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The Club

Third-Person-Shooter
Releases: 02.19.08
Bizarre Creations
Sega
ESRB: Mature

The Club

Old-school arcade gaming doesn’t quite make the leap.

by Sarah Schutz

Nostalgia seems to be the trend these days: revisiting classic gaming genres with a next generation twist. The Club reminds us of the good old arcade gaming days, blasting through levels and racking up combos. It’s simplistic gameplay is rather refreshing amidst a sea of overcomplicated multiplayer games, yet in the end isn’t enough to command much of your valued gameplay time nor your precious gaming-dedicated dollars.

The Club of the self-titled game is a group of uber-wealthy men who have nothing better to do, so engage in tournament-style bloodbaths to get their thrills. The single player tournament takes place at different locations, each offering multiple events with various gameplay goals. You choose to play as one of the tournament’s competitors, each supposedly with different fighting strengths, yet all suspiciously similar. Gameplay events include time trial, survival mode and sprint levels among a few others, but all share the same ultimate goal of racking up as many points as possible. Points are accumulated by completing stylish, skilled and consecutive kills as quickly as possible. Your score multiplier throughout the events increases as you complete more kills before the multiplier time runs out. Shooting down skulls throughout each level gives you a bit of breathing room to keep your multiplier up as well as chock up a few more points.

Initially I had my eyes set on the multiplayer for this game, hoping to engage in some old-school splitscreen and shake up my online gaming a bit. With online gaming currently being monopolized by a few extremely well polished games, it’s touch to compare. The Club lacks the precision gameplay and effective weapons of its peer, so fails to measure up. While it offers a diversion from the mainstays, it won’t stay in your console for long.

While the game overall left me with a general “meh” feeling, I also found myself giving each event another go just to beat my previous score. Chocking up multipliers and seeking out the skulls at breakneck speeds is a fun change of pace from the more strategic, slightly slower-paced games usually stocked on my shelves. Picking up the game for some fast 2-minute levels offers a fun break from the norm with little commitment. Committing to a $60 price tag for a mediocre, lackluster game offering little extended replay value is a whole other story.

Quick, satisfying old-school single player events

Mediocre multiplayer.

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