#Shakedown hawaii 3ds tv#

Other Crazy Taxi-style minigames pop up, like “destroy the delivery truck” or “repossess cars whose owners are overdue on their payments.”Ī typical AAA studio move would be to force all of these things to move at a snail’s pace requiring players to manually go to the building to purchase it amid lengthy load times. At that point you can keep blowing stuff up, go tackle a story mission, or buy another property in a few seconds by bringing up the world map and selecting it. Based on how many business you shake down (or retail/investment properties you acquire) you’ll net an income, which kind of just pops up periodically on-screen as a bonus. I think what I dig most about Shakedown is the relaxed emphasis on doing whatever you want. Not every bit of the map is utilized to its fullest, but it does have less of a sense of déjà vu than Retro City due to the aforementioned aesthetic makeover. This is the kind of free-spirited experience where you can roam around randomly and do whatever you want (and you can, as “free roam mode” returns!) and not get bored during short sessions, or opt for more lengthy goal-oriented playthroughs as you work through the campaign and side missions. Shakedown‘s overworld is approximately three times bigger than Retro City and it shows. Brian didn’t do everything alone: amid the great work by many other designers, the soundtrack slaps. Matt “Norrin Radd” Creamer’s soundtrack is restrained yet delightful, with a synthwave focus that isn’t cloying or, again, too referential. Brian makes this world feel alive despite the old-school feel, with swaying trees and vibrant visuals, and it all looks fantastic on Vita (hell yes, one of the last Vita games). Hawaii makes for one killer location, with plenty of water motifs to take advantage of on top of the lush, beautiful vegetation.

#Shakedown hawaii 3ds tv#

It’s more social commentary (“I’ll get you a spit bucket” for when you toss back a gamer energy drink for a TV commercial), and fewer memes (if that bothered you in the first place I thought it actually fit). Watching the oafish lead get thwarted constantly is another treat. In fact, there aren’t a lot of direct references at all, as the creator wanted to have Shakedown stand on its own more than its predecessor. There aren’t entire missions dedicated to Batman villain Joker or myriad pop culture references thrown in your face. Thematically it’s a bit different compared to Retro City Rampage. As always in the video game world, crime pays. As the CEO of an old media-oriented business declares “streaming a fad,” his video rental stores and other over-the-top Blockbuster-esque models are no longer cutting it. Shakedown opens with a different kind of “hero”: an aging, balding, out-of-touch man having a breakdown. Shakedown: Hawaii (3DS, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita ) You can add Provinciano’s follow-up, Shakedown: Hawaii, to that lengthy list of successes above. There’s Eric Barone of Stardew Valley fame, Celeste‘s Matt Thorson, Bertil Hörberg, and of course, Brian Provinciano, who gave us the GTA-inspired (the original GTA) Retro City Rampage, among many others. Early on, the protagonist was going to be an older version of Retro City Rampage's Player.We’re in a resplendent era of one-person studios and I couldn’t be happier that those kinds of games are getting attention. As a writer, we pull from what we know, and having dealt with back pain and the like for a long time, I liked the idea of making the protagonist more human and dealing with real world life such as that too. In addition to the business satire, Shakedown's story also revolves around an older-than-usual protagonist, dealing with aging, and back pain, doctor visits, things like that. It was like a 12-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, and I built a massive spreadsheet to help figure it all out. Story beats should naturally tie together and build upon each other. Missions should end near where the next began to reduce driving. It couldn't go too long without catching up with each protagonist, or encountering each antagonist. It couldn't have too many action missions in a row, or story heavy, or puzzle, or platforming. 'Since Shakedown: Hawaii’s theme is so completely different it didn't make sense to call it Retro City Rampage 2.'