Anarchy Reigns Review: Fantastically Fun Combative Action

Anarchy Reigns Review: Fantastically Fun Combative Action

Anarchy Reigns
Xbox 360
SEGA
Action

Anarchy Reigns starts the new year off with a bash. Developed by PlatinumGames and published by Sega, Anarchy Reigns brings non-stop combative action that we can experience in both a campaign mode and in online multiplayer. Whether you want to play in the multiple online multiplayer modes or enjoy the campaign mode, both are a lot of fun and easily make this game a recommendable choice, especially at its launch price of $29.99.

Anarchy Reigns takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where you will encounter various characters and other creatures on your short journey through the campaign mode. Campaign mode features viewpoints from two different characters of the same story. There is a black side and a white side and no matter which side you choose first, you will end up playing both sides to complete the campaign. As I said, it is very short, but it’s still a lot of fun to play through, especially as you learn the controls and becoming a better close-combat fighter. Each side has 4 stages with 3 main missions and 3 free missions, each providing good replayability as you challenge your score and improve on it. Your score is rated by medals earned and it provides you with a good challenge by perfecting each stage with 6 platinum medals.

Anarchy Reigns – Stage 3 Gameplay Video

Not only does the campaign offer decent replay value by challenging your high score and trying to complete each stage with all platinum medals, but you’ll also be able to challenge yourself with the game’s three different difficulty levels should that interest you. The free missions and main missions are both a lot of fun to play and some of them change up the combat by challenging you in different ways with different victory conditions to complete those missions. Some of those missions turn away from combat and have you driving an enemy vehicle and another mission has you pushing spheres into a goal. You also have missions where you have a massive boss fight or get to try out different weaponry such as a turret. There were a few of those missions in particular that enticed me to go back and play them again, just because I had so much fun playing them in the first place and it had nothing to do with wanting to get a better score or beating it on a higher difficulty. That’s how much fun you can have with the single player campaign, whether you like the story or not.

The storyline in Anarchy Reigns is one that feels thrown in just to give it some kind of meaning. You’re pretty much hunting down one man and have a bunch of obstacles get in your way, aka boss fights and brawls that you must complete to move on. However, who cares how much you like or don’t like the story, the game is a lot of fun to play and it’s worth going through the campaign mode to experience that fun. It’s also necessary to go through the campaign mode so that you can unlock additional items, but most importantly, additional characters for you to use in the online multiplayer arena. So basically, the game does force you to play the campaign mode if you want additional characters to use online, but not for one second does it actually feel as if it is forced upon you.

Anarchy Reigns – Stage 1 Free Mission Gameplay Video

Anarchy Reigns is straight up close-quarters combative madness that you’ll enjoy even when getting your ass kicked in campaign mode or online. If you do happen to take a beating in single player, it doesn’t seem to take you too many tries to do it better on the replay. The controls in the game are easy to learn and fun to master with multiple attacks, power moves, grabbing and of course most importantly, defending. You’ll even come across a few items that you can use to make the game even more enjoyable such as a missile launcher, rifle, and grenade. Also, on the map are objects that you can pick up and throw at enemies. The combat and all these abilities add up to an incredibly enjoyable time, especially when you get online. Also, while playing you’ll sometimes have to deal with other events taking place during your fight, such as jets carpet-bombing your battlefield. Oh, the anarchy…

The online multiplayer is what this game leads up to with multiple modes to enjoy including deathmatch and capture the flag modes. Each mode has different requirements and number of players involved, so you can be playing in a 2v2 match or a massive 16 player free for all. Unfortunately, I’ve had a fairly difficult time coming across lobbies or I would encounter errors, so it’s been a struggle to experience some of the online modes and what they offer, including a 12-16 player battle royale match. But, I have been able to play deathmatch games, both individual and team deathmatch. Clearly with how much fun the game is, these modes are great to play, especially the tag team modes. Having a partner that knows what he is doing can make things easy on you as well.

Anarchy Reigns – Online Gameplay Video

I had one team deathmatch game in which I went up against two level 50 players where my teammate and I were a combined level 5. Now, that never scares me off – it’s all about knowing what you are doing. Well… I thought I knew what I was doing and I didn’t even have time to see if my teammate knew what he was doing because the only thing I was doing was taking a beating. These guys were experts and pretty much blocked everything I threw at them and then I was powerless against them. They just played the game a lot more than I have and it clearly showed. So, be prepared for some great challenges when playing online because some players will really show you how the game works while others near your level of play will keep the challenge fun and even. I’m not saying that my beating wasn’t fun, I learned a lot, but I wasn’t ready for more. That really showed me that it’s highly important to get the defense down and learn how to counter. The minute you become an expert at that is the time where you will become a fantastic player online.

One thing that I feel could have made this a better experience for me is to have an online stats profile. It would be nice to see my own personal stats without having to go to a leaderboard for each individual game type. I just feel that the online presentation for the player could have been done a bit better. Also, another fun feature would have been to add online leaderboards to the single player stages. That would have been something else that would have added to the overall fun of the campaign and its replayability. So, while I feel the game is a bit short when it comes to those offerings or lack thereof, thankfully the gameplay is that much fun that I still don’t really care.

Anarchy Reigns – Stage 1 Main Mission Gameplay Video

Anarchy Reigns is a game I can easily recommend you checking out, especially if you are a fan of action combative fighting games. This title offers great characters with unique abilities for you to learn about and choose to dominate the online arena. It also offers up plenty for you to unlock as you make your way through the game. It’s easily one of those games that can have you hooked for a while as you attempt to 100% the single player part of the game. It’s not too often I come across a game where I feel like completing it in its entirety, but the action is fun and I look forward to having platinum medals on every stage of every difficulty level. This game may still be a rental choice for some and you could probably get all you need from the game while renting it, but if the online goes strong for a while and more players continue to appear, it’s not too hard at all to recommend a purchase at its $29.99 price tag.

Score: 8/10