LogFAQs > #898172323

8. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Man, when I first got the switch, I literally had no idea what this was, but certainly didn't think it was anything I'd be interested in. But I was wrong, this game is pretty cool.

It is basically X-COM lite. It has the fun strategy gameplay without some of the stress of permadeath and base building taken away. This does have the downside of giving the game a little less depth, it's yet another Nintendo game I found myself preferring in short bursts.

The turn based battles generally end up pretty fun and decently involved. They switch between simple killing everyone objectives, boss fights, and some escort objectives that mix it up. The most clever part of the gameplay is that there are several ways to move around and fight. You have a "dash" move, which allows you to slide into an enemy, and serves as a free attack outside of just shooting. You can also move around areas by jumping off one of your allies, to get to higher ground, move farther ahead, or get over an obstacle like a little river. You also have to think about cover (there is full and half cover spots), and high ground. Not to mention, you have 2 vastly different weapons equipped at any one time, so deciding which is best to use matters too. So there is a lot of consideration that can go into any given battle, and any given move.

The enemy AI can be pretty relentless too. They have a lot of the same abiltiies as you, and while I didn't get many game overs, it takes a 2nd try, or coming back after leveling up more to get a perfect score on a lot of maps. They make you work for it.

There is also some light exploration to find more "skill points" that upgrade your character, as well as new weapons and collectibles. When I went through each map the first time, I enjoyed the exploration and puzzles. Going back through a 2nd time can get annoying, as it is super easy to get lost once it is all opened up, and there is no good way to track where you are.

The skill trees that you do have to upgrade your characters are actually pretty well done and deep. You have a lot of decisions to make, and it was never an easy choice. There are also challenge maps which I found pretty cool, that you can do after you beat each world (only downside is you can't just do them, you have to find them, which goes back to the exploration thing I talked about earlier).

I guess the biggest compliment or criticism I can give this game (depending on how you look at it) is that it makes me want to go play X-COM 1 or 2. I've always been super interested in those games, but was always concerned that I would end up hating them, since they aren't typical games I play. After playing this, I wanted to make the leap onto the "real deal". I think it speaks well to the execution of the core gameplay at the very least.

While permadeath and basebuilding can be intimidating, I imagine they give X-COM an intensity and depth that this game kind of lacks. But no doubt, I had a lot of fun with it, and it delivers on a combination I could have never imagined working.
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