Fairytale Fights

Who can resist a candy castle in the middle of the Gamescom showfloor. Not me, that's for sure. Playlogic's Fairytale Fights is an interesting proposition. Relying on a foundation of simple and proven walk and brawl gameplay with up to three friends it is set in a alternative fairytale world where your favourite heroes never wound up the heroes of the stories. Now they are out to get what belongs to them - money and fame. And what better way to do that than to kill bunnies with an assortment of blunt and sharp objects?

It is easy to think that Fairytale Fights is all surface and no gameplay, but the Playlogic team has actually tried to do something a little different with the controls than what you would expect. Using the right stick to launch attack in all directions rather than mashing the face buttons may not sound very exciting, but in tight spots it does provide you with a bit more control, at least in theory. There are a number of different weapons across the 20 odd levels ranging from ineffective newspaper to a somewhat sharper swordfish and they can both be used for fighting or thrown at enemies. Speaking of the enemies they are all filled with an odd red, sticky fluid that squirts out of them as The Naked Emperor, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood and the gang do their thing. Building up your combos to fill a meter you will also be able to do some precision cutting special moves.

Fairytale Fights doesn't look like your typical Unreal Engine 3.0 game, but the graphics are nice and crisp and the design of environments, objects and characters help push the overall visual impression. There is usually a lot going on at any given time, and then I was only playing two player co-op. With two more players I assume it will become even more chaotic with blood gushing all over the place.

The boss fights are over the top occasions that show off the wonderful design and atmosphere of the game. And although I'm not entirely convinced that this will be a recommended purchase at full retail price it does seem Fairytale Fights is filled with entertaining moments and with three friends it will almost certainly be enjoyable (but what game isn't?). The questions I have after trying the Gamescom demo is whether the gameplay is deep enough, and whether there is any reason to replay the levels once you have made your way through them. Bloodshed and cute characters are nice, but what it comes down to is whether or not the level design and the boss fights are of high enough quality throughout and with the limited playtime I had at Gamescom its hard to judge whether or not those elements are fully in place. I certainly hope so as the concept is most entertaining.