DPrime Review – G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Game: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Developer: Double Helix
Publisher:  Electronic Arts
Platform: PS3, XBox 360
Website: http://gijoe.ea.com

     In 1983, I was an impressionable 5 year old boy, and thanks to the glowing box that taught me that today was brought to you by the letter M and the number 13, I was about to enter a whole new world.  The cartoon for G.I. Joe debuted this year with a large hasbro toy tie-in that would shape my life for years to come.  Countless video games came out for the series as well, and the only one what was remotely half-way decent and in the homespace was one for … I think the Commodore 64 (there had been a couple decent arcade titles if memory serves)  Until now.

     Stripping away the fact that this game is loosely tied in with the recently released live-action movie of the same title, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is essentially the video game we all wish we got to play when we were kids and wanted to shoot lasers at cobra and save the day alongside Duke, Flint, and all the rest.

     This game, for lack of a better term, is a buddy-shooter.  You and a buddy (or just yourself and an AI-controlled assistant) take on Cobra through several levels of “pew-pew!”, over the course of the game unlocking more Joes, concept art, and some old-school PSAs.  Porkchop Sandwiches! You also get to unlock playable cobra characters as well.

     Opening up the box and popping into my console I was almost immediately disappointed, In the first level Duke and Scarlett weren’t moving fluidly, you almost have to force them across the screen, accessing doors was a huge pain, and I really thought at one point that my level would not end.  Frustrated, I stopped playing that night.  Doing a spot of research on the net, not everyone, but others have experienced this level-1 issue, which was disappointing to read, as I have come to expect glitches like this to be a thing of the past once a title has shipped.

     I returned to the game a day later and it was a world of difference, fast moving Joes, beautiful graphics and lasers and explosions (not to be confused with BAYSPLOSIONS!!!) all over the screen, THIS was fun.

     Early in the game it’s just Duke & Scarlett, but you soon can unlock others like Heavy Duty and Snake Eyes each with their own special attacks, etc.  Some Joes can only open certain types of doors, but the game remedies that with these strange “teleportation chambers” you discover that allow you to swap Joes on the fly.  Shortly after this, you encounter the ability to drive your first vehicle, this also gave me the warm and fuzzies, harking back to a simpler time.

     The game does utilize the “super suits” that appear in the live-action movie, a press of a button turns you into super soldiers for a brief time, allowing you turn the tables on an otherwise impossible situation, aside from that there really isn’t anything that strays from the original concept of the comics and cartoons and all the things that we came to love about G.I. Joe to begin with.

     The story seems kind of simplistic, “there’s strange activity at these bases and it ends up being this terrorist group called Cobra and oh hey look they have a plot to take over the world, stop em Joe’s!”, but it works.

Plus, YO JOE, PEW PEW!

     Ok, all reminiscing and fanboying aside, the graphics are pretty decent the sounds and music fit the game perfectly, and the play is easy to pick up and go.  It’s a lot of fun to shoot and blow shit up quite frankly.  That all being said, the game has 2 primary flaws and is missing something. 1)It’s easy, the challenge curve never really gets past “OMG JOES PEW-PEW!”, and 2)It’s DAMN repetitive.  Take two Joes, run through <insert terrain here>, shoot bad guys until there are no bad guys left to shoot, repeat.  Also, while your AI counterpart isn’t at all a hinderance, it’s a LOT more fun to play this game with a friend than it is alone.  I also can’t for the life of me understand why they didn’t give this an online component.  Can you imagine?  Joes vs Cobra online?  How sweet would that be?  I guess we have to wait for the sequel, if there is one.

What I liked:

- The concept:  A real mindlessly fun G.I. Joe shoot-em-up.

- Graphics & Sound:  Is this the cartoon Joes you loved before?  For the most part yes, they’re just a little more grown up, but then, so are you (probably).

- The mindless fun:  Have I mentioned Yo Joe!  PEW-PEW!?

What I didn’t Like:

- The story: With ALL the Joe lore gone by, they could’ve done something more with this.

- Fighting Storm Shadow 3 times when there’s so many other Cobra agents the game could’ve brought on us…meh.

- The game doesn’t get any tougher than it was from level 1 on.  More enemies sure, but no real strategy needed.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 7.6 out of 10

VERDICT: So, flat out, is this worth the money to go pick up and buy?  As a fun shoot-em-up with a friend on a weekend?  You bet.  If you’re looking for a more in-depth story or something far more challenging, maybe not. Rent it first, if you like it, buy it.