Kick-Ass: The Game Review

Kick-A*s: The Game was subject to some level of controversy thanks to a 'pre-release' version of the game mysteriously making its way on to the iTunes servers earlier this month. Needless to say, the game was riddled with bugs and various other problems that had a negative impact on its publicity. Faith in the franchise was marginally restored once the game was pulled from iTunes, but with the release of the final version now here, has this faith been duly rewarded?

The short answer is a resounding no. Gameplay for Kick-A*s is most similar to that of a twin-stick shooter, using twin-analogue sticks to control movement and firing direction for your weapon. And yes, this means everyone is kitted out with a weapon of some variety from the outset of the game, with the melee button acting as a limited use 'super weapon' to use in case you get surrounded, which is surprisingly often thanks to the uninspired AI that manages to spawn before your eyes out of thin air in closed rooms.

The 3D artwork is half complete, with decent shading and texturing on some objects mixed in with horribly mangled models and blurry textures, making the whole thing feel messy.

On the surface of the game's re-release, many fixes have been implemented to ensure that the game is playable and visually complete. Sadly the underlying problem of poor gameplay, half realized art design and some truly game breaking moments kill any sense of momentum and make this a hard game to recommend.