Rival Turf

The Good
Rival Turf is the first game of the Rushing Beat Trilogy. It features two characters, a balanced guy called Jack Flack and another one character stronger but slower called Oozie Nelson. As many of this games, you can play alone or together with another player, fighting against him or playing the cooperation mode. There are many kind of enemies, punks, wrestler fighters, kung fu fighters and many other foes trying to kill you. The gameplay (essential in this games) is good, you'll have to learn the weak point of every enemy (some of them are frustrating) and then hit them. The angry mode is funny, the game is easier with this mode, you'll become invincible for a short time and you'll be able to do new moves. Anyway this mode is not necessary and you can beat the game without it. The game is not easy but if you're good at this games you'll have no big problem to finish it. Music's good, as well as FX and graphics. The sprites are really big and stages are long enough. You have weapons like baseball bats, monkey wrench, knifes... even dynamites! Use them properly and they'll be useful.

The Bad
You'll have to play sometimes before you take control of the game. There are some minor bugs which made it a little uncomfortable to play it, but when you notice them you'll find alternative ways to avoid them. You'l have to make many body slams all the time, the punch fight is something that you can only use with some minor enemies. It's not like other games like Final Fight or Streets of Rage where you could punch your enemies many times, here you have to grab more to throw far away some dangerous enemies from you or just over the other punks. You'll miss some other modes, something like difficulty levels or any standard mode for this kind of games.

The Bottom Line
A classic two player Beat 'em Up game, better to be played with someone. Not the best on its genre but a good choice anyway. It's funny, not too much long, with a berserk-angry mode really useful, big sprites and good sound. It's simple, but not a bad game.