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Review: Medal Wars – Keisers Revenge

Review: Medal Wars – Keisers Revenge
2.5

Platforms: PC

Game Name: Medal Wars: Keisers Revenge

Publisher: Retro Army

Developer: Retro Army

Genre: Action, Shooter, RPG

Release Date: December 5, 2012

Developer Summary

Enter a world of epic battles as one man overcomes his fate to become the greatest soldier ever!
(In his mind anyway) Medal Wars™ : Keisers Revenge is a comedy action RPG game for PC. Featuring crazy humour combined with fast-paced action, Medal Wars is like nothing you’ve played before. But maybe that’s a good thing! Prepare yourself for Medal Wars!

What We Think

Though Medal Wars provides a decent amount of action and plenty to keep players busy, it feels unpolished in places and suffers from clunky controls.

Bunkers are crawling with foes.
Bunkers are crawling with foes.

War is Heck

The player is a new recruit in the Green Army, a battalion on the front lines in the war against the Black Army. It is explained that the Green side is losing ground fast. After a brief training session, the hero will have to trek out on solo missions to win back bunkers and destroy enemy infrastructure.

The camp contains a few tents of note, all of which can assist the player in increasing his assault potential. Weapons and upgrades can be purchased with money found on missions, and nudie deck cards found on defeated foes can be exchanged for prizes. A gambling tent allows the player to wager his hard-earned cash against the odds, though don’t expect a fully realized gambling experience this isn’t online slots real money slinging, after all.

The player’s tent can be visited for a snooze (and health point recharge), and various items can be purchased or found to spruce it up. Medals the hero has earned for having complete various tasks will also be stored in a chest found in this tent. Should the player fall in battle, he will awake in his tent.

The soundtrack, created by Kevin “Dr. Fruitcake” Green is one of the games stronger features. The score is lush and loaded with horn instruments and drums, lending a more epic feel to the action.

It’s a Silly Place

Once the player has made the rounds in the camp, it becomes clear that Medal Wars is a wartime game that doesn’t take itself seriously: All character models are over-the-top caricatures. The one female character is a ridiculously buxom Scottish lass. Lab monkeys in sailor suits travel in packs to assault the hero. While the presentation may feel a bit half-baked (grammatical errors abound), there is plenty of decent humor to be found in the numerous cutscenes.

My invitation? Uh...
My invitation? Uh…

The Whites of Their Eyes

Once outside the camp, the player will encounter hostile troops. Each one has a bar above him indicating his remaining health when fired upon. Head shots, as expected, are the most efficient way of dealing with foes, though tougher enemies won’t necessarily fall after a bullet to the noggin. Foot shots will temporarily incapacitate the enemy by forcing him to hop up and down, allowing for an additional volley of shots that won’t immediately be reciprocated. Get in close to an enemy, and quickly take them out with a swipe of the old bayonet.

Bunkers and bases pose more of a challenge, and occasionally throw in some light puzzle solving. Some of these areas require that all enemies be cleared out, while others will switch to a first person targeting mode that will lead to a boss encounter once all foes have been felled. Keep an eye out for secret item drops, as some of these will help satisfy medal conditions, or side quest requirements.

How Karnov got started. Any shock? Didn't think so...
How Karnov got started. Any shock? Didn’t think so…

Trench Foot

The overall control scheme is as much an adversary as the Black Army. Moving the hero requires using the mouse to position the cursor, and then clicking and/or holding the left mouse button. Unfortunately, firing at enemies also requires aiming the reticule and clicking the left button. This very often results in the hero running headlong into a swarm of foes when the intent was to open fire from a distance. Close-up attacks are supposed to automatically turn into a melee insta-kill, but in theses situations, the left click frequently gets confused as a move command and the hero will jerk about in all directions around the enemy, all the while taking damage.

Playing with a multiple-monitor setup also creates headaches, as full screen mode doesn’t lock the cursor to the screen being used by the game. For example, in first person sequences, it’s far too easy to overshoot enemies while attempting to target foes near the edge of the screen. If the left click takes place on the second monitor, the game goes into windowed mode. Bringing the mouse back and clicking to reactivate the game screen isn’t a daunting task, but in the time it takes to perform it, the enemy is continuing their ballistic barrage. This shortcoming is particularly rage-inducing when trying to square off against a boss enemy.

My Sea Monkeys never grew to this size...
My Sea Monkeys never grew to this size…

Fall Back!

For all that Medal Wars gets right, it is outweighed by the sheer difficulty imposed by a poorly implemented system of control. There is a good deal of story to cover, achievements to unlock and side missions are plentiful. However, clearing levels becomes frustrating when most of the players deaths are due to having performed an unwanted action.

A playable demo will give players a good feel for the game, and the full game can be purchased for USD $9.99

[xrr rating=”2.5/5″]

3 thoughts on “Review: Medal Wars – Keisers Revenge

  1. Hi Indiegamerreview,

    I work for Retro Army and we’d like to thank you for taking the time to review our game!
    We’ve taken your issues onboard and are fixing them for the next version, particularly like you said, the controls
    and mouse lock. There’s a slightly improved version already on our website, with a new version coming out soon. Again thanks for your feedback it’s important to us,

    Kind regards,

    Paul

    1. Thanks for the information, Paul! Let us know when the revision is available, as I would definitely play the game again with an updated control scheme.

  2. Hi Indiegamerreview,

    There’s a new version 1.1 on our site, it has two new control schemes, and we’ve implemented your and other reviewers feedback, it might be worth checking out. There’s also some additional content!

    Hope you enjoy it,

    Paul

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