence. The latter being available some time a little later in 2019.
#VBLANK SHAKEDOWN HAWAII PSN PC#
It has been developed for multiple platforms including the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS Vita, PC and the 3DS. It is a non-direct sequel to the well-received Retro City Rampage. Shakedown: Hawaii is a 16-bit GTA-esque action arcade game developed by Vblank Entertainment. And that’s absolutely fine by me.By Mike Scorpio Nintendo Switch, review, Shakedown Hawaii, Switch Review, Vblank Entertainment It won’t revolutionize the industry, but it sure as hell is a fun ride to play through. Just don’t go in expecting to have your world shaken and your morals questioned. And it’s fun, too, as long as you don’t focus on finishing the story in one straight sitting. The characters are basic but funny, I love the social commentary, the main story is accompanied by side-missions and mini-games, there’s properties to purchase, locales to extort… There is basically a hell of a lot of content. If you take the game for what it is, then, there’s plenty of fun to be had.
Presentation is fantastic, with great 16-bit artstyle that manages to set itself apart form other retro-inspired games by making EVERYTHING animated, and music that is absolutely great (you can, of course, change radio stations when you’re in a vehicle). How much room is there really to grow within the genre? It’s unfair to expect “Shakedown: Hawaii” to absolutely change the core of retro-inspired open-world romps. Amused, though, you can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be.Īnd isn’t really what gaming is all about? I’ve seen perhaps a handful of games really revolutionize gaming in my lifetime. There really are tons of similarities between this and the other games I mentioned before in terms of gameplay, so don’t expect to be surprised much. But I’ve found them really enjoyable, particularly if you take some time off to wander around the world, do some side-missions, play some of the (TONS) of mini-games, and go after stuff like getting as many properties bought as you can. The story is minimal, and some have complained that the missions are same-y. It’s very reminiscent of the first two GTA games, and indeed “Retro City Rampage” (and the much less talked-about, but really rather brilliant “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars” on the DS and PS): a top-down game where you can destroy pretty much everything, beat or kill anyone, all on the road to increase your revenue stream and succeed over the greedy large streaming corporations. And the gameplay is the core of it all: you go around the city, beating people into submission, bribing, extorting and generally conniving. Sure, you’re basically a crook living off past glory. And that is something we don’t see very much in gaming. To me, while this game is a super fun, top-down, Grand Theft Auto-inspired open-world romp, the social commentary elevates it above its predecessor due to sheer relevance. And that really is something we can talk and do something about. But the social commentary on how the streaming-and-same-day-delivery industry is killing small businesses is very much relevant today. There’s nothing we can do about what happened back then, anyway. Lacks charm? Does this overworld look like it lacks charm to you? They said the game lacked charm because of it. And that didn’t sit quite right with a lot of people.
In contrast, “Shakedown: Hawaii” is a commentary on the modern-day, technology-driven society that we live in. “Retro City Rampage” had nostalgia to fall back on in terms of story and pop culture references – a time when arcades ruled, when Gala bingo was a great social night out and digital music didn’t exist. It shouldn’t really be seen as a product “competing” with its predecessor, but rather a new game from a very, very small and niche developer. The reality is that, sadly, the game was being judged with the wrong stick from the get go. “Retro City Rampage” had very, very long legs, with the DX version seeing multiple physical releases, up to last month, even! But how does its successor measure up? Is “Shakedown: Hawaii” worthy of such heritage? Or has this open-world 16-bit inspired romp fallen short of the hype? It’s finally time for VBlank Entertainment’s new game to see the light of day.
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