So I haven’t hit the movie scene heavy this year as much as I’d have liked to. That said I never got to see the theatrical release of R.I.P.D. ( or Rest in Peace Department) prior to reviewing its accompanying counterpart R.I.P.D.: The Game for PC. You don’t really have to know much about the movie to actually play the game however as it takes little from the source material. The gist of the story is that Nick is killed in the line of duty by his partner and is sent to the afterworld to hunt down spirits called Deados. He returns to Earth to hunt down these wayward spirits with an ex-Marshall from the 1800s named Roy. From that point on the game and the movie separate and the action begins for the player.
R.I.P.D.: The Game is a fairly basic round based combat experience where your goal is to survive a set number of rounds (usually 5) at one of several supposed locations from the movie. This game does actually play remarkably like Old School Games other title, God Mode, in comparison and that is R.I.P.D’s blessing and curse. The biggest problem and it’s a big one is that no one was actually playing this title online other than another friend in the review biz which really cripples its core gameplay.
Now that doesn’t actually make R.I.P.D.: The Game a bad game as it’s actually quite fun. R.I.P.D.: The Game is a very competent co-op based third-person shooter where players play as either Nick or Roy armed with a variety of awesome weapons some of which come from the movie including Roy’s golden revolver. Some of the weapons are automatically unlocked like the pistol and pump action shotgun but others must be purchased by money earned by completing each five round set through different levels of player chosen difficulty.
No matter what difficulty you choose there are a few items, abilities and one-time use weapons to aid you in kicking some Deado butt. By spending earned cash you can buy consumables that while not actually a food source give you a passive boost for one level like the ability to heal your teammate by shooting them or gaining ammo when defeating enemies. The enemies come in a variety of types including ones that heal their own or heavies that can easily spell certain doom to you or a coop partner. Taking out a heavy using a chain gun and picking it up and using it on his buddies is awesome. Though aiming said gun or any gun is easier said than done. Even on low sensitivity and the use of a controller the aiming is sensitive as all get out though its completely playable with practice.
The locations that you navigate while you send the Deados packing as the somewhat accurate visual portrayals of Bridges and Reynolds from the movie are nicely designed. The multi-leveled arenas are designed in such a way to allow for some fast paced combat with very few safe zones and a chance to get bum rushed at every turn. If you watched the movie then you’ll probably recognize several set pieces especially the meth and the R.I.P.D. bullpen I’ve seen a hundred times in the movie trailers. While the two main characters don’t exactly look like their big screen counterparts the Deados are spot on. The details are wicked cool to look at assuming you let the enemy get that close to you in the first place.
R.I.P.D.: The Game is a movie game and while I though the idea was cool and I still do after playing it most players who have already purchased this game will find themselves probably either regretting the choice or attempting to play it solo. It is completely doable as I did multiple times via a custom match but it detracts from the co-op experience that it was designed for. I did get a chance to check out the betting system in place to see who the better cop is and it was interesting but not nearly as much as the random challenges thrown in during a level like not using a single power-up. R.I.P.D.: The Game had a chance to actually have a decent run but its movie counterpart mixed reception has obviously taken a toll on this co-op horde fest for PC. I can honestly only recommend R.I.P.D.: The Game for players and friends who like the movie and horde style shooters. For everyone else…well at least there’s God Mode.
