The 88 crazy
The plot is so much a pretext as well as a certainty: it’s 8:08 on August 8, 1988, and the wicked Dr. H8 has decided to destroy the planet. Unless, of course, it does not cost 88 bucks within 88 minutes. Otherwise, the evil tyrant will launch 88 nuclear
weapons in the direction of Earth. Fortunately, 88 intrepid heroes, in just 88 minutes, will be called to save the planet from the threat that comes to an end. And here we are going to play: a countdown to the apocalypse and only 88 seconds to get to the exit level as we will have a real “tower” to climb up to the inevitable final clash with
the cyclists dictator space. And this time, as is often the case with such products, we will not be able to decide which hero to impersonate, as the 88 characters will be granted randomly (of course, they alternate whenever we die with one of them), and each will be endowed of special themed skills. That is to say, no level is equal to the
previous one, nor is it possible to know what will happen before the stage begins. The roguelike element is therefore marked and predominant, although there is a “very” but very serious point to point out in red: Unlike similar titles like The Binding of Isaac, in fact, 88 Heroesare not generated procedurally. This means that the replayability factor is inevitably damaged, since
it will be enough for a first run to clear the overall strike, storing the level design and the various gaming patterns. This is a small but significant defect for the title developed by the Bitmap Bureau guys, as knowing when starting the structure of a particu
lar stage will overwhelm the sensation of discovery and want to study the surrounding environment, as it happens more and more times in first round of play.
The Magnificent 88
Forget a crazy platform that will accompany you by hand: in 88 Heroes you die and often, and only the millimeter precision of a leap and the more careful study of each platform and the skill given to us will allow us to get out of hand at the next stage.
This is because it will simply be touched by an enemy or even lacking a clue to be the victim of the inevitable Game Over and start all over again with a different hero, taken directly from the eighty-eight available.Without considering that we will not find any items or power-ups in the field to support us, except coins that can make a hero come back over the eighty that will make their appearance random (but you will still have to accumulate a nice groom be
fore you can resuscitate someone).
At 88 Heroes mechanics it’s so easy to assimilate to be almost anachronistic: for special skills everything is entrusted to a single button, in addition to the obvious chance of making a jump. There is nothing else in the control system
that needs to be assimilated before launching into the main adventure, unless we are immediately aware of the incredible amount of playable characters present, each of which is different in appearance and power. And it goes if the protagonists of 88 Heroesare a culmination behind the other of the pop culture of the last thirty years, which will surely bring the joy of
all those who grew up at the end of the last century: from the empire of Conan the Barbaro, going for the parody of singer Rick Astley ( remember the famous song “Never Gonna Give You Up”?), continuing with ninja warriors, magic unicorns, basketball players and a lot more. And it should be said that some heroes will have greater chances of overcoming the various levels of play strictly set in 2D, since more than once the player can (and will) fully exploit the characters’ abilities, double jump, break a barrier or teleport from one point to another on the screen.
