Lost Reavers Fills a Four-Player Spot
By William G Chandler Jr, April 14, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.
Lost Reavers, by Bandai Namco, offers a special surprise for its Nintendo Wii U owners. First, it is beta software until April 26, 2016, at exactly 9 a.m. Second, it is free. The full release comes on April 28, 2016.
You can come together with three other players to loot various dungeons, and fight off zombies, and other creatures, in order to win. The game is completely online. As found on Wikipedia, play as Sayuri, Dwayne, Victoria, and Shadowstalker in order to recover a treasure known as Relics. Players can use either a first-person or a third-person view, in order to complete their tasks. Each character has their melee attacks and long-range assaults.
However, Shadowstalker, a fiercer hands-on player requires melee more than Dwayne, who is slower and operates long-range weapons. The first play through offers a tutorial. You repair controls to enter rooms, take down the undead, collect treasure, and recover Relics. It is just that easy. The actual gameplay uses a team system in order to get everyone to the Relic and back to home base with the item. The catch is everyone should come. At times, it is necessary to revive a fallen comrade.
This seems like a solid game. Every gun pops, sounds good, and takes down enemies, as it should, at their specific levels. Melee attacks beat back foes. The graphics are decent. The game’s sound resonates. Player controls are quick and accurate. The levels available require some thought in order to get the Relic off the level.
The fact is this kind of game from Bandai Namco on Nintendo Wii U is good. I expected a game similar to Powerstone, by Capcom. This is just not that kind of game. One character, Shadowstalker, seems like a wild man. He races around the levels with gun and machete to take down enemies. Victoria offers an alternate gun style and takes down enemies. Sayuri uses just melee attacks and speed to destroy all her foes. Dwayne is the big man of the crew.
The interest lies in collecting the Relics and character differences. A four-player crew of only Victorias creates a different challenge than only a group of Dwaynes. It creates an interesting dynamic. The balance of all four stock players always covers any challenge the game provides. The true issue with this game is finding a room and other players. This is the smallest issue with this free game. Once the fun starts, it is all about survival and the team. I have managed to play two games with supportive, online connectivity on Nintendo Wii U.
Trine Two offers a fun, cooperative, online experience. Dungeons and Dragons creates a fun environment, and experience, however, it makes me long for Double Dragon. Lost Reavers represents fun with very little expectation. The final game may offer different challenges than currently available with the beta. Imagine if you do not have to operate as a team and players can undermine one another. The levels, solely, ignite creative juices.
The NES Four Score multi-player adapter, released by Nintendo By Evan-Amos.
Lost Reavers Trailer by Nintendo