As a way of celebrating the 25-year-anniversary of Quentin Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS, it's been announced that Lionsgate and Big Star games have joined partnered-up to release Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, a top-down action-shooter in the vein of titles like Hotline Miami and Smash TV.
In what I find to be a bizarre albeit interesting mechanic related to the game, players will be given the ability to strategically rewind time in an effort to best control the film's six main characters (Mr. Blonde, Mr. Brown, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blue, Mr. Pink and Mr. White) as they loot, shoot and stab their way through hordes of enemies. In speaking on his excitement for the game, Big Star Games CEO Liam Patton stated, "As huge fans of Reservoir Dogs, we’re very focused on creating a highly addictive experience that stays true to the tense, dramatic vibe of this unforgettable movie." He then added, "By taking control of different characters for overlapping bursts of time, players must utilize the strengths of each squad member to carry out the game’s missions, with every move and shot creating a butterfly effect on the overall outcome."
You can check out the trailer for the game by watching the video below:
In looking for more comments about the game, I'd like to share with you an excerpt from Chris Pereira of Gamespot's hands-on experience with the title:
Before trying the game myself, a developer briefly demonstrated how this actually works. He entered a room, shot a few people, but was quickly overwhelmed by more enemies entering from all around him. He took multiple hits and nearly died, causing me to think that the developer had made a mistake. He then rewound time and used the next character to follow a similar path, only he chose different targets. Suddenly enemies were being killed before they could attack the leader. By the time the third character rolled in, the area had been cleared out without any characters suffering any damage.
The action itself during a given turn is not especially remarkable; Bloody Days feels like a slightly slower-paced, less intense version of Hotline Miami. Attacking enemies and managing your weapons (you're free to pick up dropped weapons, which prove essential when you run out of ammo) are enjoyable enough, but the time mechanic is what ratchets up the intensity and keeps you on your toes. It demands that you remain constantly aware of your surroundings and the location of enemies.
Hmm, I don't know about this one. Video games based on licensed film properties are always a bit of a gamble, though I must admit that I do enjoy a bit of top-down shooter fun every now and again. Honestly, I'm not sure that I really care whether or not the game resembles the film. As is always the case with video games, it comes down to the execution of the action and game play, first and foremost. If Big Star can build an engaging top-down shooter from the minimal amount of content to be extracted from Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS then all the power to them. Here's hoping that Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days will be a fun way to remember the film by bringing fans closer to the action and consequences of executing and escaping a dangerous heist.
Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days is slated to launch on both PC and Xbox One in 2017. The game will first be released on Steam for your PC in the Spring, with the Xbox One version to follow shortly thereafter.