I could go on and on about the gameplay mechanics of Foul Play, about how it ramps up the difficulty nicely offering up challenge but keeping it from being overly difficult. Perhaps I could wax poetic about how the control scheme harkens back to the days of arcade brawlers but the setting and script give it a vibrant and fresh feeling. Instead let me say this:
Foul Play is one of the most fun games I have played in a very long time.
Players take on the role of Baron Dashforth, a Victorian-era daemon hunter, following in his father’s footsteps. He is ably assisted (if a second player is available) by Scampwick, a lad of indeterminate age with a chimney sweep’s broom as a weapon.
What makes the game much more interesting than a regular 2.5D side-scrolling brawler is the fact this is a story, told by Dashforth to an audience. Literally. The action is set on a stage. The set dressing is just that, set dressing. There are even jokes about stage hands being in the wrong place. By building up your meter Dashforth is able to pull out his “Showstopper” moves for added bonuses (which are essentially the same as his regular moves, but with more flair).
It is this setting, a stage, that actually comes into play with the game’s mechanics as well. Combos will get the audience whipped up into a frenzy and a higher score. If the audience doesn’t like your performance and leaves, the show is over. A total of 5 plays are on offer by Baron Dashforth. The first 4 come in 5 acts, and the 5th in 2. If you’ve played many video games you’ll understand bosses will pretty much take up the entirety of the last level. Er… act.
Bonus stages come in the form of an “encore” where players try to take on as many of the enemies from that act. Just pile on the hits and get more bonus points. It really does work like an encore in that the enemies are all easily defeated here, it’s just “for show” as it were.
Each act will have three different challenges to perform, such as defeating a specific enemy last, or clearing a room in a certain amount of time, or performing a specific sequence of attacks. Doing so will earn players a bonus, and there is sufficient challenge to warrant some replay. It should also be noted these challenges aren’t required to finish the game nor are they impossible to obtain. By offering up “just enough” challenge to defeat players but enough ease to allow them to come back with a winning attitude, Foul Play strikes a balance that many other games struggle to find.
As for the story and enemies encountered, well, it plays on a lot of the Victorian legends, such as werewolves and the lost city of Atlantis. Really it’s just a good fun romp that is a little self-aware without becoming a joke. The “gimmick” of being a stage presentation for the character of Baron Dashforth really works out well here.
Sadly this is a two-player game, which is alright, but it’s only local co-op, not online. For the price you can’t expect this to be a game it isn’t – this wasn’t designed to be Tekken or Street Fighter, but instead a narrative game with a clear path to completion. It would have been nice to have an online option to let players separated by actual distance beyond the couch play with each other.
No, it’s not a particularly deep fighting game in terms of gameplay, but it’s not meant to be. It’s a fun sidescrolling brawler with a sense of humor and adventure. Oh yeah, and fun. Did I mention that word yet? That’s the key word. Fun. So many games are good but they seem to forget that essential ingredient which Foul Play has plenty of.