Kokuga

Genre: Top-Down Action

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless), Download Play Supported

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Review:

Kokuga is a Top-Down Action game released on Nintendo 3DS in 2013. In this game, players pilot a tank in a virtual environment fighting through hordes of enemy vehicles and emplacements to reach each level’s exit and fight a boss.

While I call this game a “Top-Down Action” game, it would be a 2-Stick Shooter if this game actually used a second analog input. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and players will have to be satisfied with using the L and R buttons to rotate their turret around. This works, but it definitely would have been nice if this game supported the second analog input provided by the Circle Pad Pro and the New Nintendo 3DS.

Kokuga’s presentation is nice, using slightly abstract 3D visuals to represent the virtual worlds you’re fighting through, with enemies colored a metallic gray that gradually reddens as they take damage, with walls in green and the floor in mostly black. This is backed by a futuristic-sounding synthesized soundtrack that’s not especially memorable, but does a good job fitting the game’s virtual setting.

When it comes to the action itself, what’s here is mostly good, but I do have some complaints.Your standard gunfire is slow-paced, making you really feel like you need to do a lot of dodging while trying to make every shot count. Players do have access to weapon upgrades via a randomized “deck” of upgrade cards on the touchscreen, but these are fleeting, and trying to turn your attention to the touchscreen when the action gets intense enough that you need to use one of these abilities seems like it will just lead to disaster. In addition, the game starts out fairly hard and just gets harder, and less experienced gamers may find themselves quickly put off by this steep difficulty curve.

Ultimately, Kokuga is a decent game, but it’s a decent game with numerous issues that keep it from being a great one. The core gameplay here is mostly good, but the way the game makes you struggle to put up a good fight in intense situations makes this a game that only players looking for a more challenging experience should play.

tl;dr – Kokuga is a Top-Down Action game where players use a tank to battle mechanized enemies in a virtual environment. The core gameplay here is mostly good, but your firing rate is abysmal, and the way the game handles weapon upgrades is frustratingly counter-intuitive. Add in a steep difficulty curve and you have a game that only the most skilled and masochistic players will want to play.

Grade: C+

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