G.I. JOE: Wrath of Cobra Review

Be prepared to be launched right into the G.I. JOE animated series from the ‘80s as soon as you start playing G.I. JOE: Wrath of Cobra. Developed by Maple Powered Games, you will take on the role of one of the heroes straight from the series as you fight against the forces of COBRA, who are up to their old tricks trying to take over the world in this beat ‘em up title that feels like it’s come right from the arcade.

When you begin, you are treated to a cinematic intro that feels just like the opening for an episode of the cartoon! It's not exactly the same as the original G.I. JOE show opening, but it does a fantastic job at capturing that same feeling; the game's theme song is great! That sentiment is true for the rest of the game, as the music and voice-over work is very well done; it does a brilliant job at bringing these characters to life! 

Cobra Commander declares that COBRA will finally take over the world using a robot clone army that is capturing all monuments in the world, distracting G.I. JOE from their ultimate surprise attack on The Pit that serves as their home base. Your battle to save the world begins here. Select the level of challenge you will face between easy, normal, hard, or impossible.

At the start, there are four heroes from the G.I. JOE universe to play as, including Duke, Snake Eyes, Roadblock, and Scarlett. Each of the characters have their own stats for attack, defence, and speed, along with different movesets and unique abilities, which adds a layer of replayability to the game as each hero feels different.

If you have played other 2D beat ‘em up titles like TMNT or Double Dragon, you will have no trouble figuring out the controls, as these are very similar to those other titles. Playing with a controller, the left thumbstick is used to move your hero around the stage. To run, double-tap left or right on the D-pad in the direction you want to dash. The bottom face button is used to jump, and the left is your light attack, with the top face button for your heavy attack. You can combine your jump with an attack to perform an aerial hit that helps you avoid taking damage from the enemy. The final face button is used to block and protect yourself. String all these moves together to pull off powerful combos that will take down the COBRA agents and get you massive points when your score is calculated at the end of the stage.

Besides these base controls, you can pick up guns that the enemy drops when they are hit and shoot at the foes, plus each character has their own special ability that they can use to attack the enemy from a distance. A meter sits beneath your health bar at the top of the screen, and when it fills up, it unleashes a powerful attack when the right trigger is pressed. If you are playing as Duke, you will summon an air strike. Snake Eyes has an attack dog that goes after all the enemies on the screen, and Roadblock has a huge Gatling gun he uses to open fire on the COBRA agents to deal massive damage.

Each stage you challenge in the story ends with a boss fight against an enemy from the show like Major Bludd, Zartan, and even the Baroness herself. There are 12 stages to play through, so there are a lot of foes you will recognise from the G.I. JOE universe. As you make progress in the game, each stage that you successfully complete becomes available for you to challenge again, either by yourself or co-op with friends locally. This also allows you to continue close to where you left off before you previously quit. Other players can jump into the battle to fight with you at any point, which can be very helpful when you reach a difficult stage where you are being swarmed by enemy agents!

As you defeat enemies, they will drop red and blue diskettes you can pick up. These are used to buy things at the shop. I expected to see items to purchase, but instead, there are different modes to unlock like Arcade Mode, where the difficulty is increased and you have an alternate special meter; Boss Rush Mode, where you face off against all the bosses you encounter in the game; or One Hit Mode, where each hit you deal and take is an instant KO. The store also has two characters available that you can purchase, including Gung-Ho, the rugged marine, and Ripcord, the fearless paratrooper. This isn't a cheap dollar store; however, the least expensive item costs 1500, with most of the items having a price tag of 2000, so it will take some time to collect the required amount.

G.I. JOE: Wrath of Cobra has a great 2D pixelated look for the parts you are playing, interspersed with animated cutscenes that make you feel like you are playing the storyline of an episode of the show. I appreciate how the animation didn't look super clean or perfect; it gave the feeling that it was hand-drawn. 

If you are a fan of G.I. JOE, either the cartoon or the action figures, you are sure to love this game. Transforming it into a 2D beat ‘em up that supports local multiplayer is the perfect fit for this franchise. It's cheesy, silly, and full of action, capturing the feel of that classic cartoon. The developer promises extensive post-launch support to bring more soldiers into the fight, more levels, and modes to keep the G.I. JOE legacy going, so I can't wait to see what that all entails! Yooo JOE, the most fitting way to end this review!