Review for The Hong Kong Massacre. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam, the video game was released on 22/01/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 29/01/2019
Action cinema has changed in recent years and today's "films" see action movies represented as a sort of macabre dance made of murders, which fascinates and leaves amazed as the slaughter of enemies continues, with spatters of blood and dead to effect as a side dish. And not only cinema changes: the world of videogames is also deeply fascinated by this almost artistic movement that sees a lone killer mow down dozens of enemies on the screen as if he were John Wick when they killed his dog. Good, the VRESKI studio has decided to ride this wave e - drawing inspiration from classic action movies such as John Woo's masterpieces and setting the view and action at Hotline Miami with a pinch of bullet time taken from Max Payne - churns out a top-down shooter named The Hong Kong Massacre produced by Untold Tales SA and available for some time for PlayStation 4, PC (via the Steam platform), which now also lands on Nintendo Switch.
Let's see together what it is.
As befits the titles of the genre, even for The Hong Kong Massacre the plot is trivial pretext to continue the adventure and kill all the enemies, stage after stage. As a former police officer, our task will be to make our way to the sound of corpses in the social ladder of the underworld, in order to obtain what is the cornerstone of any self-respecting massacre: revenge for the killing of the our partner.
The Hong Kong Massacre is a walking stereotype so full of clichés that it seems banal, but it doesn't stop working in practice or fascinating; it will be for the nature of the human being, but the brave and brave knight, perhaps a little bad, who kills enemies to avenge his beauty has always affected the collective imagination, although morally there would be two or three little things to review . But in an adrenaline-pumping twin sticker like The Hong Kong Massacre it is certainly not morality that reigns supreme, but lead.
The VRESKI studio, albeit with all the references already mentioned, produces a product that works and that mixes the twin sticker, the shooter and if we want also the tactical videogames. Each level will see the protagonist busy traversing a series of settings instantly mowing down enemies and trying to avoid bullets. Even just one injury will lead us to immediately restart the level. A sort of "die and learn" unfolds before the eyes of the gamer with a level of difficulty calibrated upwards but not frustrating for this. You will have to proceed with care and memorize the positions of the enemies to take them out quickly before they can make you tit-for-tat.
To succeed you will have two important characteristics, without which succeeding in the enterprise becomes a high-level challenge: bullet time and dive. The first slows down time allowing you to aim well with the right stick and the second allows you to dive to avoid bullets. The two features can also be used together, provided of course you have the bullet time bar fully charged.
So each level starts in the same way: with the protagonist who throws himself into danger, faces enemies and is mowed down by someone he hadn't taken into account. At each death, information is acquired on how to proceed and on the positions of the enemy who, probably in order not to make things easy for us, always remains sheltered, barricaded under cover, to peek only when he senses the presence of the player. As the game progresses and therefore the challenge level rises, we will find enemies able to displace us by changing places and trying to catch us from behind or by surprise.
The bosses at the end of the stage, if they can be defined as such, only see as the protagonist a baddie more tough to die, who, helped by low-ranking henchmen, tries to kill us. Unfortunately, however, learning the patterns of these bosses is all too easy and the frustration of death (combined with the desire to unload lead on the victim) quickly gives way to a series of lucid calculations that take into account shelters, routes and fire times , allowing the player to win rather quickly.
As for the arms sector, unfortunately The Hong Kong Massacre is a bit scarce. We only have the possibility to use a pistol, a shotgun, a submachine gun and a real machine gun. However, each of these weapons can be upgraded by spending stars that you can recover at the end of the stage and fulfilling certain requirements that are always the same: do not waste bullets (one shot a center), do not use bullet time and finish the stage within a time limit.
However, this does not worry the player: improving weapons is a waste of time and even choosing one rather than another leaves the time it finds. The only real discriminating factor is the magazine, but if you count that every killed enemy leaves his weapon on the ground, this feature is also of little importance.
The graphics of The Hong Kong Massacre rise to the occasion. In a view from above you can appreciate backdrops that are not too static, with an unreal but convincing perspective of depth, and with lights and shadows in the right place. The physics of explosions is also along the same lines: unreal but convince. Even the color patterns are spot on and reflect the pulp and typically oriental atmospheres. The port for Nintendo Switch (console used for the tests by the editorial staff) then enhances everything by giving a more satisfying and above all immersive feeling.
Although the game is well managed by the hardware of the small Nintendo house, it must still be said that the port has acceptable uploads that do not break the pace of the game too much. We would have appreciated a localization in Spanish (which, however, is negligible given the plot just outlined) and maybe some more and more diversified cutscenes.
The Hong Kong Massacre developed by VRESKI and published by Untold Tales SA has been available for some time for PlayStation 4, PC, Steam, and is now also available on Nintendo Switch. The title has already had its share of success which is now replicated with the port on the small Nintendo house, a console that lends itself well to titles of the genre. Net of a sketchy plot and predictable enemy patterns, The Hong Kong Massacre manages to entertain and engage without ever being too frustrating. Unfortunately, however, he cannot even thrill himself madly by relegating himself to a mere pastime waiting to savor something more succulent.
► The Hong Kong Massacre is a Shooter-indie type game developed by VRESKI and published by Untold Tales SA for PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam, the video game was released on 22/01/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 29/01/2019
