Raging Justice is a sidescrolling beat ‘em up indie game developed by MakinGames Ltd., and published by Team17 Digital Ltd. The game is a clear homage to ‘80s and ‘90s sidecrolling hits like the Streets of Rage and Final Fight series in terms of plot, gameplay, graphics, and music, but it also does incorporate some new elements in an attempt to bring the beat ‘em up genre into the 21st century. However, while the new title is good for inducing nostalgia over the games that people may have played in the ‘80s and ‘90s played, it does not do enough to entice new generations of gamers to revivify the classic beat ‘em up genre.
Raging Justice’s main storyline is exceedingly cliché for a beat ‘em up. The city in which the game takes places has become overridden with crime and corruption and the Mayor has been kidnapped. It’s up to three cops to rescue the Mayor and save the day from absolute chaos. As the plot thickens, players must work their way through hordes of enemies and engage in boss battles.
All three cops are all usable right when players begin Raging Justice. The first persona that players can choose to play as is Rick Justice, a grizzled old-school officer in his 40’s who is not above physical combat. The second possibility is Nikki Rage, an ex-military soldier in her 30’s who possesses devastating kick moves. The final character that players can control is Ashley King, a 15-year-old boy who learns to fight from watching various crime-fighting movies. However, despite the topical differences between the three cops, their actual fighting styles do not differ much during actual gameplay. This fact tempers Raging Justice’s replayability.
Players have a wide arsenal of attacks that they can unleash on their enemies as they progress through the story. Whether using Justice, Rage, or King, players can punch, kick, jump, grapple enemies, and use super-powered moves that sap health. Players are encouraged not to repeatedly execute any one specific mechanic, as foes will invariably find an opportunity to strike back and inflict damage. Instead, diversifying one’s fighting style and incorporating various moves consecutively will enact the most efficacious results for players.
What sets Raging Justice apart from other beat ‘em ups is that players can interact with almost all of the objects located in the numerous environments that they game situates them in. Players can pick up and use trash cans, baseball bats, broken glass bottles, hammers, and even guns to repel and harm the evil henchmen and gang kingpins that impede their mission to save the Mayor. Some of the game’s highlights come from these weapons – one scene in particular allows players to climb onto a tractor and mow down enemy after enemy.
Each level commences by giving players different objectives to complete. From achieving a certain score to arresting specific villains, the objectives vary and provide some additional nuance to Raging Justice. The arrest warrants play into the notion that choice matters in the game. Players can choose to be a bad cop and determine to just kill all enemies or be a good cop and arrest dazed antagonists. Arresting adversaries proves to be beneficial to players’ health in addition to their consciences, as doing so restores some health.
Raging Justice’s animations and graphics are aesthetically unpleasing for the most part. The walking animations of both protagonists and villains look unnatural. Some of the kick moves that players can use appear extremely convoluted. Moreover, because the screen gets overly crowded with enemies, it can take multiple tries to actually pick up an item that one aims to utilize in combat. Raging Justice’s developers consciously choose to limit their game graphically to keep in line with the ‘80s and ‘90s theme.
In addition to the main story mode, which has three difficulty settings, Raging Justice features a brawling mode that tests how many rounds of villains a player can defeat without dying. Players can choose the location that they fight in while engaging in this particular mode. Players have access to online leaderboards to see how they stack up against others.
What defines Raging Justice is its propensity to tap into the tradition of ‘80s and ‘90s style beat ‘em ups. However, it is this very fact that limits Raging Justice. The at times horrific animations, bad graphics, and lack of replayability all curb the game’s overall appeal to non-beat ‘em up diehard fans. Raging Justice is not a bad game in itself, but it does nothing that to truly stand out or warrant excessive fanfare.
Check Out the Raging Justice Launch Trailer:
Raging Justice is available from the Microsoft Store, the PlayStation Store, Nintendo eShop, and Steam.
I'm a recent graduate of Columbia University. Gaming has been a passion of mine my entire life; I enjoy everything from RPGs and FPSs to stealth and narrative-driven games. I love the deeply immersive quality that good video games inherently possess, and am looking forward to highlighting games worthy of acclaim. When I'm not studying or reading, you can catch me playing games like Uncharted, Dishonored, The Witcher 3, and Far Cry.
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