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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review (X360)

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review (X360)EA
A lot of people seem to forget that stupid, mindless fun is still fun even if it isn’t fresh or new or innovative. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, is one of those sort of games. Calling it a good game is a definite overstatement, but there is something about the simple 3D Contra-inspired gameplay that is enjoyable in spite of a laundry list of gameplay and presentation problems. You don’t need to buy it, but you can do worse with a rental than G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Game Details

  • Publisher: EA
  • Developer: Double Helix
  • Also On: PS3
  • ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
  • Genre: Action
  • Pros: Mindless stupid fun; Accelerator Suit power-up; co-op
  • Cons: Awful camera; awful vehicle controls; repetitive gameplay; bland presentation

I guess I should come clean and admit I have never been a big fan of G.I. Joe. I’m a male who grew up in the 80’s, so I’m definitely the right demographic, but I was more interested in Transformers and LEGO and going outside and playing soccer. With that said, I found that The Rise of Cobra was pretty easy to get into despite my not being terribly attached to any of the source material and I can just imagine how giddy longtime fans of the series will be when they see their favorite characters. Likewise, while the game exists in the new movie universe, the storyline in the game is borrowed from the old cartoon series, which will make fans happy.

The campaign takes 4-6 hours to play through, and will last longer if you try to squeeze a few extra Achievements out of it. There is no Xbox Live play, but you can play local co-op, which can be a heck of a lot of fun. Things get kind of hectic since there are two players on one screen and you really have to work together to move around the game world (if one player gets too far away from the other they hit an invisible wall), but if you work together it can be pretty fun.

Gameplay

EA
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Contra plays pretty much like a 3-D version of Contra or Metal Slug. It is a straightforward, arcadey shooter where your only real objective is just to shoot everything that stands in your way. The game uses auto-targeting, so mostly you’re just moving through the levels with the fire button held down and you just mow through everyone. As you play you earn special weapons and a really nifty power-up that fits you in the Accelerator Suits from the movie that give you crazy speed and firepower (and an awesomely cheesy theme song plays whenever you use it). The core of the game is easy and simple and stupid, but there is something fun about it. It definitely gets repetitive by the end, though.

There are a couple more problems than just being repetitive and simple. You have zero camera control, and a lot of the time the camera simply isn’t looking where you want it to. Luckily the auto-aim targets enemies off of the screen, so you aren’t ever really in danger, but some sort of camera control would have improved the game greatly. Secondly, there are occasional vehicle sections but they control completely terribly. You accelerate and steer with the left stick, so the controls are wonky to begin with, but combine that with the bad camera and the problems are magnified. Lastly, the difficulty is pretty screwy here. Easy mode is too easy since you literally can never die (you just get a few points docked from your score) but the higher difficulties are too hard and not fun at all. You’re always either bored or frustrated.

Graphics and Sound

The presentation is another weak area of The Rise of Cobra. The environments are blocky and ugly and lack detail, and while the Joes look okay, the handful of enemy types all look the same all of the characters share the same stiff animation. It looks more like an OG Xbox game than a 360 game. And that is a bad thing.

The sound is similarly lackluster. The voice acting sounds phoned in and bored, including from the handful of actors from the movie that also did the game. There are a few choice musical themes, but for the most part it is pretty generic.

One nice extra in the presentation is the unlockable character bios and a few PSAs from the old cartoon.

Bottom Line

EA
All in all, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a pretty poor game all around. It looks and sounds like a last-gen game and just plain isn’t worth the $50 asking price. With that said, it is still kind of entertaining thanks to the simple, old school gameplay. It is a classic high-score based shooter at its core and it can be fun if you treat it as such. If they called it “Metal Slug” instead of “G.I. Joe” I honestly don’t think it would have taken nearly the beating it has in other reviews. Don’t misunderstand my positive tone, it isn’t a good game, but for some simple stupid fun with a friend and some easy Achievements, the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra videogame is worth a rental.

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