Digimon All Star Rumble Review

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Fans of the Digimon series have been waiting for a new title to appear for what seems like years now, and finally Bandai Namco have answered the call in the form of Digimon All Star Rumble which was released exclusively in the West on PS3 and Xbox 360. For myself I could not really tell you what the Digimon series is all about but when you have two young boys, you find yourself sitting through a lot of these types of programs. In fact at the moment the Digimon series is quite big with them as they watch episode after episode thanks to the availability of streaming apps such as Netflix and Amazon. The game puts its story mode front and centre for you to delve into, with a choice of 12 available Digimon for you to enjoy. Each character is on the lookout to find other Digimon to battle. This even for my kids was a bit of a let down due mainly to the fact it has no voice acting throughout, and if you are a kid trying to read everything on screen can be difficult. Each level involves you awkwardly trying to traverse the small and somewhat badly constructed environments. If I am to be honest even my two boys got frustrated with this, and for them to not like playing as one of their favourite T.V characters was a bit of a shock. Throughout the story mode the design and plot for each character changes little, delivering a very repetitive experience for each Digimon. I for one would definitely have appreciated more ingenuity when it came to this major element of the game.Â

All of these stories end up in a boss battle as you would imagine, and it is here that you get into what Digimon All Star Rumble is all about, the combat. The combat could be likened to Super Smash Bros but with less depth. Fighting in the arena style levels and winning is more down to mashing the buttons than any real kind of deliberate moves. You can string together combos but they do seem to be very hit and miss, and you will find yourself getting quite frustrated and to be honest bored of the pot luck style of fighting it tends to deliver. However the kids absolutely adored this simplistic approach to combat and happily sat there for hours kicking the crud out of one another in local play. The real motivation to keep you going and playing each of the characters stories are the Digimon themselves. As you beat each one they are added to your roster and become available for you to use further down the line. This became a massive deal to the boys who wanted more and more Digimon to battle with and honestly brought you back into the game more and more. Adding these Digimon to your collection brings the game up from downright boring to something that draws you in without even realising it. It becomes fun to try and build up that roster and discover a character you really enjoy battling with. Getting over the story mode you can just leap into other modes available such as Battle mode which will bring you straight into Digimon All Star Rumble’s action.

As with all of these types of characters they have a special metre for you to Digivolve into their other form which is much bigger and more powerful, and watching the other players in the arena run from you can be quite funny, but that stops when you are on the receiving end of things. They do throw in different objectives in battles just to try and make things interesting that can range from how many KO’s you achieve to overall damage points, these are usually tied into a time limit so it brings on a definite scramble to create havoc as quickly as possible. With the many range and melee attacks you can do to your opponents it does have some appeal, but adding in the 3D levels and the somewhat slap dash controls you will find yourself punching into fresh air a lot. I can’t help but feel that Digimon All Star Rumble is a rushed out after thought of a title that lacks any real kind of depth or quality. Acquiring the various Digi cards and characters kept the kids occupied but for any kind of fan of the series that may be a little older this will end up leaving a sour taste in their mouths. Digimon All Star Rumble would definitely have more appeal if it had any kind of online modes. A game featuring an arena style battle mode definitely needs to have online play to be enjoyable, or you may find yourself sitting on your own playing this or texting your mates to come round and play.Â

Digimon All Star Rumble screams low budget from the start and it definitely delivers it on all fronts, it was and is something the kids are enjoying as they can play together, plus it keeps the blood off the walls. For fans of the Digimon series of games this may be a bit of a slap in the face, and will probably only appeal to the die hard population. If you have young kids that are into Digimon I would definitely recommend it, it’s simplistic enough for them to get hours of play from it and they really do enjoy the characters. Sadly for anyone else I would definitely try before you buy on this one, or you may find yourself trading it in the next day for half the price.

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