In typical Ska Studios' bloody fashion, I ripped out throats, clawed faces and used the gatling gun mounted to my arm to shred up enemies. It's easy to engage multiple targets and move between them. The bottom line is that gamers will see much more fluid, expressive animations, better networking, deeper worlds, and more dynamic combat."Īnd the combat feels good.
"I've had miles of experience since then, both in terms of how to better structure my code and how to make the end result look and feel a lot better.
The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile stars a new protagonist, adds a bevvy of new challenges and, perhaps most importantly, runs on a brand-new engine.%Gallery-86333% "Dishwasher 1 was the second project I made in XNA, back when I was clearly in the 'hobbyist' realm and more or less planted in the 'hobbyist without a clue' subcategory," James Silva, creator and head of Ska Studios said. But now there's a sequel coming next year and, with it, higher hopes. While the challenge and dark subject matter could be a turn-off for some, most players will find a deep and rewarding action title that is more than worth a download.The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai was a smash hit on Xbox Live Arcade and rightfully so. The grim style is accompanied by some of the tightest 2D action around. Its sequel ups the ante in almost every way. The first Dishwasher game was one of the most action-packed, fast-paced games available on Xbox Live. There’s even a practice room to get down your combos.
An arcade mode of arena fights are a chance to compete on the leaderboards, while challenges like speed run options offer even more replay. Multiple difficulty settings challenge you to go back through and fight even harder. While the lengthy single player and co-op campaigns offer plenty to sink your teeth into, the game also includes a number of extras for players looking to extend the experience. Finally, the dark art style has been refined and chiseled down.
Some simple upgrade mechanics offer a better sense of progression over the course of the game. The learning curve has a more reasonable arc and the difficulty is fairer than in the last game, in which cheap deaths sometimes came out of left field. Bosses are bigger and more varied, and individual battles are better paced. Several small but important additions help Vampire Smile stand above its predecessor. The controls are responsive and flexible, assuring awesome actions and combos without any overly complicated button entries. The grisly and stylized kill animations are graphic and satisfying, perfectly matching the violent power your character's every motion exudes. Precision and smart target choices are essential, since clearing the most dangerous enemies first is often the only way to squeeze through the hardest conflicts. Thanks to the same teleporting power that made the first game so exciting, you pop around the entire screen at absurd speeds, hacking and slashing everywhere you appear. Every fight is life-threatening, with enemies that will happily tear you apart if you stand still for more than a moment. In those combat situations, the game rockets ahead like a bat out of hell. That’s okay, because the game is at its best when it gets you right back into the fighting as quickly as possible. Level design is pretty simplistic – mostly a sequence of similar dimly lit hallways that connect larger arena-like rooms where the battles take place. Like last time, the story is a little too out there to make a whole lot of sense, but in a cool twist, the plot changes depending on which character you play through the game or if you play through cooperatively. There’s more to the relationship and the wider story, but I don’t want to spoil anything. This time, the titular Dishwasher is joined by the Prisoner, a girl who escapes an orbital prison to wreak havoc across the surface of the moon. Vampire Smile continues the strange storyline begun in the last game. And that’s exactly what the second Dishwasher game delivers. When your main character is a combination vampire/ninja with blood-fueled delusional fantasies and a vendetta, you’ve got an ideal set-up for some crazy action. If you want fast, brutal, stylish violence out of your next game, you’d be hard pressed to find a better candidate than Vampire Smile.