They say that when the economy is bad, people tend to flock towards apocalyptic entertainment. I guess that explains This Is the End, The World's End, Revolution, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead and countless other movies, TV shows and video games that revel in the end times. Final Exam not only embraces this depressing subject matter, but marries it with the equally trendy beat-em-up genre. The result is a game that makes me hope both cliches have finally run their course.
Don't get me wrong, I've been a big fan of 2D brawlers since the early days of Renegade and Double Dragon. This year alone I've recommended Foul Play and Dragon's Crown, two of the best beat-em-ups of the last decade. And despite a reputation for being overly repetitive, I tend to enjoy most games in this genre. But even with all this working in its favor, Final Exam successfully proves that I have brawler fatigue.
In this game, players take control over one of four generic school kids who somehow avoid dying in the apocalypse. While it's certainly good news that these four friends are still alive, the other shoe is about to drop. It seems monsters have invaded the town and it's up to you to not just survive, but also figure out a way to stop the madness from spreading.
There's only enough story to take these characters from one part of the city to the other. We start in the underground tunnels, fighting back the aggressive enemies and looking for survivors. Eventually the four characters make their way to an amusement park, through a real haunted house and then to the school.
The player will run into a different survivor to help in each setting. Instead of advancing the story, these scared characters send us on a series of boring fetch quests. For example, a Mario lookalike will need parts in order to rebuild a car and escape this mess, but wouldn't you know it, those parts are scattered throughout the large stage. In other section you'll need to save a bunch of kids stranded at an amusement park. But simply locating each kid isn't enough, because some of those brats have their own boring fetch quests to complete.
As you might expect from this style of game, you'll run into a bunch of different enemies along the way. These baddies have descriptive names like the Jumper, the Spitter, the Kamikaze and the Catcher. Despite their different tactics, most enemies can be defeated by simply hitting them a bunch of time with your melee weapons. Or, if you don't want to get that close, you can use one of the many guns to take out the mutant-like horde.
All this would be a lot of fun if the combat mechanics were more interesting. Unfortunately, there simply isn't enough to the gameplay to keep the action fresh over several hours. The idea is to juggle each enemy until he dies a terrible death. But the enemies take far too long to kill. Even with better weapons and an upgraded hero, it often came down to pointless button mashing as I waited for easy enemies to disappear.
Like so many recent Xbox Live Arcade and PSN games, Final Exam has a problem of showing its hand too early. Instead of introducing new elements throughout the game, this brawler gives you most of the information at the top and hammers it home through hours of repetition. Once the game shows you something, you better believe it will keep doing it until you've had enough. And even then, it's going to keep happening until you're sick of this predictable beat-em-up.
Thankfully there are a few special moves that can be purchased between levels. The character I used was able to unlock a powerful cartwheel attack, as well as a unique throw that hits enemies on all sides. Players can also upgrade item effectiveness, such as the potency of health pick-ups. Sadly, none of these upgrades or special moves makes the experience any less repetitive.
Even if the gameplay was deeper, that wouldn't change how uninteresting the missions are. The game tries its hardest to get you to care about the survivors you locate, but even that isn't enough to make the boring fetch quests more tolerable. If anything, the quirkiness of the supporting cast only helps to illustrate how dull the rest of the game is.
Much like the similarly themed Charlie Murder, Final Exam splits up the action with a couple unique diversions. One section has you driving a car, quickly jumping between four different guns to clear the path to safety. Another section turns the game into a 2D shooter, complete with its own large boss to deal with. These diversions are fun at first, but quickly overstay their welcome. Sound familiar?
From a visual standpoint, there are moments when Final Exam really shines. The various boss fights are especially impressive, as is a stage where fought entirely on a speeding train. On the other hand, many of the areas look dark and bland. Neither the haunted house nor the carnival are as brightly detailed as you would expect. Regardless of whether it has to do with budget or art style, this wasn't a world I wasn't to live in.
Many of the problems I have can be easily overlooked with more players in tow. Final Exam supports both local and online multiplayer, though the in-person sessions only allow two players at once. Although more chaotic, a lot of the repetition goes out the window when socializing in a group. That doesn't mean the developers get a pass for the non-stop fetch quests, but chances are you'll notice them less with a friend around.
While Final Exam has a few cool moments, I can't help but feel like Charlie Murder has already covered a lot of the same ground. By comparison, Mighty Rocket Studio's first game is too restrained and predictable for its own good. In a year with so many great brawlers, Final Exam comes up a little short.
