Often, ideas will look great on paper, only to be done in by poor execution. The concepts are present for Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia to be a great addition to anyone’s library; top-down, 4 player coop, hack and slash monster slaying, with varied and upgradeable weapons, and about 100 unique monsters. Sadly, the game does not live up to the promise. The frustration factor is high, as the gamer is expected to battle a ridiculous number of monsters with awkward controls through a very long and tedious campaign mode. Add inexcusably dreadful online gaming, and a nausea-inducing camera, and you get a game that has completely missed the mark.
The core of the game is Adventure mode, which features 5 distinct zones of suburbia, and 4 sublevels within each zone. Gamers will battle through each level with one of four stereotypical teenagers; a geek, a goth, a jock or a cheerleader. Each character has their own special weapon and special moves; though in reality the way each character plays feels more or less the same. The gamer eventually meets Larry, a gruff motorcycle builder that is more than happy to build custom weapons for our heroes, at a price. There are hundreds of items scattered in each zone to be collected and used for weapons upgrades, from duct tape and nails, to plutonium. The player will also need to collect Monster Tokens, which are dropped on the ground once a monster is slain. These disappear quickly, so the gamer will have to make an effort to collect these while still engaged in battle. A thin plot holds the entire campaign together, and a few wisecracks are scattered throughout. The game doesn’t take itself too seriously at all, and often makes veiled references to monster movies or other video games, as you’ll find when Larry declares that he doesn’t build BFG’s.
Adventure mode is very long, and features an impressive variety of monsters, from the run-of-the-mill zombie, to the comical cat-wielding Granny, whose special attack is to smother the character with kisses. There are seemingly random checkpoints to be crossed, which are positioned in odd places with regard to the flow of the game. Many are located immediately before a boss battle, so often the gamer will defeat the boss, and continue with battling monsters and finding items, only to be killed 15 minutes later and have to repeat the entire process. Adventure mode can be a bit too much for one player, as many times you’ll have to battle legions of monsters with two or three bosses thrown in for good measure. Between the lack of save points, and the overwhelming waves of monsters, Battle for Suburbia ranks highly on the controller throwing scale.
The difficulty settings do not seem to be logical at all. The default “Thriller” setting seems like it should be the hardest of all settings once you get deeper into the game, yet there are two difficulty levels above Thriller (one needs to be unlocked). Like most gamers, I’m too proud to play a game on the easiest difficulty, so I continued on Thriller until I got so frustrated that I had to walk away for a few minutes. I can’t imagine what the difficulty settings above Thriller must be like.
If you can find a friend or two that is willing to help you battle through this mode, take them up on it because you’ll need the assistance. Unfortunately, your friends will have to be in the same room as you, because in an unbelievable and unforgivable gaffe, Xbox Live coop play is not supported! I was absolutely floored when I learned this. Live coop for Adventure mode could have been a saving grace for this title. Instead it is a glaring omission that positively ruins this game. In fact, the online play for Monster Madness is entirely separate and distinct from the rest of the game, as it features arena-style deathmatch and capture the flag games. We Xbox gamers take our online play very seriously, and to give us some half-baked Live play in a full priced retail game is inexcusable.
