Radio Hammer is an original and fast paced rhythm game that is available for the Nintendo 3DS. This game stands out as one of the quirkiest and original games that I have had the pleasure of playing, as it has you bopping enemies on the head with a giant hammer in time with the music. There are four different playable characters in the game; complete with their own backstory and type of enemy. The music is very upbeat and the collection is immense covering a wide variety of genres. All together the game and it’s characters create an interesting experience that actually works in its own weird way.
Radio Hammer happens to be a pirate radio station that is tasked with the mission to keep the streets safe from all evil. The four players that are available are DJs that work for the station and accompanied by their manager (They are a humanoid animal that sits in a chair at the bottom of the screen), who helps save humanity from the evils in the world. July Ann battles perverts that are in town for a national pervert convention with the boss being a large robot that is created by the ultimate perverts. MC Wayne battles an alien invasion that are aliens in the shape of music notes. Simply Lita defends the earth against the zombie apocalypse, while Celia beats her enemies using a parasol. The characters are unlocked in a sequential manner, where you must beat all the levels including the boss level before you are able to unlock the next character. The levels are divided into three episodes with five stages each, resulting in a total of fifteen per character.
Even though the characters and stories are different, the game play is pretty much the same for every character. The character is stationary at the left side of the screen as the enemies run at you from right to left. As the player, you must hit the enemy in time with the beat of the song to gain a score. The better the timing of the hit, the better the score. The enemies will advance upon you in two different tracks, one at the top of the screen, while the other is at the bottom. The X button or up arrow is used for the top track and the A button or down arrow is for the bottom. The Y button or left button will allow you to pick up the power ups that come in the form of white presents.
Depending on the timing of the hit, you will get a different rating in the form of a perfect, great, good or bad scores. Perfects give the most amount points, where a bad score will deplete a characters health and will eventually cause a player to “retire”. The better scores will fill up a fever meter, that when filled up enters the character into a frenzy that will give you a perfect score no matter how bad your hit is timed.
The controls of the game are tight and responsive, as well as giving the player options to carry out their hits by allowing you to either use the D-pad or the face buttons. All you have to do is to find the technique that works best for you and start whacking away at your enemies. The timing window can be a little rough, allowing for a good score, but also causing the player to use exact “precision” to get a perfect score. Be careful to not hit the buttons too much on a single enemy or it will cause it to stop in front, creating multiple misses or allowing the enemies to run right by you. If an enemy is missed or a bad score is achieved, the characters up begins to deplete. The presents or power ups come at you from the left side of the screen and cause a slight element of surprise, as you never know when they will come. There are also bad presents, which are green in color that causes small explosions.
The music is a great feature of the game that really helps to bring the player into the zone; it makes the game what it is. Even though the graphics are good, the game can become a little stale. But the music helps add variety to the levels. The corresponding smack from the hammer when enemies are hit helps to accentuate the music when done properly and creates a rewarding experience. There are over 50 different songs that are in the game that run the gamut of genres. There is pop, rock, boss a nova, Samba, hip hop and chip tunes. You can also listen to the tracks in jukebox mode after you have unlocked them in the game.
The visuals are bright, airy and fresh. The style oozes out of the screen and helps to create an original experience. July Ann’s design has a bubble gum pop aesthetic, while MC Wayne looks to have more of a hip hop grit to him. Simply Lita looks like a punk rocker that is first in line to go see a Sesame Street live concert. One of the few issues with the graphics is that the attack animation is the same for up or down attacks, which can sometimes be confusing for the player in more intense battles. While, the pixelation of the background graphics can sometimes look out of place and awkward, especially compared to the characters and the enemies that are visually appealing. These tiny hiccups are nothing major and do not detract from the overall aesthetic of the game. One small gripe that I do have is that the game does not support 3D, which would have helped distinguish between an upper attack or a lower attack; it also would also have looked cool.
Even though the game mechanics are the same in each level there is a lot to do, which helps to combat any monotony that you may encounter. In story mode, each level has three stars that can be achieved by reaching a certain goal. The first one is usually for completing the level; while the second two are more technically based and could be awarded for attaining a certain amount of combos, a perfect score or getting every present in the level. There are other modes in the game besides story mode, which includes a juke box being filled with the music that is unlocked during play and a random play mode. The random play mode is a single level that has a random character and random difficulty.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this game. It is an original idea that often had me scratching my head wondering what I just played. The controls were great and easy to learn. The character design is solid and quirky, reflecting each one of their personalities. It does have some minor issues that can easily be overlooked with how solid the gameplay was. It provides the most seasoned players a rewarding experience, while not being too ridiculous for beginners. There is nothing like sitting down after a hard day to a small game of whack-a-pervert that makes everything better.
Candice ‘GamerGirl’ Wendt
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Arc Systems Works / Vinyl Lab
Publisher: Aksys Games
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $5.99
Radio Hammer Official Website: http://aksysgames.com/radiohammer/
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| The visuals are bright, airy and fresh. | |
| Sound | |
| The music is a great feature of the game that really helps to bring the player into the zone. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Even though the game mechanics are the same in each level, there is a lot to do. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Radio Hammer is an original idea that often had me scratching my head wondering what I just played. | |
