Slam Bolt Scrappers is the inaugural game from the developers at Fire Hose Games. This being their first game ever to hit the PlayStation Network, I figured a thorough review of the game was needed.

tutorials are here to teach you the game.

Single Player Campaign:

Slam Bolt Scrappers is a scrappy little game from a big minded developer. It is shown through the single player campaign and game play that they developed. This game will remind you a little bit of Tetris with a mixture of an action brawler built in. The game features a few different modes at the main menu. It features a tutorial on how to play, campaign, and battle mode for you versus other players. I have to say that this game was a lot more fun than I gave it credit at first. When I first played it at Pax East I thought that this game had potential.

I have to say though, when I was able to play the full version of the game, this game’s potential was fully reached. There are two different ways that this game can be played. You can either play the campaign by yourself or you can play it cooperatively with 3 other players, which allows you to have 4 players at one time. This actually might help you beat the game as it gets more difficult on higher difficulty settings. As you advance through the campaign, levels will unlock different areas and get harder.

If you think that this game is easy and doesn’t require any skill, than you are wrong. You will have to think on your feet if you want to win at this game. There’s so much going on at one time that if you don’t pay attention you can lose the match at any given time. After you beat a certain amount of levels, you will fight a boss. Bosses require you to search for a weak point as a way to exploit your opportunity and take advantage.

World Map

Gameplay:

The controls in this game are very simple to get used to. There are no tricks here, no mistakes, just pure clean fun. Your character can punch and kick your opponent. Pressing the square and X button can initiate a devastating combo that can deal a good amount of damage.

There are several different types of monsters in the game, along with different types of power ups and blocks that you can get. The types of power ups that you can get will vary. Power ups may allow you to steal enemies blocks for your own grid or it may give you a shield or double attack damage to fend off your enemies. There are several different power ups that you can get and getting them can shift the tide of the match.

you can select 4 characters and unlock the last two

Graphics:

This is not a disc based game, but for not being a disc based game these graphics are pretty easy on the eye. Its funny, for some reason this game has some characters that remind me of Bob the builder. (:-) Yes we can!) The game has a sort of cartoon environment and has the looks to show you that. The game also features some boss battles which were a surprise to me. Bosses are fought on a grand scale and are also very detailed.

In order for you to defeat some of the bosses it will require a bit of strategy. Certain bosses will help a weak spot that when you attack it, makes the boss vulnerable to the blocks you have prepared to attack it with. There is also one level that I though was very cool from a design aspect. You must fight and build your way up a tower and as you reach the top, a boss battle will ensue. In the course of the fight you will fight with the boss down the tower all the while destroying his weak spot and building power blocks. You have to be quick however as things may get pretty hectic very quickly

Health Benefits:

This game IMO has very important health benefit. This game causes you to think cognitive and quickly. You must be able to problem solve at a quick and efficient rate. You have to compute things and figure out where blocks go and how you can outsmart your opponent. This game requires you to think very smartly and I found this to be very beneficially to others that I believe would enjoy the game. There are not many games that subliminally do something like this so well.

The way that the Developers created the game, have encouraged a by-product of what I call intellectual mastery. Its not so often that I can play a game that can encourage such a psychological benefit within an individual. To show you an example of what I’m talking about here’s a video of me playing the final boss in the game.

Spoiler Alert Final Boss

Pros:

• The game is fun and will make you think a lot about what you are doing.
• Playing with another player or with a few others in co-op campaign or in battle mode makes for very heated battles.
• There is some replay value here in regards to trophies and trying to outdo your previous score and time on other levels. You can also play with others and make record setting times with them so that should be fun!

Cons:

• I wish there was an online component because I know there a lot of my friends across the globe that would love to play me in this game. The lack of an online component leaves you wanting more after you finish playing the game and that is not usually bad. If you can get others to play with you that is where the meat of this game will get interesting.
• As you move on into later stages and harder difficulties, it almost becomes impossible to beat levels if you don’t have another player, playing alongside you. This is not because the game is hard physically, but because there are times that so much is happening on screen that four eyes are better than two.
• I felt as though the combat in the game was kind of repetitive at times. Pressing square and X over and over gets tedious and causes the game to feel more like a job. Sure you can block by pressing L1 but, you will rarely need to do so.

Final Thoughts:

Slam Bolt Scrappers is a Delightful Game! I know I will be replaying this game in battle mode to lay the smack down on all my friends when I get a chance. It’s a sleeper hit on the PlayStation Network and if you haven’t picked it up yet, than you are missing out. I was surprised when I first played it and I was rightfully so to feel that way. This is a game that you can sit down with a couple of friends and duke it out all the while having a couple of laughs and giggles along the way. If you don’t believe me than go ahead and try out the demo on the PlayStation Network I can guarantee you that you will be surprised.

Final Score: This game gets an 8 out of 10

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