In the vein as the similarly named movie, R.I.P.D., or the Rest in Peace Department, follows a recently deceased cop and his wise cracking cowboy partner as they combat spirits that refuse to enter the afterlife. R.I.P.D. The Game (henceforth known as simply R.I.P.D.) comes by way of publishers ATLUS and developing team Old School Games, known recently for their partnership on similar third person shooter God Mode. Does R.I.P.D. The Game stand a fighting chance, or will it go quietly into the afterlife?
Let’s check out what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of R.I.P.D. The Game.
HOT
Frantic gameplay
The core premise to R.I.P.D. is focused around arena-style levels as one of two main characters from the movie of the same name. As either Roy Pulsipher, an undead gunslinger from the days of the Old West, or Nick Walker, a recently deceased detective, players will have to partner up and try to put hordes of restless deados back where they belong: in the ground.
R.I.P.D.‘s core gameplay focuses around picking one of a number of various seedy locales, from banks to meth labs and apartment rooftops, and holding off an increasingly more aggressive slew of combatants of all types. Expect to see your fair share of maniacs that just charge blindly forth like cannon fodder in addition to the more tactical types. Some deados will walk around with makeshift shields fashioned from car doors to block anything but a carefully placed headshot while other types might opt to pull out a sniper rifle and try to re-kill you from afar. Larger enemies named criminals, typically brandishing a heavy minigun, present themselves in later waves and offer a moral choice once they’re nearly incapacitated. Plant a couple quick shots in their head to kill them for a quick victory, or if you’re feeling morally righteous or just want the point bonus, stay by their side and attempt to arrest them for bonus score. Attempting an arrest on these special enemies might prove challenging in the higher difficulties, as hordes of enemies won’t stop for you while you try to bust their leader.
To make the arrests, or really any other wave in the game significantly easier, both detectives in R.I.P.D. come equipped with a special ability gauge that fills up with consecutive kills. Among this gauge are five notches, each granting an ability depending on how much of the meter a player wants to consume. Opting to the lowest tier will grant the player a small AoE healing ability that will affect both players while using the whole meter will summon a great number of shadowy stalagmites that impale any enemy in the area.
Customizable loadouts
Shooters are rarely enjoyable if only couple of weapons are available to players, and thankfully R.I.P.D. has its selection in spades. The pair of detectives each start with a pistol, shotgun, and submachine gun available at the game’s start, but through a persistent reward system for completing challenges and maps, players can quickly expand that selection to some pretty ridiculous weaponry. A faster firing shotgun or grenade launcher can make quick work of clumped up deados, but if you really want to go for style, opt in for each character’s signature avatar weapon. Used by characters in the movie whenever they interact with the living world (which if you’ve seen the trailers, is James Chen, aka ‘an old Chinese guy’ in Nick’s case), these weapons cost a nice quarter of a million gold to purchase. It’s safe to say that the purchase is definitely well worth it, just to run around capping people in the face with a banana or hair dryer. In addition to the upgradable weapons are also one-time boosts that last for an entire match, offering faster arrests or increased health for example.
Purely multiplayer
First off, nothing in R.I.P.D. is going to happen without another partner. The entire game is focused around playing online with another person that the game will almost not start up without a second player in your ranks. Through complete experimentation, I was able to discover that it is possible to play solo by selecting a custom match then opting to select LAN as the connection method. For some reason, the game allows progress with only one player, although the betting system is disabled.
