Rumble Roses XX Review (X360)

Issues

That all sounds well and good, but there are serious, serious problems with it all. First up, earning a championship match requires you to beat all 9 default opponents at least once, win at least 15 matches total, and have a 3 match winning streak before you can get a title shot. Meeting all of those requirements is a long and boring and tedious process because there is no way to tell your progress, there is no storyline or dialogue or other interaction between characters, and along the way you’ll be forced into tag team, triple threat, and fatal 4 way matches that don’t even count towards your title progress.

The second major problem is that unlocking new stuff is way too hard. To unlock a character you have to first win the title (about 20 matches), then you have to choose another character and beat your first one (another 20 matches) then you have a Reward Match where you’ll be able to unlock a new character. To unlock new costumes you have to play through dozens of matches with each character to open them all. If the gameplay was better this wouldn’t be a problem, but it flat out isn’t good enough to warrant playing the 1000 or so matches it takes to unlock everything.

Multiplayer

The reason why the unlock system is such a problem is because Rumble Roses XX could have been a fantastic multiplayer game. Playing the game by yourself and watching the sexy ladies slinking around is sort of creepy and sad, but with some friends around the game is a blast. The more characters and costumes you have unlocked just makes it all even more fun, but because of the horrible unlock system you’ll be tired of this game long before you have seen it all which is a shame because the scenery is actually quite good.

The girls and their different costumes are clearly the star attraction in Rumble Roses XX so it just boggles my mind why they would make it so hard to unlock stuff. The gameplay isn’t the focus here, it is the girls (and if you have a problem with that you clearly aren’t the intended audience).

As it stands, the multiplayer aspect is only average. The more you have unlocked, the better it is, but it is all far too much work in order to earn something you can get on the internet for free. Online play is smooth and can be fun, but you’ll tire of it quickly since the gameplay isn’t too deep.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Rumble Roses XX is a good looking game. The character models look great and the little details, such as Reiko’s mole, make all of the difference here. As you play in matches and use certain moves, your character’s muscles actually change during the match and it is pretty crazy to actually be able to see them hulking out. I do have some comments about the graphics. First off, the ladies in DOA4 and even DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball on Xbox are better looking. Secondly, the blurry “soap opera” filter on the screen that softens everything is pretty annoying and none too subtle. My third complaint is to ask what is up with the creepy eyes?

The sound is pretty good overall. Not much to really talk about. Just decent music and sound effects here.

Bottom Line

Overall, Rumble Roses XX is a game that can be a lot of fun but there are a lot of little annoyances that all add up to making it a pretty average game. The gameplay is surprisingly good and you’ll find that there are a lot of context sensitive moves to discover, but after a couple of hours it definitely starts to lose its luster. Also, the single player game is bland and repetitive and the unlock system will frustrate you to no end. I actually had my contact at Konami send me a guide for all of the unlocks and I’m still frustrated by it all and I know exactly what I should do! At $60, this game just isn’t worth the trouble because there are a lot of great Xbox 360 games hitting the shelves. Rent it first but wait for a price drop before you decide to buy.