ABRACA – Imagic Games PC Review by BoxCatHero of We Touch Games
Genre: Action
Developer: Ankama Studio Publisher: Ankama Games
Release Date: Mar 31, 2016
ABRACA – Imagic Games is a new party game from Ankama Studios, who have brought you such games as Dofus, Wakfu, and Krosmaga. ABRACA, at its core, is a local co-op party game. Unfortunately, I could never line up schedules with a friend so we could fully test out two of the three modes, but by using my keyboard and mouse (KBM) as a player 2 dummy, I was able to test out one of the multiplayer modes. I did, however, tweet at the devs to see if they would be adding online multiplayer in the future, but did not get a response by the time of this writing. So maybe we will and maybe we won’t who knows, however, no online mode and one other issue that I will discuss later are my only complaints about the game.
As far as story goes, there really isn’t an overarcing story as much as there is just goofiness and fun. Remember that I stated earlier there are three game modes available, two of which are local co-op? Well the third one, which is Challenge Mode, is the one in which I spent majority of my time and is the only single player mode in the game. It is split into three different sub-modes which are Princess, Prince, and Minion modes respectively. In Princess mode, you take control of a random princess based on the challenge mode level, and in said challenge you have to destroy targets. If you beat it in a within the time limit you are ranked 1-3 crowns. Each level is progressively more difficult and requires you to use each character’s unique playstyle to overcome the obstacles in your way.
With Prince mode its works exactly the same, except instead of hitting targets you are avoiding attacks from minions and trying to get to the goal. Same could be said for Minion mode, except that you take control of the minions and try to hit targets in varying ways, sometimes having to switch at spur of the moment to a different minion to get it done. The other two modes are Race and Arena which are both 2-4 player modes. We will cover Race mode first since it is where I came upon my second issue with the game. With race mode it is split into two parts. The first is the Prince side which they battle it out in an all out race to save their princesses who are locked in a box at the end of the map. The Princess side is a fight to the death in which the winner restores the most health to their prince. Now back to the Prince side for a more in-depth look.
On the Prince side you have to race through several rooms while avoiding attacks from minions. This is where things get interesting with this mode. When it is not currently their turn, the other Princes can take control of a minion to try and stop the Prince whose turn it is. Whoever makes it to the end first, rescues their Princess and wins. That is basically the gist of this game node, but with Arena mode it’s a whole different story. There are 6 sub modes within it; A king of the hill mode where whoever has the crown the longest wins, a last man standing mode, a collect the most items mode, one in which you kill as many other players as you can and take their loot to a drop off at an area without getting killed yourself, a pure deathmatch mode, and the final is random.
Now I mentioned earlier there was only two complaints about the game I had. The first was the fact that there is no online multiplayer mode which makes it difficult to enjoy the game in full if you cannot get others to come over to play with you. The other complaint is that I know for sure in race mode, if one person chooses to use the KBM for the PC you are playing on instead of a controller there is no pop up saying what button to use for the KBM. What does pop up is the buttons to use for a controller.
Let’s move past this now and get into the graphics and audio for the game. The audio is exactly what you would expect for party game. It’s upbeat and promotes a sense of fun in the environment. The graphics are very colorful and cartoony which is what I love about the game. It gives you a sense of the fantastical world that the game take place in. Is the game worth the $14.99 price tag? Absolutely, as long as you are going to have people to play with you regularly and to some extent the challenge mode for yourself. However the challenge mode alone is not enough to carry the game and make it worthwhile for a single player to purchase. The game is still amazingly well packed for what it is.
Pros:
- Unique characters with their own play style
- Plenty of game modes to keep the party going
- Colorful world
Cons
- No online co-op
- No instructions without going into the options for KBM controls
BoxCatHero gives Abraca a Drastik Measure of 8 out of 10 (80)
For Great Justice,
BoxCatHero
The cat with a box that brings Vigilante justice to video games.
