I want to talk a bit about The Club as this is a game that I tried the demo for and wasn't thrilled about at all. I know the Rev preached about it on Podtoid and Retroforce GO!, but I kept remembering how the demo played and just didn't want to bother with it. I felt the controls were too stiff and I didn't know where to go in the level and how everything really worked. But I decided to give it a shot after hearing about how old school it was and plopped down for a rental.

Demo's are bad for this game.

You can't sum this game up in a demo. What Mr. Dyson said on the last Retroforce comes to mind, "I just want to jump into a game and play." Basically, the game has no real tutorial, just a video showing you what the objective is and a tutorial level to test out skills. But The Club doesn't hold your hand at all. It basically jumps at you, kicks you in the balls, and tells you to man up.



After I got the hang of it though, just like all the games of the past, I found an exciting and fast shooter. I felt like I was in the arcade again, pumping in quarters, squashing fools high scores. You can't play the game like a standard FPS. You need to think fast and quick. Just balls out run through a level, pump some bad guys full of holes and get to the end. It's incredibly fun and satisfying, and I'm just smitten with how old school this game feels. I found myself saying,"That was a piss poor run," after a level, wanting to go through again knowing I can get a better score.



I seriously recommend the game to people who love a challenge or just want something that has the graphics of the games of now, but the mind and soul of something from the NES days. I truly believe this game is misunderstood and not getting the attention is deserves from retro gamers or just shooter fans.

The Club is awesome. Now I need to get back and beat my latest run. More points are always on the horizon.