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| Reviewer | Platform | Publisher | Developer | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Bailey | Xbox 360 | SEGA of Europe | Bizarre Creations | 1-4 (Split screen), 2-8 (System Link, Xbox Live) |
| Requirements | Also on... | Buy from Amazon.co.uk | ||
| 256KB HDD/MU space to save, Xbox Live Gold subscription for online play | PS3, PC | Click here to buy The Club. | ||
The Club can divide opinions quite quickly. Upon receiving the Bizarre Creations title I took it to a bunch of gamers I regularly meet up with to see what they thought of it. They certainly appreciated the four player split-screen play which allowed us to try out something other than Halo 3 without excluding people (we'd certainly play more of Bizarre's own PGR4 if 4 of us could race at once), though some were less than impressed with the game. They didn't like the shooting mechanics, they thought it was clumsy, and the multiplayer action just wasn't playing out right. One even went to the extent of telling me never to bring the game again. However, it was when I was playing alone later that I realised that you couldn't treat The Club like any other third-person shooter; you had to treat it like a racing game.
It seems an appropriate enough statement considering Bizarre's long history in the racing genre, with Metropolitan Street Racer, F1 games for Sony, and of course, the PGR series. Though the company does have experience in the third-person shooter genre with Fur Fighters from seven years back, it's drawn more on those driving techniques in The Club. The object of the game isn't to complete some intricate story-driven campaign, or even take part in some multiplayer tournament in any conventional sense. Instead the action is score-driven, with points for style of kills, multipliers racking up, and often, speed matters. Each of the game's arenas can be treated like a city in PGR, with each level as a track that needs to be mastered. In single player you normally have seven computer-controlled opponents who have already racked up their scores, giving you targets to beat when the score is totalled up at the end of the level. On top of the basic points for kills are the multipliers you build up for fragging in quick succession, with a counter that ticks down that multiplier if you don't kill again quick enough. Thus you always need to be on your toes, looking for the next hit, employing the run button Gears of War-style to reach the next area of foes, or making use of the skullshots (targets scattered throughout levels) to keep the combo up. Bonus points are also awarded for certain actions before making a kill, such as breaking through a barrier.
That's the basics of The Club, but the variety comes in the gametypes offered across the levels. In the game's main mode, the Tournament, you experience a number of gametypes, from the basic 'get as many points as you can as you head to the exit' variety, to the survival mode where you not only need to rack up a high score, but also need to remain alive until the end of the level. The Tournament itself proceeds as you might expect, with points given at the end of each level depending on how you did compared to the rest of your competitors. Outside of the Tournament mode you have the ability to take on any of these levels individually in order to rack up a new high score and, as is normal for Bizarre Creations, each one of these levels at each difficulty has its own online leaderboard. This is backed up by "Gunplay", a mode where you get to set up your own tournaments, by choosing the gametype, then an unlocked level, the default weapon, and difficulty. If you're playing alone, then each level carries a target score that you need to achieve, instead of competing with computer-controlled characters, and the whole set list carries a total you're aiming for. If you're playing with others, then you're all competing for the highest score at the end of the gunplay selection.
There's also a separate dedicated multiplayer mode, featuring support for up to 8 players on their own consoles with either Xbox Live or System Link, or for up to 4 players locally via split-screen. The inclusion of such a split-screen option is very welcome when getting any local multiplayer action at all is becoming difficult on either the 360 or the PS3, in particular with four players. No matter which of the three options you choose, you'll get a range of different gametypes; aside from Kill Match, which is your standard deathmatch, there's also some more exciting modes like Team Siege, where you're either attacking a region or defending it, with the attackers fighting until all the defenders have died. There's also Hunted Killer where the first person to make a kill after the game begins becomes the Hunted, and will earn points until they are killed themselves. All in all it's a fun and interesting selection, and has proved enjoyable - and generally lag free – over Xbox Live.
From your first play it's easy to see why this gameplay is dividing opinion in the gaming community. Those coming from the likes of Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 will be taken aback by the movement mechanics and slightly underwhelming weapons, while those expecting something more akin to Gears of War (also a third-person shooter) will be shocked by the extremely quick pace and total lack of hiding behind objects for cover. While most games in the shooting/action genre are now either playing out slow duck-and-cover-style gameplay or co-op-orientated stories, The Club is refreshingly different in ignoring all of that and instead delivers thrills for those who enjoy gaining high scores. The mechanics feel cumbersome at first, but eventually they will suck you in. This is something you especially realise when you stop playing and I often found myself wanting to run from place to place in the house to avoid my combo dropping, or being concerned if I wasn't doing something quick enough to avoid running out of time. The need to keep your wits about you and best make use of your time (and in particular, avoid making mistakes at all costs) is simply too much for many who play this genre, and it's a shame, because The Club has so much fun to offer if you want it.
The Club's biggest problem is how it looks. Put simply the game doesn't look that much fun, and it's only when you take control and get hooked on the action that you realise how good it is. The main reason for this problem is the odd decision to feature gritty and realistic graphics in a game about a rather ludicrous concept that would never be able to take place (at least on this scale) in the real world. If you're abandoning realistic gameplay, then why use visuals which suggest otherwise and generally provide the wrong in impression to CoD4 veterans picking up the game. It's doing the game a great disservice, and it's a pity Bizarre Creations didn't pursue something more akin to Team Fortress 2s distinct design?. The slightly bland characters also doesn't help; while they all feature different abilities, and aim for a range of personalities, they're simply not interesting enough. Every character fits into the 'hard as nails and ready to kill people' stereotype; a madcap scientist or femme fatale wouldn't have gone amiss. Despite the odd choice of graphical style, the visuals do look good, with plenty of detail in the surroundings, and some nicely modelled characters. However, you'll be rushing by it all at such a pace, that it probably wouldn't matter if they weren't.
There are a couple of other faults with The Club. One of these is that you can't restart a level unless you do so before you complete it. If you're playing in a tournament, when you get to the end of a match and discover that your 1.5 million score only earned you seventh place, you can't do anything about it and must proceed to the next level. If you're in the middle of the action, however, you can pause and restart up to five times, so I can see no reason why Bizarre Creations decided that as soon as the match is over you can no longer restart. This is combined with another, albeit minor, issue; the fact that you have no scores to compare to while you're in the action. In a racing game you might have immediate competitors to compare to, or lap/split times if you're driving alone, but here you must view the scores before you fight and remember some values in order to know what you have to aim for. A quick mention of the high score, or possibly even the top 3, would have certainly improved things. However, each of these are relatively minor issues and shouldn't detract the fun that The Club offers at its core.
| Overall | The Club is a game that's misunderstood. Many approach it in the wrong way and dismiss it, but for those who don't expect it to be the next Call of Duty, then there's a treat in-store. It has been a while since aiming for high scores were this fun. | 8/10 |
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