If I were asked to classify Brawl Busters as one genre or another, I really don’t know what I would say. I would first try to describe it as a class-based shooter, but there really isn’t any shooting to be had. The next thing I considered was an MMORPG, but there aren’t more abilities as you level up, and it’s missing the whole “role play” thing. Lastly, I considered calling it a DotA style game, but that didn’t work since it has no elements that remotely resemble DotA. Brawl Busters plays as though someone took hack and slash combat mechanics and built a multiplayer game around them. I would try to describe it like an online version of Dynasty Warriors. However, I was not aware of the fact that such a game already exists, so I have no idea if that comparison is accurate or not. At this point, it can be said that Brawl Busters is a fairly unique game. Unfortunately, as I have discovered, that’s not necessarily a good thing.
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Auditions for “Baseketball: Part 2”
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Class Warfare
Playing Brawl Busters is pretty straightforward. The game features five character classes. Each class features three unique attacks that are bound to the mouse. Left clicking uses the primary attack while right clicking uses the secondary attack, which usually has a utility use like dashing or stunning. Holding both mouse buttons will initiate the class’s special attack. Players start the game with the Rocker and one other class of their choosing. Players will eventually unlock all of the classes as they level up. While the classes don’t seem to fulfill specific roles (tank, dps, support), they differ enough to accommodate for different play styles. The Boxer, for example, is good for making quick precision strikes. The Rocker, on the other hand, has a wider attack arch, which makes it perfect against multiple enemies. One issue that I have here is that the game has a clear emphasis on melee combat. The Firefighter is the only class that is dedicated to range attacks, and I feel that it is at a clear disadvantage as a result. The Firefighter uses a mortar that looks like a cross between a Ghostbuster proton pack a fire hose. It only causes moderate damage, and can be easily evaded by the faster classes. The Firefighter does have a few defenses to deal with close range attackers, but these are far from effective. Being the slowest class, it is almost impossible for a Firefighter to escape from a fight. The situation is worsened by the fact that all attacks in the game cause the victim to become staggered for a short time. This means that a class with a high attack speed, like the Boxer, can completely decimate a cornered opponent without so much as a rebuttal. To me, this indicates that the game has a class balance issue that really needs to be looked at.
