RPM: Road Punk Mayhem is a vertical shooter that doesn’t hold your hand, never shows mercy, and forces players to get good. The learning curve and difficulty factor are steep, but you’ll love every second of it while asking for more.
Built around a hard rocking post-apocalyptic visual theme, RPM never takes its foot off the gas. With dozens of on-screen enemies and projectiles always trying to kill you, each run is cranked to 11. Also, if the enemies don’t kill you (which they most definitely will), the soundtrack complete with screenshake will. The metal soundtrack is quality and kicks as much ass as the death counter.
There are a couple gimmicks that separate this vertical shmup from others. First, the game doesn’t fill the entire screen; it just uses about a 1/3 lane that carries through the center. Ideally played with a tate mode compatible monitor, the small space makes small movements even more critical.
The other gimmick comes from its shooting and teleport system, two imperative features that the player must master but the game never instructs. If the fire button is held, firepower is increased but at the cost of movement speed. However, after experimenting with the controls, which are not adjustable, I realized there are two shoot buttons. One is the more powerful attack but with slower movement while the other rapidly shoots the standard shots but at full speed (so you do not need to tirelessly button mash your way through each stage). There is no controller map screen so the player needs to figure out what each button does with plenty of trial and error, which is much more tedious and rage inducing than it should be.
Even more important than the shooting options is the teleporting system. Gradually refilling overtime, the player can tap B to enter a slow-down mode. Here, a circular perimeter surrounds the player’s vehicle and can move to any location within this area before the slow down timer depletes. The only way to survive is to master this ability, but again, without any tutorial to teach the player. For example, in the first stage, a spiked non-destroyable wall moves from the top of the screen to the bottom. The only way to avoid damage is to build the teleport meter, activate it when the vehicle is about to take damage, and teleport to the other side before the 2 second timer expires. So not only does the player need to monitor fire power and speed but also the teleport meter needs to be maintained and timed appropriately.
RPM is a bullet hell through and through. At times, there will be more enemies and laser blasts filling the screen than anything else. Often, survival comes down to moving within millimeters between bullets. Bosses are also difficult acts of attrition as they all require a tremendous amount of firepower to defeat. Meaning, this isn’t a pick-up-and-play type of shooter. With 3 lives and limited continues, expect to get smoked well before you see the first stage boss the first time you play. During your second attempt, maybe you will make it to the boss, but if you do, you’ll die during that battle. Perhaps you can defeat the level 1 boss after a few attempts as you start to memorize some patterns and learn how to teleport. Point being, this is one of those games that demands perfection to succeed and the only way to do this through practice. The online leaderboard also ensures competition remains fierce, especially with the comboing score system in place.
RPM: Road Punk Mayhem is a solid shooter, but it is one that isn’t for everyone. The demanding and confusing learning curve might cause some players to rage quit before the going gets good. A tutorial or simple control map could have alleviated a lot of my growing pains but glad I decided to stick with it. Also, the $7 price point is at that sweet spot where curious fans shouldn’t hesitate to try it for themselves.
SCORE: 7.5/10
Also Try: Z-Warp
Reminds Me Of: Dead End City
Don’t Forget About: Feeble Light
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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